Wiper stop/delay functions not working

brdman2

Registered User
My new-bought '92 SC finally needed to use the wipers recently. Typically if I tap the mf switch on & off, the wipers should go through a cycle and head back down. On this car, if I turn of the switch, they stop where they are. Interval feature doesn't work - they may stop/pause and appear to wait out the interval before they startup again. On lo or hi, I have to try to stop them at the bottom, since they don't return to stop position by themselves.
Is this likely the control unit, if there is such a thing? I'm hoping it isn't the mf switch - don't imagine that would control anything more than the speeds. Any ideas would be helpful before winter, and hopefully I don't have to tear the dash apart to fix the problem.
 
hi,

i do have exact same problem. Its most of the time the wipermotor. Or it can be the multifunctional switch.


Try a different motor, on the yunkyard or from here. There not that expensive.
 
thanks. where is the wiper motor located? Under the cowl or dash or ? Is there an r&r procedure anywhere here?
 
My 90 base model did that and it was the wiper speed governor under the dash. It is a gray box with 1 clip on it which you can see it if you contort yourself to look under the dash. I opened mine up and you could see a burnt trace. I assume SC's are the same.
 
I would bet on wiper motor. The park control is in the motor itself on the early year MN12's. It changed at some point, however. Maybe 1994?
 
I had the same issue but it was after I replaced the motor it was a wiring problem with the relay so its not the motor all the time make sure you check you wiring problems first
 
The wiper motor is on the engine side of the firewall. The cowl panel is in two pieces. Remove the wiper arms, then remove a bunch of screws and lift off the top half of the cowl panel. Disconnect the wiper linkage, windshield washer lines, BAP sensor bracket, etc. Then remove a bunch of bolts and lift the lower cowl panel out. Remove the three nuts holdign the wiper motor to the cowl panel and there you go.

Hey, to get a better idea of whether or not the motor is bad, do this. Once you get the upper cowl panel removed, you should be able to see the shaft from the wiper motor protruding up through the lower cowl panel. Now, don't mess around with this unless you are totally sure that the wipers cannot turn on (disconnecting the battery is a good idea). (I almost lost a finger working on these dumb things.) Anyway, try to wiggle the shaft up and down. (Maybe pry with a screwdriver.) If you feel up-and-down play in the shaft, the motor is almost certainly the problem.

Reason why: In the early style motor, the bottom end of the shaft has electrical contacts on it. As the motor turns, the contacts slide across the contacts inside the cap at the bottom end of the motor. When the motor approaches one full revolution, the shaft contacts should touch a certain contact which activates the "parking" feature. The problem is, as the bushing/bearing/whatever inside the motor wears, the shaft develops some play, and the electrical contacts lose contact intermittently. Hence, no parking, and sometimes, no movement whatsoever.

You may be able to disassemble the motor and replace the aforementioned bushing, but I couldn't figure out how to get to it. (This was a few years ago ... I wasn't as old and crafty then.)
 
gfxbird said:
My 90 base model did that and it was the wiper speed governor under the dash. It is a gray box with 1 clip on it which you can see it if you contort yourself to look under the dash. I opened mine up and you could see a burnt trace. I assume SC's are the same.
2nd vote on this one....
If your wipers move back and fourth, then that rules out the motor.
If the govenor--looks a little like a relay---even gets unplugged, the only speed your wipers will work is high. you have to remove the driver's side knee panel/steering column cover and steel shield to get access to that. At least I never tried to get to it by reaching around... Sounds like its fried or there is a severed connection.

paul
 
Thanks to all! Will try these t/s steps when the weather cools down a bit so I don't fry my fingers on the car in 100+ degree heat.

Very helpful place & people!

Dennis
 
thirdbird said:
2nd vote on this one....
If your wipers move back and fourth, then that rules out the motor.

