Hey guys- I had my 72 Skylark Custom in the shop for some suspension work, an had the wiper motor replaced as well with a YOne unit. I now have a problem with the wipers coming on by themselves when the car is running. Sometimes they stay on, so I shut it down and they are off, and other times they seem to creep up a inch or so, and then retract! Now- Aside from the motor being installed, I installed a stereo and kickpanel speakers afterwards-as well as a new woodgrain sticker set requiring the cluster to b e pulled forward-so I was messing around under the dash, but tried to be gentle!Any advise on what would cause this type of intermittent problem? I'm thinking ground, but don't know how to trace it-or have the equipment for that matter! Looking under the dash when installing the stereo, I did find a black wire to the drivers side of the steering column, with a metal ring at the end, just hanging......I can't figure out from my manuals what it is. Connected? Also- should be fasten seat bely and generator idiot lights have a very dim glow with the lights on when running with the age of the car? Only with the lights on..... Thanks! Dave
bad motor Sounds like you got a bad wiper motor(internal short). whenever we see a wiper motor that runs bt itself, it turns out to be a bad motor. Wiper motors have their own circuitry built in and if the board gets cracked or a piece of solder flashing is bouncing around on it, you get the same(phantom wiper operation).
I can't help with the wiper problem.... but I'd be willing to bet alot of dough that the black wire is a ground wire. Any black wire with a ring on the end that I've ever seen in a car has been a ground wire. Find a metal spot under your dash and bolt the wire to it. Ya never know... it might have something to do with the wipers too. o No:
a good ground on wiper mtr is essential,you might double gnd it with a jumper wire,see if that make a diff.
I vote short, but check the ground first. Always do the easiest and most obvious thing first. Speaking of things going on by themselves, my 'Larks maplight only worked once a year on a ski trip to Michigan. Weird stuff.
has anyone considered the possibility that the moror itself is defective? It is very possible that the park pawl on this motor is not opening correctly, causing the motor to intermittently turn the motor back on. When the switch is turned off, the parking switch, inside the motor, allows the motor to drive the wipers to the parking position, then pulls them down below the hood. If this switch is not properly opening, the result will be a motor that runs intermittently, depending on when the switch closes. Since the problem appears to have started when the motor was replaced, this would be a good place to start. Ray
Motor? Ray- Is there a way to test the motor? That would really annoy me-that would be two YOne defects in one order! Thanks! Dave
So, maybe it's three years since this thread was posted to, but here it goes. Now I have a wiper motor that runs even when the wiper switch is in the off position, but only when the ignition is on. This is the first time this wiper motor has ever worked too. I took it apart years ago and cleaned and lubed cams and the innards. I wonder if I ruined it? Anyway, I also saw a little smoke come out of it. Good huh? I now have it completely unplugged. This does not sound much like a ground issue does it? More like a motor malfunction. Anyone opinions? Anyone ever get one of these? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/68-6...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
Same problem, never found a ground problem and left it at that. If I turned them on they would stay on, even in the off position. They would also sometimes do that half hop that drives you crazy. However, when I would leave the car off for awhile, the would stay off and retracted so I have never turned them on since. My fix was don't drive in the rain and spend the money on speed parts. If there is a cheap alternative, then I am in.
Ground is an important issue with wiper motors but so is the order in which the wires are put on. Supposedly fool-proof but I've seen local fools botch the job. Another issue might be the wrong motor. Many vendors list motors with demand pump. These are correct for the big cars, but not the A-body. Internal circuits completely different but external appearances almost identical. Ken, I put a motor on mine a few years ago when I converted from non-park wipers. Directions stated seeing smoke at initial install was "normal"! Go figure.
Yeah, well smoke concerns me a little more now than maybe it would have 20 years ago when it was a daily driver. :error: I think this unit is the original unit that came with the car. Plus I have my original engine harness. The freakin thing just runs in the off position. I heard some weird, vague frying-like sound I could swear. Not like a normal wiper motor sound. Anyway, what do you think about that ebay link? The guy has good feedback. Holy crap Steve, that reminds me, I still need to paypal you. ou: I didn't get the seat belts yet but I assume they will come soon. Nothing like going completely 100% off topic huh?
Vendor sounds like he knows what works/doesn't work. A phone call is always easy to do. Canada Post tracking info. confirms seatbelts arrived in the US yesterday, in posession of USPS. Not sure where or how long to get to you. Another item to keep this thread related: While I made the conversion in my car from non-park to hidden park I had a small problem, similar to this thread. A car with non-hidden park wipers has an extra short intermediate harness under the dash, at the wiper switch. Wiring configuration change, including the ground. Wiper motor was on even though switch was off. All kinds of wierd things until I found the issue in the chassis manual.
I always had hidden park wiper motor. Is the switch different for hidden park motors vs. other motors> I would think not. I have the three position switch. Off, low and high.
Same: switch. Different: harness at switch, motor, wiper arms, wiper linkage, bottom stainless trim on windshield,
First, my apologies for the delayed reply. To answer the questions posed here, something to consider is that many of these circuits provided 12 volts to the motor at all times, and grounded the motor at specific times to control speed or pulsing. It is also VERY possible that many of these models simply turned the wipers off at the bottom of the stroke to park the wipers, where others used a separate circuit to park the wipers below the hood line. Either way, the motor used a separate switch to control the motor after the driver turned the switch off. If I had a schematic for this situation, I can provide troubleshooting tips using wiring colors and switch positions. I used to teach vehicle electronics in trade schools, and am skilled at making troubleshooting easy. Let me know, even using PM or my email address: barrettra@bellsouth.net Ray
The black wire with the ring on the end is from the wiper switch. That wire grounds the switch on the cluster. If it's off or intermittently grounding to the dash, it will make the wipers stay on all the time. Connect the black wire back to one of the screws holding the wiper switch to the plastic instrument panel. make sure the ground wire doesnt touch the metal dash
jason and barrett are right from what i learned. the switch works by grounding the motor. you have a loose ground some where and if it starts and stops on its own, then the ground is grounding itself and then falls off. i am no mechanic.
Sorry I re-started this thread and some of you might think that the original thread poster is the one with the problem still. I have to assume that because his post was from 2006 that his problem is solved. Rather than start a new thread I figured I'd find an existing thread with similar issue and post to it. So, my issue is slightly different. Mine's not intermittent. Mine runs ALL the time, even if wiper switch is off, while ignition is on only. With ignition off, it does not run. My switch is brand new. What is the black wire with ring on the end that is being spoken of? I see nothng like that. The only wires that go to the motor is a flat connector with about 3 or 4 pins. No single wire with a ring at the end. o No:
Hey Ken! There is a black wire that attaches to the metal part of the wiper switch. There are three screws that screw the wiper switch to the plastic instrument panel. One of those screws should have a brass washer with a spade connector. The black wire attaches to the spade connector. If the black wire is touching the metal part of the dash, the wipers will run all the time.
