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How to: END ALL 98-01 REAR WIPER PROBLEMS!

I will post the diagrams as soon as I figure out how.
 



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Circuit diagrams



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I found the diagrams and have reposted them here (OBVSLY). The gray areas on the modified circuit are where changes have been made. The 4-wire motor is replaced with the 3-wire motor and the relay is replaced with a jumper wire or jumper block.
 






I beleive your rear wiper circuit is controlled by two relays. It sounds like you bypassed one relay when you tapped into the amp wiring. Also, current through the black/light blue wire is controlled by a relay. It would not be continuous. It would "pulse" as you call it. Both the 3-wire motor circuit and the 4-wire motor circuit use 15 amp fuses. Probably not a good idea to be using a wire on a 25 amp fuse for this circuit.

I think I understand how the 3-wire motor works now. The 3-wire motor circuit uses only one relay. The relay allows a current "pulse" through the violet/yellow wire into the motor and out through the black wire to ground. This causes an internal switch to move from the "park" position to the "run" position. This allows a continuous current on the brown/white wire to flow into the motor and through the black wire to ground (actually it's "pulsed" internally because of the internal switch). The wiper goes up. When the relay stops the current pulse through the violet/yellow wire, the motor's internal switch moves back to the "park" position, the current from the brown/white wire stops, and the wiper goes down to the same position as being parked, because on this window design, it has no need to lower itself off the glass.

If go back to your original wiring configuration, check your fuses to make sure they are all the right amps and in the right place, and your relays are functional, I think this might work. I am assuming your 98 Explorer has the same circuit components in the same positions as my 99. You should verify everything yourself.

1. Disconnect the negative battery terminal and remove the rear wiper down relay from the battery junction box under the hood (relay slot #8). The rear wiper up relay (relay slot #10) will act as the single relay from the 2002-2003 rear wiper circuit.

2. Connect the violet/yellow wire of the 3-wire motor to the white/orange wire that previously went to the 4-wire motor. The violet/yellow wire that previously went to the 4-wire motor will not be used.

3. Connect the black wire of the 3-wire motor to the black wire that previously went to the 4-wire motor.

4. Connect the brown/white wire of the 3-wire motor to the black/light blue wire that previously went to the 4-wire motor. With the wiper-down relay removed, this wire will no longer get "pulsed" current. We will set it up to get continuous current.

5. The empty rear wiper down relay slot has five terminals - two horizontal and three vertical. The two horizontal terminals are #3 (the other end of the black/light blue wire) and #5 (a series of white/violet wires that connect to the 15 amp fuse in mini-fuse slot #8). Connect a jumper wire or cotter pin between terminals #3 and #5.

6. Reconnect the negative battery terminal, turn the key, and turn on the rear wiper.

If it works, you should make arrangements at some point to replace the jumper wire or pin with a more solid connection between the black/light blue wire and the white/violet wire inside the battery junction box.

If it does not work, then I have thoroughly wasted your time and mine. On paper, it looks like it would work.

I'm curious if anyone ever tried this to see if it works like in theory, if so this is definitely something I'd be interested in doing
 






I'm curious if anyone ever tried this to see if it works like in theory, if so this is definitely something I'd be interested in doing

I was hoping the OP (Willcall) would check out my solution and diagrams and tell me if they made sense or if they might work. I don't know if he got his rear wiper working or not. My understanding of circuits has limits but I thought I was on to something. My diagrams have disappeared because the thread was pretty much forgotten about since 2012. I'll try to find them and display them again.

Thanks.
 






This is really a great project! I would love to do this to my '98X which I already shaved the rear useless wiper off. I got a little lost following the explanation without the diagrams to help follow how the circuit works. A couple questions come to my mind about this mod. Are the wiper switches the same electrical functions in the circuit although they might look different on some years? The GEM function wiring output for the wiper the same? These two questions appear to be the biggest obstacles. I'm really hoping this tread comes back alive with a complete solution to a common problem.:)
 






How'd this turn out? Would love to do it
 






Would love to hear more about this mod so I can fix my 01 EB. Would it be worth going ahead and locating the hatch glass with wiper? Any leads for NC junkyards with Explorers?
 






I was hoping the OP (Willcall) would check out my solution and diagrams and tell me if they made sense or if they might work. I don't know if he got his rear wiper working or not. My understanding of circuits has limits but I thought I was on to something. My diagrams have disappeared because the thread was pretty much forgotten about since 2012. I'll try to find them and display them again.

Thanks.

Hey jc. I'm looking for an 03 sport glass and wiper right now. I was looking at your posts, and I also think you're on the right track. I have a background in electronics, and your theory on the different wiper systems and how they work is pretty spot on. As soon as I get my hands on the window and wiper combo I'll let you know how it works out. I didn't have the 03 diagrams until the other day and after comparing them with the one for my 99 I think it should work.
 