No, the motor can work sometimes, but not others, when it is failing. Seriously, my wipers did the exact same thing that Brdman2 described. When set to interval, they did not move at all, or possibly did half a cycle and got stuck in the up position until the next cycle. In High and Low modes, they worked, but would not park. Problem = motor. Replaced the motor, problem went away. How did I decide it was the motor? I looked at the wiring circuit diagram in the Ford EVTM for that year. The only thing I saw that could possibly cause the problem I had was a failure inside the motor. I opened up the motor, and saw that I was right. The motor was failing just like I described in my post 2 days ago.

You might be right - maybe the interval governor does have a problem on Brdman2's car. I'm just saying, the motor can cause problems, even though it still "works".

Also, keep in mind that my description applies to the older style wiper motors only. I don't know how the later ones work. It might be the same, it might not. I have never owned a later Bird, so I don't know.
 
It sounds like 2 problems to me. The non parking sounds like the motor, and the interval not working sounds like the multifunction switch. I bet your window washers don't work well either.
 
Actually, strangely enough, the washers do work well. The fluid sprays and the wipers go on for a few cycles, then shut off as they are supposed to do. If I was up to tearing two cars apart, I could try swapping parts from my '92 Sport 5.0 that's fading after 330K. Lots of other stuff stopped working right on it, but the wipers work fine. Same operational setup, so I assume (yeah, I know...) that the parts are probably interchangeable. Guess I'll have to see which part is easier to start with!
 
Yeah, bought it new Leap Day, 1992 (Dark Plum Metallic, w/ hot pink/magenta lower body stripes). http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78761 Family travel car & daily commuter until I got the SC this May. Motor's untouched internally, although a good portion of the rest of the car's been repaired or replaced. Odo stopped about 1-1/2 yrs ago @ 302,559, but I'm guesstimating 330K or so by now. Got the SC w/ 69K, and got it up to 71K when the odo on it stopped about a month ago. Apparently the plastic odo gears regularly wear out. The SC has lots more extras than the Sport, but it has sat for a few years, so it has a few glitches (DMV issued new plates due to 5 years of inactivity). In addition to the wipers, the drivers window (which was getting more erratic lately) must have jumped the track, cuz I can hear the motor but the window won't go down. Since this was supposed to be my "new" car that I didn't have to keep plunking money into, I'm going to have to start digging into things myself now. (Haven't really worked much on cars since my '60 Bird - that was fairly easy.) I've been printing & storing tips & procedures from here getting ready for the things I need to get done on her, so I appreciate all the good advice!
 
S_Mazza said:
No, the motor can work sometimes, but not others, when it is failing. Seriously, my wipers did the exact same thing that Brdman2 described. When set to interval, they did not move at all, or possibly did half a cycle and got stuck in the up position until the next cycle. In High and Low modes, they worked, but would not park. Problem = motor. Replaced the motor, problem went away. How did I decide it was the motor? I looked at the wiring circuit diagram in the Ford EVTM for that year. The only thing I saw that could possibly cause the problem I had was a failure inside the motor. I opened up the motor, and saw that I was right. The motor was failing just like I described in my post 2 days ago.

You might be right - maybe the interval governor does have a problem on Brdman2's car. I'm just saying, the motor can cause problems, even though it still "works".

Also, keep in mind that my description applies to the older style wiper motors only. I don't know how the later ones work. It might be the same, it might not. I have never owned a later Bird, so I don't know.

Thank You for straightening me out! :):rolleyes:
 
brdman2 said:
In addition to the wipers, the drivers window (which was getting more erratic lately) must have jumped the track, cuz I can hear the motor but the window won't go down.

That sounds to me like the plastic safety gear plugs inside the window motor wore out and broke. Search the forum for "gear plug" or "nylon", "window regulator", etc. and you should find what you need. Should cost you about $10 for the correct replacement parts (Dorman #74410 I think) and maybe an hour for labor.
 
I have a similar problem with my wipers. The squirts work and the wipers cycle twice then they stop half way up the windshield. My wiper delay no longer works. It just runs the wipers on low speed when I try to use the delay. They never rest where they're supposed to no matter what setting I use them on.:mad:
 
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