[Electrodude]

It seems my wipers on Wanda might be possessed. They will work fine until they don’t. It had at times seemed like rotating the stalk control from off/on (in anger with much disgust) will cause them to come back on, at other times I have plugged/unplugged/otherwise fiddled with the connector at the back off the wiper motor itself. (Sometimes with even more anger and disgust if I’m not near a gas station canopy to duck under) Neither method has been consistent enough to nail down where the problem might actually be. Anyone had a similar issue? What was the solution? Parts are cheap and plentiful but I don’t want to waste time and effort either. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[Valhallalla]

I had a similar issue with our 1988 van which has the same basic wiper set up. I initially thought it was the motor because I could usually get it to operate (sometimes only briefly) by jostling the wiper arm. Motor didn't fix it. It got to the point where I started using Rain-X because the wipers could not be counted on to work when requested. I'm a fan of Rain-X but that wasn't an adequate solution.

Anyway, it turned out to be corrosion on the wiper motor ground strap. The wiper motor is mounted to a steel plate which is mounted in rubber bushings to the body. There is a sheet metal (usually brass) ground strap which goes from the plate to a steel sleeve in one of the bushings. This is the only ground path for the motor. The corrosion on mine turned out to be where the strap is sandwiched under the steel sleeve but any of the contact points can be problematic.

Only takes a little time and effort to attempt this repair. Clean it up with some sandpaper, wire brush or whatever. Make sure you get that area where the strap goes underneath the bushing sleeve.

You can see the brass ground strap in the photo below. It's from an older Chrysler not a minivan but it shows the general idea.

 

[Electrodude]

I had a similar issue with our 1988 van which has the same basic wiper set up. I initially thought it was the motor because I could usually get it to operate (sometimes only briefly) by jostling the wiper arm. Motor didn't fix it. It got to the point where I started using Rain-X because the wipers could not be counted on to work when requested. I'm a fan of Rain-X but that wasn't an adequate solution.

Anyway, it turned out to be corrosion on the wiper motor ground strap. The wiper motor is mounted to a steel plate which is mounted in rubber bushings to the body. There is a sheet metal (usually brass) ground strap which goes from the plate to a steel sleeve in one of the bushings. This is the only ground path for the motor. The corrosion on mine turned out to be where the strap is sandwiched under the steel sleeve but any of the contact points can be problematic.

Only takes a little time and effort to attempt this repair. Clean it up with some sandpaper, wire brush or whatever. Make sure you get that area where the strap goes underneath the bushing sleeve.

You can see the brass ground strap in the photo below. It's from an older Chrysler not a minivan but it shows the general idea.

View attachment 67167

Thanks! I'll take a look at the ground and clean it up and see how it goes. I too have been resorting to rain-x!

 

[Electrodude]

I had a similar issue with our 1988 van which has the same basic wiper set up. I initially thought it was the motor because I could usually get it to operate (sometimes only briefly) by jostling the wiper arm. Motor didn't fix it. It got to the point where I started using Rain-X because the wipers could not be counted on to work when requested. I'm a fan of Rain-X but that wasn't an adequate solution.

Anyway, it turned out to be corrosion on the wiper motor ground strap. The wiper motor is mounted to a steel plate which is mounted in rubber bushings to the body. There is a sheet metal (usually brass) ground strap which goes from the plate to a steel sleeve in one of the bushings. This is the only ground path for the motor. The corrosion on mine turned out to be where the strap is sandwiched under the steel sleeve but any of the contact points can be problematic.

Only takes a little time and effort to attempt this repair. Clean it up with some sandpaper, wire brush or whatever. Make sure you get that area where the strap goes underneath the bushing sleeve.

You can see the brass ground strap in the photo below. It's from an older Chrysler not a minivan but it shows the general idea.

View attachment 67167

Been a long time but I wanted to say thanks for this. Cleaned up the ground connection and wipers have worked flawlessly ever since!