Spiffy Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I left work today and suddenly my wipers only work on hi, they are completely dead on int and lo... so dead that if I put them on hi and then switch them to lo they will stop in the middle of the window... they worked fine this morning... just bad connections? in the arm on the tree? what's the most common cause of this? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowmastered87GL Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 Probably the arm or the little relay thingie under the steering column. My guess is the column. Never had one of mine go bad, but there is a little black box on the drivers side kick panel that says WIPER CONTROL on it. Hard to miss really... I have a GL-10 one laying around, but sorry no spare GL ones for you Probably REALLY cheap a U-Pull-It, $2 maybe?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 cool, I'm hoping it's just a relay or something... I'll tear my kick-panel apart and replace the little box... *heads to u-pull-it in a few* Probably the arm or the little relay thingie under the steering column. My guess is the column. Never had one of mine go bad, but there is a little black box on the drivers side kick panel that says WIPER CONTROL on it. Hard to miss really... I have a GL-10 one laying around, but sorry no spare GL ones for you Probably REALLY cheap a U-Pull-It, $2 maybe?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 Never had one of mine go bad, but there is a little black box on the drivers side kick panel that says WIPER CONTROL on it. Hard to miss really... it must not be too hard to miss because I don't see it anywhere... I tore off all the panels under the column and don't see any wiper relays or control box... I see what looks like a main computer box, and a cruise control box, but nothing with the wipers... lots of wires and connectors though... I also can't believe I stumped the rest of the board with this problem... go me! 29 views and nobody knows for sure... guess I'll take the tree switch apart and check there for bad connections... anybody else know what this problem could be? I'd really like to take a road trip, an hour ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted December 31, 2004 Share Posted December 31, 2004 I think there is a seperate control box for the low speed control but it may be internal to the wiper motor. How many wires tie to the motor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted December 31, 2004 Author Share Posted December 31, 2004 I think there is a seperate control box for the low speed control but it may be internal to the wiper motor. How many wires tie to the motor? there are 4 wires to the motor... (c is the connector clip) 1 2 3 4 c checking the voltage at each switch setting: hi - #1 12v & #2 12v lo - #1 12v & #4 9v int - #1 12v & #4 12v no voltage on #3, so maybe it's a ground or something... *shrug* does that look right? seems like there's power getting to the motor... I'm gonna guess that it's all internal to the wiper motor at this point... guess I'll replace that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Since you are getting 9 volts at pin 4 in the low position then it seems that the motor should be working on low speed. It would be good to know which direction the voltage is being supplied from. The pin may be a return to the control box and the problem is in there. I wonder about this because you have 12 volts at pin 4 and it works ok so it seems to me that problem may be between the switch and the control box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted January 4, 2005 Author Share Posted January 4, 2005 yeah, I tried another wiper motor from bajavwsoobnut (thanks for the wiper motor!) and it did the same thing... so it's somewhere in-between... I'll probably just see if richie has some time to look at it one of these saturdays, since I'd like him to check out my vent/4wd vacuum problem anyways... (: Since you are getting 9 volts at pin 4 in the low position then it seems that the motor should be working on low speed. It would be good to know which direction the voltage is being supplied from. The pin may be a return to the control box and the problem is in there. I wonder about this because you have 12 volts at pin 4 and it works ok so it seems to me that problem may be between the switch and the control box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Spiffy, The control module you are looking for is mounted close to the edge of the trim panel that is above your knees when in the drivers seat. Same panel that must be lowered to see the ECU (Kick panel - at least to my feeble mind, is the panel to the left of your feet when seated?) The plastic control module is gray or black in color. Maybe the plug has come out of it, this can happen when removing the trim panel. As for your 4wd / vent problem, under the hood, on the shelf behind the passenger side strut is a white vacuum storage canister. Check the line to the canister from the intake manifold and the one leaving going to the 4wd solenoids. These are mounted on the shelf behind the driverside strut. Both systems share this vacuum. