C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

Wiper Gremlin - NEED HELP

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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 03:08 AM
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Default Wiper Gremlin - NEED HELP

I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out what's wrong with my wipers. I have a 1988 coupe that I got a little while ago, and for some unholy reason the wipers refuse to work right. Whenever I try to use them, they only go up by a few inches and refuse to budge past that. I've replaced the wiper switch in the door, replaced the motor, and even the control board that goes on the motor, and it's still doing the same thing. Has anyone ever encountered this before? I guess it's something to do with the wiring but I have no idea what wires could be causing it, and I'm not the best at reading schematics.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 02:26 PM
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When you replaced the motor did you make sure all the linkage moved freely with it disconnected. Meaning you could move the wipers along the windshield by hand. Mine worked intermittently (not because of switch position) and I found the weather connector was the problem.

HTH,

Joe K
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 02:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Joe K
When you replaced the motor did you make sure all the linkage moved freely with it disconnected. Meaning you could move the wipers along the windshield by hand. Mine worked intermittently (not because of switch position) and I found the weather connector was the problem.

HTH,

Joe K
Yeah, I tested the linkage and made sure everything was moving. I think it's related to the park switch in the motor somehow. I was able to get the wipers working on high only when I took that part out, but with the switch in the motor only works on low and pulse, it just refuses to move more than an inch or two.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 04:07 PM
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Check to make sure you have the connector at the bottom hooked up.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 04:20 PM
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I had wipers on one of my other GM vehicles that made crazy they would run stop/stall restart and even not turn off once in a while until I put a redundant ground to the screw that was above the ground tab of the front cover
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by s carter
I had wipers on one of my other GM vehicles that made crazy they would run stop/stall restart and even not turn off once in a while until I put a redundant ground to the screw that was above the ground tab of the front cover
Is the motor grounded by the screw? I thought it had a ground on the bottom.

Originally Posted by ChumpVette
Check to make sure you have the connector at the bottom hooked up.
All three connectors are in solid.
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Old Jul 25, 2020 | 05:40 PM
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It's normally grounded by the harnesses but a friend's father who had been a GM mechanic since the 60s saw me in my frustration came over while I was chasing it. Put a test light to the case were the tab was and it lit up. He then put a Alligator from screw/cover tab everything worked. He said make a connection from tab to good ground, it worked till the day I sold the car.

Give it a try if it corrects the problem great then you can make sure your factory ground system is clean and functioning. Or do like the 17 year old me did.
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Old Jul 26, 2020 | 12:40 AM
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So I was checking the wire diagram, does the motor have two separate grounds? I know the black wires are ground, does the control module get a separate ground from the motor? The motor seems to work mechanically, it's the switch that's having an issue. Would a bad ground in the module prevent the park switch from working right?
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Old Jul 26, 2020 | 09:06 AM
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Park switches get Gummy with dried out Grease and when that happens in my own case with my the wipers didn't want to turn off.
For some Reason there is a Ground Contact between the Front Cover and Motor, The problem I was having before on the older Car a C-3 corvette was the wiper was coming up to a run position and Dancing like 2" Strokes. So we spayed a bit of Penetrating PB Buster inside (not WD 40 that dries out and becomes Sticky) and added the ground.
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Old Jul 27, 2020 | 02:32 AM
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Alright, I did as thorough a check as I could on the motor and such. Ground has no resistance, goes back to negative fine. I did a test on the wires going into the park switch and got no response, so there might be a break in there, it's the only thing I can think of. I tore into that corner of the engine bay to check the wires, got as far as the ECU harness but I wasn't ablt to actually disconnect the plug, it's way too tight. I didn't see any breaks along the wire bundle, though. Next weekend I'm going to try digging into the door or under the dash for the wires and see if I can fine out where they are. Does anyone know how the wire harness runs for the wipers? Does it go under the dash at all, or straight to the door?
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