wiper motor or switch?

[jiggiwdit]

The other day I was plowing with the wipers on and they stopped in the middle of the windshield and never moved again. How do you test whether its
the motor or switch?

Yes I checked the fuse.

Thanks.

Lee

 

[h2odrx]

I don't know how to test it but I've got both off the parts truck if ya need them?

 

[fuzzydog]

You don't state the vintage of your vehicle, but if it is 80's/90's a common culprit is the wiper relay which is attached with a screw to the park brake pedal bracket. My wipers were sketchy when I bought my truck and the PO had already ran some wires to make it work. I did some research and read on one of these forums that the wiper relay gets a smack everytime the parking brake is released (if the operator doesn't have a foot on the pedal to ease it back) and over the years this breaks some of the solder connections in the relay. I went on a prowl at the pick a parts and wouldn't you know it, for the first while every single Ford vehicle that uses that relay (and there are a lot of them - all the e-series, all the f-series, some cars) had already had that relay pulled. I finally found one, swapped it in and VIOLA! my wipers work like they should.

 

[icanfixall]

On my 89 crewcab it turned out one of the magnets in the motor came unglued from the motor body... It still ran but not very fast... Lots of noise too.. As posted.. Try the relay on the parking brake first... You really don't want to replace the motor... Thats a big job with scratches on the paint work in the end...

 

[ericboutin]

I keep Rain X handy because of this very problem. Mine are extremely slow...almost like they are running on air. Anyway sometimes they will just stop in the middle and I have to shut off and turn back on to get em parked. Mine don't make any noise though. Would the ole solder trick possibly fix this problem too.

 

[jiggiwdit]

I removed the plug from the motor and tested it with the switch. The switch seemed to be functioning properly. It looks like its the motor.

Lee

 

[wolf5842]

Do they all used that relay? Mine is a '94, is sometimes have to move the switch from 1 momentary position to the next to get to wipe. I've looked for a relay near the brake pedal, but I think that on my truck the only relay I found is on the passenger side kick panel. Any input would be great. No trying to steal thread.

 

[fuzzydog]

Wow! my favorite auto parts website, Rockauto.com, really let me down. I really like it because when you find your part, it has a cross-ref showing all other vehicles that it is used on as well, but I can't even find the wiper relay anywhere on there.
I have one in front of me and the key part numbers are 17c476 (if you google that you get about a million hits of people posting about ford wiper problems. There are 4 numbers in front of this and 2 letters after that probably have some significance but I haven't found out what - I tried 3 different ones and 2 worked (the 3rd was the one I took out of my truck)
It also has DO NOT DROP printed on it and there are 2 sets of wires coming out of it, one terminating in a red plug,the other in a black plug. If you take out your wiper switch, just trace the wires and you will see where it is screwed onto the parking brake pedal bracket.
Regarding your 94, I found this reference "Ok it shows the engineering number as F4TF-17D539-CA and the old part number as F4TZ-17C476-CA. This number has been superceeded to the YC2Z-17C476-AA"
Based on that, I would say that you have the same module. Your description of passenger side kick panel is pretty close to the parking brake pedal, so that might be it. EDIT: DOH! Passenger side kick panel, not driver - ignore this brain cramp moment comment.

Does it look like this? (Note the silver thing attached to the red plug is the actual wiper switch, it is not part of the relay. Here is the website I got that pic from. The author confirms that any 80's wiper relay will work, as long as it looks like this one. At some point they did change to having no wires coming out, and just having the vehicle harness plug right into it, but I don't know what year that was.

http://www.thecurb.org/Webazine/Pits/iwipers/Rev_Iwipers.htm

 

[riotwarrior]

The other day I was plowing with the wipers on and they stopped in the middle of the windshield and never moved again. How do you test whether its
the motor or switch?

Yes I checked the fuse.

Thanks.

Lee

Lee, sounds to me like the park sensor has come apart inside the gear box of the wiper motor assembly. There should be a plastic cover on the gear box, remove it carefully and see if the sensor has disengaged from the gear and sits static. This will cause the motor to stop in one location. (Don't ask me how I know)

 

[jiggiwdit]

Lee, sounds to me like the park sensor has come apart inside the gear box of the wiper motor assembly. There should be a plastic cover on the gear box, remove it carefully and see if the sensor has disengaged from the gear and sits static. This will cause the motor to stop in one location. (Don't ask me how I know)

Thanks for the info. I already went ahead and replaced the motor. It fixed the problem. $71.00 at NAPA ouch!

Lee

 

[Agnem]

Shoulda asked around. I got lots of extra wiper motors.

 

[jiggiwdit]

Shoulda asked around. I got lots of extra wiper motors.

If it wasnt one of those gotta have it right now moments I would have. Oh well its fixed.

Lee