Intermittent Wipers

There used to be a circuit control board mounted on the motor that was problematic...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc6e2Tmar68

http://repairpal.com/windshield-wipers-may-fail-due-to-faulty-wiper-motor-control-board-404

Thanks solar eagle , as soon as it warms up here I'll give it a try.Right now its 13 degrees and windy.

oilcan13

<...13 degrees...> Oh, Fahrenheit. OK. 13 degrees Celsius is not a freezing temperature on this planet.

LOL!!

How true!!

When I came back to the UK in April 1966 after almost 2 years in Singapore, 13°C was considered by me to be freezing!!! In fact ANY temperature below 35°C needed warm clothing!! It took 2 winters to get me back to handling such "low"temperatures, then I was back in the F.E. again!!!

So it can depend upon circumstances and point of view.......

This illustrates clearly how few people here take any regard to properly declare their "units", they leave us to guess.......here it was a bit easier as it was talking about freezing.

In Germany, we put thermal "sheets" across the windscreen at night, held by closing the front doors on each end and the wipers, stopped in a middle position, (not parked), to hold the middle of the sheet down.

I have even cut the sides of a plastic shopping bag, so that only the base is still connected, for the same job. Leaving the handles on for the two front car doors.....

At a minimum, all (rear one too!!) wipers should be "lifted" in freezing conditions....also, I change to silicone blades in winter, a lot louder, but do not freeze onto the screen so hard. in my opinion!

Thermal sheets won't help this.

I have two comments:

1) One of those "I baby my car" vehicle covers might have helped, as the ice would have formed on that, and the door locks, seams and hinges would not have been frozen shut.

2) This is a good example of why you shouldn't park downwind of the lake in winter.

Sorry I forgot You "People across the pond " use metrics. I assumed (ass out of u and Me) since a chevy is an American truck I would get advice from Americans, not realizing these trucks are all over the world. I've had this vehicle for 15 years and have gone thru some very rough winters never had this problem before. I hope this explanation is "proper" with You.

oilcan13

That wiper board makes a fortune for the Chevy dealers. There are plenty at better pricing on Ebay. Do a quick search within Ebay using "silverado wiper board" and you will get a page of 'em.

I would put an oilcan on your caps lock key if I were you, Mildred. You'll only wake people up with your noise.

LOL!!

He was a bit LOUD!!

I wanted to make sure someone heard Me.

• One of the possibilities is the slow-speed windings in the motor are kaput.
• Another is that a wire has fallen off.
• Another is that a fuse has opened, due to a circuit fault.
• Another is that the timing circuit that provides the intermittency is kaput.

If one is not to hand, borrow a copy of the Haynes Manual for the vehicle from the local Public Library. A photocopy of the wiring diagram would be a good thing to keep with the vehicle registration documents.

I'd check out

• a fuse has opened, due to a circuit fault.
• the timing circuit that provides the intermittency is kaput.

before the others, the the disconnected wire, and then the motor windings.

I like to do the easy and cheap stuff first.

PW Slack has the idea. Round up the usual suspects!

Most likely the pulse board in the wiper motor needs replacing as it has been cooked.

A lower rated fuse or circuit breaker may help next time.

HAVE A 2001 CHEVY SILVERADO 1/2 TON PICKUP.

A FEW DAYS AGO IT WAS RAINING AND I HAD MY WIPERS ON.

WHEN I SHUT THE ENGINE OFF, I DID NOT SHUT THE WIPERS OFF.

THAT NIGHT WE HAD A FREEZE AND WHEN I WENT TO START THE TRUCK THE NEXT DAY I HEARD A FEW CLICKS BUT THE WIPERS WERE FROZE TO THE WINDSHIELD IN THE DOWN POSITION.

AFTER THAWING, THE WIPERS ONLY WORK IN FAST SPEED.

BEFORE I TAKE APART THE MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH, IS are THERE OTHER POSSIBLE PROBLEMS THAT COULD CAUSE THE INTERMITTENT FUNCTION TO NOT WORK?

Yes

In the future, please do not use all caps.

It may be easier for you to type, but it is harder to read.

Also, you need to break your post up into more paragraphs, like I did above.

If you want answers to your post, doesn't it make sense to make them as legible and understandable as possible?

May be a shorted motor winding.

Purchase a new wiper motor.

Sorry I am not an English major. Is that more to your liking?

oilcan13

Almost certainly not a short. JHF

I own a 1/2 ton Silverado and had the same issue with the wipers. I removed the circuit from the motor housing and re-soldered all the solder points on said board. Upon reinstalling it I have had no more problems. It had reached the point where I had to stop the truck in the pouring rain, pop the hood and rap on the wiper motor assembly to get them going again. On the few occasions that my wife or kids used the truck I received much verbal abuse regarding my "intermittent" wipers. And I only removed the board for inspection after I found out what the Chevy dealer wanted for a new one. Hope this helps.

Yes Thanks

Oilcan13

You would be better off to replace the whole wiper unit with one from a Cavalier. I have heard they are trouble free!

Evil comment.

Is that the ONLY part of a Cavalier that is trouble free?

Trouble free because he sold the car the day after he replaced the board!

The problem's root cause is design and materials.

The control wiper board is populated with mechanical relays that are soldered in using lead free solder. The lead free solder is brittle and fractures after a few thousand cycles due to vibration induced by the relays themselves.

This problem is not particular to Chevrolet. I had the same issue on a Ford

Pull the relay board and resolder all connections with leaded solder and you will be back in business for another 20+ years

"The control wiper board is populated with mechanical relays that are soldered in using lead free solder. The lead free solder is brittle and fractures after a few thousand cycles due to vibration induced by the relays themselves."

So much for the benefits of RoHS⁽¹⁾ compliance.

Notes:

1. Reduction of Hazardous Substances Directive. For the most part it's just made for a lot of headaches, particularly with lead-free solder, seems like we weren't dealing with 'tin whiskers' back in the days of lead-tin solders, but once the RoHS came about, we started seeing tin whiskers in all sorts of electronics, even ones intended for long service life (spacecraft) or safety-critical applications (accelerator controls on Toyota Camrys).