Windshield wiper motor maybe bad?

[mweidner]

Having an issue on my truck and I am not sure where the problem is. Every once in a while my windshield wipers will just not work, they work 95% of the time but sometimes just all of a sudden they will stop.

A couple things I have noticed, when they stop I can hear a click every time they should run, sounds like it is coming from inside the truck, sounds kind of like a switch.

Also a couple of times when it happened I pulled off to the side of the road, turned the truck off and then started it back up and it worked fine, but then again sometimes that doesn't help at all.

What do you guys think? Could it be a bad motor, or do you think it is more of an electrical problem. I have a salvage yard up by my house with a few rangers in it that I could get the motor from and replace it, but I am not sure how to test to see if that is actually the problem.

Thanks

 

[Shran]

I had the same problem with my Nova. Turned out to be the motor. I did go through three more motors before I got one that worked - one junkyard one and two from Checker. The housing on the motor was cracked and it would short out. I guess it must be a common problem because the ones I got from Checker had the housings welded.

 

[Simple_serf]

Dude...

My book shows it as Fuse #2 in the box... And the only things that control it are the Multifunction Switch and an Internal Governor. Knowing that truck, I'd say check all the wiring real good... Gotta love what that salt does to electrical connections.

When it happens, check to see if you have voltage at the motor.

Paul

 

[mweidner]

I have been trying to catch it to check the voltage at the motor, but the last two times it happened by the time I got home it was working again.

I guess its time to start carrying a multimeter in the truck with me

 

[srteach]

This happened to me in a 71 International (which I still own). The click was a thermal circuit breaker under the dash. A hot side wire had rubbed through the insulation, grounded itself, and overheated the circuit breaker. I traced the wire, wrapped it in electrical tape, and it has been good for the last 15 years.

With a computer controlled recent model truck, a ground short WILL cause major problems.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I had a similar problem with one of my trucks. IIRC there's a ground that goes to a bolt on the firewall, I pulled the ground and the bolt, cleaned everything REAL good, then reassembled with some dielectric grease, solved the problem.

 

[mweidner]

Good idea on checking the ground and cleaning it up, have to say, I am hoping it is something like that and that it isn't something that is under the dash.

Also going to make sure I can get to the wires going to the motor and that I keep a multimeter there so I can test it next time it decides to die.

 

[Simple_serf]

Please tell me you didn't leave your multimeter in the sable....

I thought that car taught you a lesson...ALWAYS keep your electrical tester handy!

I was looking at my wiper motor tonight, while Leigh and I were working on the truck, and on mine, it looks pretty easy for crap to get down to that plug on the motor...the one with about 4 or 5 wires going to it. I would at least check that for corrosion.

 

[mweidner]

Cool, that is my project for tuesday night most likely. And no, the multimeter didn't go with the sable, it came out the same time as all three marine batteries that were running the car came out