Wipers won't shut off

Electrical issues, both 12 volt and 120 volt
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Gort
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Wipers won't shut off

Post by Gort »

I have a 1990 model. This weekend while driving in intermittent rain I turned the wipers off and they just kept going. They now only work on high and low but will not stop unless I turn the vehicle off. Any idea's?
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skater
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by skater »

Gort wrote:I have a 1990 model. This weekend while driving in intermittent rain I turned the wipers off and they just kept going. They now only work on high and low but will not stop unless I turn the vehicle off. Any idea's?
My first guess is that the switch in the steering column is bad. I don't know how to change it - you may have to pull the steering wheel.

And easier thing to check would be to check the relay, in the fuse box for the van (under the left side of the dash). It's at least easier to swap.
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
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Planck
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by Planck »

There is a great youtube video on refurbishing the stalk swtich. Worked great to fix my 93. Try "econline wiper" or something along those lines.
Gort
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by Gort »

Mine has the switch on the dash, to the left of the Speedo, above the A/C vent. I went to the Ford house and they told me that switch is an obsolete part, they no longer stock it. I found one on Ebay and ordered it last night. I'll post up if that fixes it or not. Hopefully this won't turn into a continuing saga!
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skater
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by skater »

Gort wrote:Mine has the switch on the dash, to the left of the Speedo, above the A/C vent. I went to the Ford house and they told me that switch is an obsolete part, they no longer stock it. I found one on Ebay and ordered it last night. I'll post up if that fixes it or not. Hopefully this won't turn into a continuing saga!
D'oh! I forgot it was on the dash in my '91. Even better!
1991 Airstream B190 - bought, 2005; sold, 2011; bought 2017
1995 Airstream Excella 30' trailer

WBCCI #13270, Washington, DC Unit
Gort
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by Gort »

Latest update...

Went to the Ford house to order a new switch. It is now an obsolete Ford part, they no longer can get it. So, I found one on Ebay and ordered it. Waited about a week for it to come in, got it today. Went out and swapped the old for the new and...

it's not the switch.

Bummer. I'm going to search the Ford Truck/Van forums for the E350 and see what they say. Worst case is I'll wire in a new toggle switch from Radio Shack and just have a one speed wiper.

More to come
Gort
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by Gort »

Still looking into this. Changing to a simple toggle switch was more complicated than I thought. So, I scrapped that idea. I believe the issue is in the Wiper Motor Governor. This is a black box that is part of the harness that connects the switch to the main harness. There are three hot wires that are associated with this whole assembly. I did manage to isolate the one hot wire that feeds the intermittent controller and cut it and terminated both ends. So now I have high and low speed wipers and most important, I can shut them off.
Ford no longer carries the harness or Governor so I'm on the wrecking yard search.
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lido14co
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by lido14co »

Here's a link to a dyi repair
http://www.shoforum.com/index.php?threa ... le.120313/


Cliff
Gort
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Re: Wipers won't shut off

Post by Gort »

Thanks for showing this. I'm staying at what I mentioned above for now. I just fixed another problem with my ignition switch.
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