intermittent wiper problem

[Four0Sport]

last winter i noticed that whenever i would use the intermittent setting on my wipers the blades would randomly stop on the middle of the windshield, i would then have to mess around with the delay knob to get them to rest at the bottom of the windshield. one day the problem went away and everything was fine. well about a week ago it started back up again, and its driving me insane, its funny that didnt start till the temperature started to drop again. ive messed with GMs before where the module for the delay setting went out. not sure how Ford delay wipers work. anyone with a similar problem or seen this before? thanks in advance.

 

[TheJackal]

This could be a problem with the Multifunction switch (the turn signal/wiper/washer/hi beam stalk). It's usually $60 at an auto parts store. I changed mine and it's relatively easy to do.

 

[Joe Dirt]

you can try popping off the end cap, CAREFULLY remove the ribbed grip, the spring, and don't lose the cotter pin. Clean up the connections in there, re-grease it, and reassemble. If it doesn't work, your switch is probably toast.

 

[Four0Sport]

i dont beleive it is the switch that is causing this.. every function on the switch works, its just the wipers themselves that get stuck in the middle of a wipe, i was leaning more towards the motor or something that controls the delay feature of the wipers. thanks for the info though.

 

[Bills98Explorer]

i dont beleive it is the switch that is causing this.. every function on the switch works, its just the wipers themselves that get stuck in the middle of a wipe, i was leaning more towards the motor or something that controls the delay feature of the wipers. thanks for the info though.

Check your owners manual on location.Replace both the front wiper relays.

 

[rileyrs]

i dont beleive it is the switch that is causing this.. every function on the switch works, its just the wipers themselves that get stuck in the middle of a wipe, i was leaning more towards the motor or something that controls the delay feature of the wipers. thanks for the info though.

hey did you ever sort out your wiper problem, my 93 explorer is doing the exact same thing you described and im not sure where to start

 

[rileyrs]

last winter i noticed that whenever i would use the intermittent setting on my wipers the blades would randomly stop on the middle of the windshield, i would then have to mess around with the delay knob to get them to rest at the bottom of the windshield. one day the problem went away and everything was fine. well about a week ago it started back up again, and its driving me insane, its funny that didnt start till the temperature started to drop again. ive messed with GMs before where the module for the delay setting went out. not sure how Ford delay wipers work. anyone with a similar problem or seen this before? thanks in advance.

hey did you ever sort out your wiper problem, my 93 explorer is doing the exact same thing you described and im not sure where to start

 

[Four0Sport]

my wipers havnt acted up in over a year, knock on wood. i did remove the relays, clean them, and put them back in. not sure if this helped or not.

 

[rileyrs]

my wipers havnt acted up in over a year, knock on wood. i did remove the relays, clean them, and put them back in. not sure if this helped or not.

thanks, ill try that and see what happens

 

[north44]

I had a similar problem with the wipers on my truck - sometimes during the intermittent feature, the wipers would not "park" in the down position when in use, or when turned off.

Funny enough, when the wipers were constantly "on", during either of the "low" or "high" speed settings, they would park properly when turned off.

Wouldn't hurt to clean up the multifunction switch (which I did) or to check/change the relays (which I also did) - the solution, for my truck at least, was when I changed the wiper motor - that's what ultimately solved this problem for me.

I believe the control for the "park" position is located inside the wiper motor on Fords, unlike GM units that have a separate module that controls these functions - so there may not be a simple fix.

 

[bobb289]

Reply to: Intermittent wiper problem

I had the same problem on my '97 Ranger. Hi and Lo worked fine but when in intermittent mode the wipers would stop in the middle of the windshield. Also, the blades wouldn't park properly in any mode. I replaced the motor but that didn't help. Finally someone suggested checking the "Wiper Run/Park" relay and that finally did the trick.

 

[rileyrs]

I had the same problem on my '97 Ranger. Hi and Lo worked fine but when in intermittent mode the wipers would stop in the middle of the windshield. Also, the blades wouldn't park properly in any mode. I replaced the motor but that didn't help. Finally someone suggested checking the "Wiper Run/Park" relay and that finally did the trick.

which relay is that, i still havent fixed the problem on me explorer and i would for sure like to try that,
thanks
riley

 

[ddarko]

which relay is that, i still havent fixed the problem on me explorer and i would for sure like to try that,
thanks
riley

That did the trick for me too, except in my case it was the hi/low relay. It's located in the power distribution box and looks like a black cube (#45A in my X). Might be slightly different for your model.

 

[gluciano]

Mine has a similar problem. Mine will will wipe at uneven times, randomly when it is in the intermittent mode.

 

[admutaali]

I noticed that you posted a reply regarding faulty wipers. You suggested popping of the end cap and cleaning the connections to the switch. The end cap of my wiper arm dispenses wiper fluid. Is it still ok to pop it off? My problem is that my wipers turn on but you have to catch them in the down position to turn them off the intermittent feature is no longer working.

 

[ddarko]

I noticed that you posted a reply regarding faulty wipers. You suggested popping of the end cap and cleaning the connections to the switch. The end cap of my wiper arm dispenses wiper fluid. Is it still ok to pop it off? My problem is that my wipers turn on but you have to catch them in the down position to turn them off the intermittent feature is no longer working.

Yea you can still pop it off as it's only a hollow plastic cap. It's actually the entire switch that moves inward to dispense wiper fluid, the end cap is just where you press. Once you've got it off you'll see a single phillips screw inside (be careful when removing the screw and switch assembly as it's spring loaded and tiny pieces tend to fly out).

 

[BigRondo]

I have the same problem with my wipers on my '02 Ex. They do not park at all and only work correctly on high or low. The run/park relay and the hi/lo relay are the same so I switched them and the problem remains. Any thoughts? Maybe the motor or the MFS? Thanks

 

[ddarko]

Suggest swapping a relay from a system that isn't related to the front wipers at all (rear wiper for instance). This way you can rule it out completely instead of wondering if one or both relays are going bad.

If you haven't tried cleaning the inside of the MFS yet I would try that next. I think the motor is fine if the wipers work on high. I know, nothing new here but unfortunately that's all I've got =T

 

[BigRondo]

Suggest swapping a relay from a system that isn't related to the front wipers at all (rear wiper for instance). This way you can rule it out completely instead of wondering if one or both relays are going bad.

If you haven't tried cleaning the inside of the MFS yet I would try that next. I think the motor is fine if the wipers work on high. I know, nothing new here but unfortunately that's all I've got =T

ddarko, Thanks. I will check and see if i can swap another relay. Then I guess I'll attack the MFS.

 

[BigRondo]

I replaced both the Run/Park & Hi/Lo relays ($8 a piece @ NAPA). That didn't do the trick. Going to look at cleaning the MFS. If that doesn't do it maybe I'll replace the MFS before replacing the motor. Thanks for all the help with this issue. Hopefully I can get it fixed.