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted February 21, 2005 Author Share Posted February 21, 2005 I still haven't been able to locate this module... I even got a replacement one (it's grey) from XSNRG to replace it with... I just don't see it under my dash, black or grey... form left to right I see against the left wall a cruise control module, then a huge white connector with lots of plugs passing through it (basically behind the fusebox), then the ecu in the middle under the column, and then a cruise control cylinder that's attached to the gas pedal, then the heater controls on the center console... [cruise module] [huge white connector] [silver ecu] [cruise mech] [vents] can somebody be really, really specific with describing the location of the WIPER CONTROL module? thanks! The control module you are looking for is mounted close to the edge of the trim panel that is above your knees when in the drivers seat. Same panel that must be lowered to see the ECU (Kick panel - at least to my feeble mind, is the panel to the left of your feet when seated?) The plastic control module is gray or black in color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 sorry Spiff mine have always been ON the trim panel that you have to take down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 Something that's real easy to check... Find a short jumper cable and run another ground to the wiper motor cable. IIRC, it's a small black/yellow wire. This has fixed my herky-jerky wipers on int, and a couple other people that I know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted February 23, 2005 Author Share Posted February 23, 2005 ok, so I'm starting to think that my car doesn't have this WIPER CONTROL unit in it... I'd like some more people to confirm or deny its existance before I give up hope and rip my steering wheel off to replace my switch assembly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 I have a manual for an '88 that I will check an let you know what I find. I think there must be a module somewhere since it has to control the delay circuit also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 awesome, thanks! I figure I'm totally blind, or it's in a different spot for my year... I have a manual for an '88 that I will check an let you know what I find. I think there must be a module somewhere since it has to control the delay circuit also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 so you had the trim panel down that has a a heater duct connected to it and it is not mounted on the lip facing you on the top side? funny I have 87's and an 89 all have it in this location Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86subaru Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 well skip maybe there is none on his , [ missing] a few months ago you told me that my 1986 fwd a/t sedan is not spfi , which it is ,and they did make them in 86 only in a sedan and only in fwd , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 According to my manual the wiper intermittant unit should be behind the dash around the heater control area or above the radio area. Look for a blue 8 pin connector. Sorry about not getting back sooner on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Spiffy, If you still have trouble locating the module or would like to test the switch before tearing the st. wheel covers off. It's connector is a 17 pin connector black in color under the st.. column. You can stick a test lights probe into the wiring of the connector, having the other side of the test light grounded. Alternatively you can stick a pin through the insulation and test for voltage on it The 89 FSM shows the Green with white tracer wire getting +12 volts in the low speed position. Note: It shows this wire is a direct connection to the wiper motor and does not go to the control module. Meaning that possibly the module is not the problem. I have a scan of the wiper control system , please email me if you would like a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted February 25, 2005 Author Share Posted February 25, 2005 so you had the trim panel down that has a a heater duct connected to it and it is not mounted on the lip facing you on the top side? it's true... after you mentioned it I looked on the back of that panel that the vent hooks to and I don't even see a spot that it could mount to... no screw holes or slots or obviously vacant space... According to my manual the wiper intermittant unit should be behind the dash around the heater control area or above the radio area. Look for a blue 8 pin connector. since I think I need to replace my vent controls I'll check for it back there when I get a good vent control unit to swap in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted February 25, 2005 Share Posted February 25, 2005 Sorry for the mis info on the module placement, I apologize. Goes to show all is not the same in the land of the Plieades and learning something every day is good. But while you have the panel down why not test the switch? If you want to test the wiring to the motor you could put a jumper lead from a 12v source to the pin you stick in the wire for testing On your vent control problem make sure the white cannister on the shelf behind the pass. side strut tower has it's vacuun lines connected and operational. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ I have said and misinformed you enough I will let Glenn take it from here Good luck hope you get it fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiffy Posted February 28, 2005 Author Share Posted February 28, 2005 well it turned out to be a bad switch... thanks to Flowmastered87GL for being the first to suspect it and Skip for supplying the wiring diagram that showed it was the switch... thanks to XSNRG for the replacement column switch assembly, and bajavwnsoobnut for the wiper motor (which I didn't end up needing, yet)... and while I was under there I figured out part of my vent problem... (: I left work today and suddenly my wipers only work on hi, they are completely dead on int and lo... so dead that if I put them on hi and then switch them to lo they will stop in the middle of the window... they worked fine this morning... just bad connections? in the arm on the tree? what's the most common cause of this? thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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