Help! Front wipers acting weird

[lancer525]

Driving home last night, during the biggest rainstorm in the state in a couple of years, my wipers decided not to come on! The rear wiper worked fine (like that was a help) but the front wipers would not work at all.

Until... I drove over a crease in the pavement at the edge of a bridge where the asphalt of the interstate met the concrete of the bridge at the armor joint, and the slight bump jarred something and the wipers started working again. That tells me that there's a loose connection or short somewhere, but I have NO clue where to start looking, nor would I know what it was that I was looking at.

Can someone PLEASE help me figure out how to troubleshoot this?

 

[D Hook]

From past experiences with Ford products, the wiper switch on the stalk is usually the culprit. My Mustang wiper swtich used to have to be fiddled with to make the wipers turn on when in intermittent mode.

 

[lancer525]

Thanks for the speedy reply, DHook.

I don't think that's the situation, however. Everything else on the multifunction switch (the "stalk") works perfectly, and the wipers come on and off if I hit the right kind of bump in the road. That's what makes me think it's a short, or poor connection or something in the electrical system.

Do you know anything about the electrical system for the wipers? I need to figure out how to do this myself, because taking the thing to the bloody dealer is not an option.

It's almost certainly a short, a poor connection, or something loose in the wiring somewhere. But I have no idea how to look for it, nor where to even start looking.

 

[D Hook]

On mine, everything else worked fine also, just the intermittent wiper part, the part that you rotate to turn on the wipers to an interval setting, went bad. If I set it on an intermittent setting, it would make one swipe, then you'd have to tap the stalk to make them go again, or hit the right bump. But they DID work when you turned them to low or high so the switch was still somewhat functional.

Do you have a Digital Volt Meter?

I would start by checking the fuse. Should be noted in your owner's manual. Pulling the fuse and reseating it sometimes will make a better connection.

There should also be a relay for the wipers. From what I have read, getting to the relays can be tricky. Again, owners manual will help for locating.

Have you had experience trouble shooting electrical problems in the past?

Keep us posted and someone on this forum will be able to answer the questions a bit more I'm sure.

Good luck!

 

[lancer525]

On mine, everything else worked fine also, just the intermittent wiper part, the part that you rotate to turn on the wipers to an interval setting, went bad. If I set it on an intermittent setting, it would make one swipe, then you'd have to tap the stalk to make them go again, or hit the right bump. But they DID work when you turned them to low or high so the switch was still somewhat functional.

That makes sense. On mine, you turn the switch and nothing happened. On any setting. No wipers at all. No wiper wash, no intermittent, no wipers. But, when I hit the bump in the pavement on the interstate bridge, they started working. Until I hit another bump, after which they didn't. Hit a third bump, and they came back on again. That tells me it's a short or bad connection.

Do you have a Digital Volt Meter?

No, and if I did, I wouldn't have any idea how to use it, or what to do with it! Ha!

I would start by checking the fuse. Should be noted in your owner's manual. Pulling the fuse and reseating it sometimes will make a better connection.

I pulled over at a truck stop, and replaced the fuse entirely. Although the one that was in place didn't look burned through to me, I still replaced it. No result. I also looked at the fuse-breaker-relay thing in the panel under the hood, wiggled it, and got no reaction at all either.

There should also be a relay for the wipers. From what I have read, getting to the relays can be tricky. Again, owners manual will help for locating.

I'll have to give that one a go, and if I can't find it through the owner's manual, I'll either send an email to Ford, or post here to ask where it is.

Have you had experience trouble shooting electrical problems in the past?

Other than flipping a switch to see if the light comes on, you mean?

If the lights don't come on when a flip a switch, I know to check the fuse box in the closet. Beyond that, I have to call maintenance. Heh.

For a car, I don't have a bloody clue, so that's why I asked here.

Keep us posted and someone on this forum will be able to answer the questions a bit more I'm sure.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

Man, I'm going to need some luck.

I'm currently online looking for one of those Haynes manuals, and that might be of some help for the more obscure things.

Thanks again!

 

[BigRondo]

Some have reported a loose connection to the multifunction switch due to a strain on the connector from tilting the steering wheel.

Check out my write-up How To: Replace Multifunction Switch (Click Me!) for checking the connection.

Replacing the relays for the front wipers is very easy. There are 2, park/run & high/low. They are about $8 at NAPA.

This info is in the owner's manual. If you don't have an owner's manual, Dead Link Removed.

Check out this post for info on the fuses & relays related to the wipers & washers: Click Me!

Good luck with the fix and be sure to keep us posted!!

 

[lancer525]

Rondo: Thanks for the links, and I certainly will let everyone know what happens when I fix the thing. I'll get to it on my next day off!

Thank you!

 

[BigRondo]

Rondo: Thanks for the links, and I certainly will let everyone know what happens when I fix the thing. I'll get to it on my next day off!

Thank you!

You're welcome.