Crazy Saturn Wipers...

[actionstan]

Hello All,

This issue is with my 99 Saturn SL1 with 150k miles.

The wipers are behaving very strangely.. I cant pinpoint if this would be related to the Multifunction switch, the Wiper Motor, or the wiring in between, I am also not sure where to start looking.

The issue is that the Wipers will randomly come on, do one full up and down, then stop.. no buttons or switches pressed, just randomly when driving. Also when I have the wipers set to intermittent instead of making one full up and down cycle, it will randomly make 2-3 up and down cycles..

Any thoughts on what to test/where to look/how to fix?

Thanks all!

 

[HerrStig]

My bet would be the "auto parking circuit" in the wiper motor. Time for a junkyard motor. It's probably a standard GM part.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
My bet would be the "auto parking circuit" in the wiper motor. Time for a junkyard motor. It's probably a standard GM part.


Thanks.. this is kind of what I suspect.. I have beat/wiggled/pushed the multifunction switch and cannot get it to replicate the issue.

 

[Chris142]

My wifes tahoe did all kinds if weird things when the battery went bad.how is your battery?

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
My wifes tahoe did all kinds if weird things when the battery went bad.how is your battery?


Just had it load tested at Advance Auto Parts, it got a clean bill of health. Had to make sure it was ok for the upcoming cold weather!

 

[mattwithcats]

From 91 to 2000, the control circuitry was integrated into the motor.

From 00 to 02 it was a separate box. However, this box is no longer available, available as a JY part only...

A new, reman, or JY motor from a 91-early 00 is what you want,
Or
A JY late 00-02 motor with the separate control box.

 

[Newreet]

Replacing the wiper motor assembly on the Saturn S-Series cars is not a quick easy job. It is bolted with nuts under the dashboard panel against the firewall. Getting it out from under the cowl is very tricky.

 

[eljefino]

I had one of these. Previous owner put a zip-tie on the fuse so one could reach over into the passenger footwell and pull the "tail" to disable the wipers.

As said your options are to replace the motor or live with it. The third, if you're exceedingly frugal, is to put a toggle switch inline between its fuse and the motor. Activate the toggle when you think you want wipers then use the factory switch to fine tune the mode.

 

[Gokhan]

Watch the 1983 movie Christine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O08w8CegEeg