Well, I finally picked up an 03 Sport window/wiper combo. Got it installed and wired up today following jcevans2's wiring diagram. Wait for it... wait for it... it works! By removing the relay and jumping terminals 3 & 5 it eliminates the problem Willcall was having with the wiper stopping in the middle of it's cycle. The wiper still makes 2 passes each time because the GEM is still pulsing twice, but I can live with that. There is also a a slight little twitch when you turn the wiper off. When you turn it off it returns to the park position, then comes back up about 1". Again, not a show stopper, but I'll try to figure it out. But over all it works pretty well. I'll try to post a video when I get some time.
 






Bravo great job!!! Finally somebody dared to take this on again :) I been busy and still really want to do this mod and now I definitely will. I would love to see some pictures of the installation and the video. I think the tiny gremlin is in the GEM difference (pulse). Thank you for taking this on and reporting back your success!!!!

:salute:
 






Here's a couple of pics. 03 window, 99 Mounty. Video to follow.

DSCF1303_zps31da8fde.jpg

DSCF1305_zpsad8e762a.jpg
 






There is also a a slight little twitch when you turn the wiper off. When you turn it off it returns to the park position, then comes back up about 1". Again, not a show stopper, but I'll try to figure it out. But over all it works pretty well. I'll try to post a video when I get some time.



I have an idea for the little twitch when the wiper is turned off. The GEM for the 99 is looking for a ground signal on the violet/yellow wire when the wiper is turned off. I'm thinking that in the absence of that ground the GEM is trying to "un-park" the wiper when the power is removed. Since this motor doesn't have to park it's just jumping up a bit from the GEM signal. When the wiper down relay was removed and jumpered the ability of the GEM to park the wiper was removed. When the jumper was installed it puts +12v on the black/lt blue wire and with no down signal the motor twitches up briefly. Like I said before the twitch is very slight and probably wouldn't bother most people, but if I can fix it all the better. I'm going to try a couple of things and report back. I'll let you know. :thumbsup:
 






Albi1cnobi1, thanks for the pictures and your replies. It inspired me to go to my local yard today and pick up the rear window. Being rusty on Junk Yard's etiquette, I called first about the rear window and assumed it had the rear wiper attached to the glass. I was wrong, and it was my error to not ask about the wiper on the phone. In my case the wiper was already separated from the rear glass and an extra charge. The wiper arm itself, also was missing along with the motor plastic cover.

Bottom line for others folks is to be sure the rear glass price includes the wiper and all pieces for the retrofit to avoid surprises. I'm still happy but will likely have to wait until things thaw out up here in the North for the installation. I believe you're right about that GEM giving an extra pulse and it won't bother me just the way you have it now. :)






IMG_3400aa.jpg


IMG_3405aa.jpg


IMG_3402.jpg
 






That sucks. I lucked out. Everywhere I went or called the window was just the glass. No wiper, wiper housing, wiring, or lift supports. I was getting prices around $225-250 for just the glass. I went on car-part.com and got a hit at a junk yard outside of Philly(about 60 miles from me). I called and they had one still in the truck for $150. When I asked how much the wiper was they told me anything attached to the glass came with it for that price. So I got the glass, wiper, wiper housing, wiring, lift supports and wiper arm. Basically everything to bolt it right on and splice it in. I didn't see what year your truck is, but the hinges on the 03 glass have slightly larger studs on them than the 99 hinges and didn't fit the holes in the lift gate, so I just swapped the hinges. It looks from your picture that you didn't get the wiring pigtails either. If you can, go back and get them. It will make your job a lot easier. Mine is working great aside from the glitches I mentioned. I'm working on the little blip at the end when the wiper is turned off. I think I have a fix, but I haven't had a chance to look into it yet because of work.
 






Albi1cnobi1, you did indeed get a nice deal on a complete unit. The yard had already cut the very top part of the glass wiring harness but I can splice into it no problem. The truck is already gone, so I can't get the rest of the pigtail. Thanks for the tip about the hinge swap. I'm just curious about my missing wiper arm I need to replace. Do you happen to know if the original arm from my explorer which is an '98 (same as your '99) would fit on the '03 wiper stud? Somewhere here I have it but just eyeballing your glass pictures, I think the '98 arm is physically too long. Looking forward to your video when time permits.

Edit: I found the wiper arm online. It's not the same as the '98. Dorman makes a replacement and it's under $20. The part number is 42651.
 






I'm going to try to get the video done in the next couple of days. And no the 98 arm won't work, it is too long. I found replacement arms from Dorman on pep boys, advance, and autozones web sites all for around $18-20. Shouldn't be too hard to find one.
 






Thanks Albi1cnobi1, we must have been typing at the same time:)
 






I thought I would post these up to help anyone considering this mod.
98-01 wiring
98-01wiperwiring_zps299cbcd7.jpg

03 wiring
03wiperwiring_zpsee5c1733.jpg
 



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One more.

98-01wiperwiringchanges_zpsb1989176.jpg
 






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