*Help* Windshield Wipers Turn On / Off As They Please !!!

[4Gas$]

2009 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with 98,000 miles.
Just bought the car recently. Everything was fine, out of nowhere
the windshield wipers began to turn on and off as they please!

Anyone ever has this problem? I think I may have broke the
control arm / switch (I pulled it apart thinking the switch was
sticking, but the wipers kept on working even with that apart!

Could this be a bad ground? I had to pull the fuse to make them
stop! They would start, go fast, then delay mode, then maybe stop
for a while, then start again! I can’t control them or make them stop,
but I can make the windshield spray function work.

These wipers working intermittently is driving me nuts! HELP !!!

[mustangmike6996]

Kind of on topic but something to keep in mind for sure....

We had an instructor in college who brought his newer GM 1500 truck in because the wipers wouldn't "Park" (come to a full rest seated at the wiper tray) the students working on it found excess grease in the motor where the electrical contacts were, causing an open. So the vehicle would not know where the wipers were. Looking for the wipers to be parked and they would intermittently move a bit then return to somewhere on the windshield.

If I were you, I would look into the switch you pulled apart, you said it didn't do it prior to taking it apart and now it does. That is almost always the first place to look. If you think its a ground issue, you can break the wiper motor bolts free, wiggle the motor and tighten the bolts. Most wiper motors are grounded to the chassis by the metal body. Usually a bad ground will not allow the wiper motor to work though.

Are the wipers controlled thru a switch and wiring or do they go thru the Body Control Module? Is the switch a switch to ground or to power or to control a relay etc? If its a "simple" circuit, you can trace wires when you are having the issue to see where and why the voltage or ground is coming from. If you can turn the key to the ON-RUN position and wiggle dash wires or wiper motor wires to see if the wipers come on, and lightly wiggle/tap on the switch you can tell if you have a short. Im willing to get the switch is shot and rattles over bumps causing a short and activating the wiper circuit

[BigWheelinBubba]

Inspect the wiper motor and connector for signs of corrosion and/or moisture. If any corrosion or moisture are found, and the wipers exhibit an intermittent uncommanded operation, replace the wiper motor and connector/pig tail. I had this problem with my '02 CVPI

[4Gas$]

You guys are spot on!

I was just informed by others as well that it should be a
"wet wiper motor" - replace it & I should be good to go.

[4Gas$]

*** I’m about to shoot my car !!! ***


So, I installed my new (rebuilt wiper motor),
and nothing! It does not work.

Remember I said I tried to play / fix the switch
before I knew it was the motor, and yes the motor
had water in it. The fuse appears to be good.

Before the motor replacement, I could only control
the spray function, now I don’t even have that. Is the
switch now bad after I messed with it? How can I test
the system?

I was thinking I needed to now check the wire harness
to the wiper motor to see if I had power. I'll be doing
that in about an hour.

[4Gas$]

Well I seemed to have fixed it – kinda.

I left the power & switch turned on. I moved
the wiring harness & the wipers turned on!

Now note the wiring harness plug was always firmly
connected, snapped into place, I couldn’t pull it off.

Here is the problem, the wipers only work now on
3 speeds, 1 delay @ 25 seconds, low speed @ 3
seconds & high speed, that isn’t very fast. I can’t
remember, but I don’t think this is how it was.

Not ideal, but it will have to do. I am not tearing
this thing apart to get it any better!

What did dad always say? – “Leave well enough alone.”