windshield wipers wont turn OFF!

[Advancedautosec]

my windshield wipers wont turn off for some reason, the switch is off and makes no difference. anyone had or heard of a problem like this? im thinking its the switch.

[GreekGod]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="96%" border=3><TBODY><TR><TD class=VERTCENT align=middle width="25%" bgColor=#ffffff>TSB
05-4-9
</TD><TD class=VERTCENT align=left width="65%" bgColor=#ffffff>
UNCOMMANDED WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#0000ff colSpan=2>Publication Date: February 16, 2005 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=230>FORD:
</TD><TD>2003 Crown Victoria </TD></TR><TR><TD width=230>MERCURY:
</TD><TD>2003 Grand Marquis </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
ISSUE:

Some 2003 Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis vehicles may exhibit the windshield wiper turning on intermittently without activating the wiper switch.
ACTION:

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. If no visible sign of moisture or corrosion is present follow normal diagnostics in Section 501-16 of the Workshop Manual.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH align=middle>PART NUMBER </TH><TH align=middle>PART NAME </TH></TR><TR><TD class=NOBOTTOMBORDER align=left>3W7Z-17508-AA </TD><TD class=NOBOTTOMBORDER align=left>Wiper Motor </TD></TR><TR><TD class=NOBORDER align=left>3W7Z-17A477-AA </TD><TD class=NOBORDER align=left>Connector Pig Tail </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[1stMerc]

Mine started out like that last Saturday after i tried to clean some of the bugs and debri from the radiator and condenser with the garden hose. Didn't act up Sunday so figured it was cured, but it acted up again after it had rained early Monday morning. Since it was going to be dry that day i pulled the fuse. (# 17) was going to rain Tuesday on the way home from work, so put it back in. Ran smack dab into a down pour. click first speed nothing, second speed nothing, wipers only work on high and won't spray washer fluid.

Previous thread says it may be the wiper motor or harness. And replacible under warranty.

[ckadiddle]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="96%" border=3><TBODY><TR><TD class=VERTCENT align=middle width="25%" bgColor=#ffffff>TSB
05-4-9

</TD><TD class=VERTCENT align=left width="65%" bgColor=#ffffff>

UNCOMMANDED WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION
</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#0000ff colSpan=2>Publication Date: February 16, 2005 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=230>FORD:

</TD><TD>2003 Crown Victoria </TD></TR><TR><TD width=230>MERCURY:

</TD><TD>2003 Grand Marquis </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
ISSUE:

Some 2003 Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis vehicles may exhibit the windshield wiper turning on intermittently without activating the wiper switch.
ACTION:

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. If no visible sign of moisture or corrosion is present follow normal diagnostics in Section 501-16 of the Workshop Manual.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 border=1><TBODY><TR><TH align=middle>PART NUMBER </TH><TH align=middle>PART NAME </TH></TR><TR><TD class=NOBOTTOMBORDER align=left>3W7Z-17508-AA </TD><TD class=NOBOTTOMBORDER align=left>Wiper Motor </TD></TR><TR><TD class=NOBORDER align=left>3W7Z-17A477-AA </TD><TD class=NOBORDER align=left>Connector Pig Tail </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

That's it. Wacky Wiper Symdrome. No problems since dealer replaced those under warranty.

[Blackened300a]

I had that same issue, The Dealer replaced the wiper motor and its been fine since.

[Shora]

My brother's MM had the "UNCOMMANDED WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION". So, as per your advice, we replaced the wiper motor.

Since this was our first time doing this it took us a shameful 2 hours but we went slow and took our time. Getting the motor off the wiper assembly was the most time consuming part. We literally had to bang it off.:mad2:

Anyway, 3 weeks later and all still seems to be well.

[1stMerc]

My brother's MM had the "UNCOMMANDED WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION". So, as per your advice, we replaced the wiper motor.

Since this was our first time doing this it took us a shameful 2 hours but we went slow and took our time. Getting the motor off the wiper assembly was the most time consuming part. We literally had to bang it off.:mad2:

Anyway, 3 weeks later and all still seems to be well.

Where exactly is that motor? I looked for it Sunday, but it is not immediately visible with all that covering and didn't feel like removing all of it. Also, did you drill the drain wholes as someone else had suggested and has it been raining there?

[Advancedautosec]

THANK YOU!! i thought i was the only with that problem, and i thought maybe the alarm/remote start i put in might have something to do with it, now i know, i got the extended warranty when i bought it so its going to the dealer. I love this site.

[Shora]

Where exactly is that motor? I looked for it Sunday, but it is not immediately visible with all that covering and didn't feel like removing all of it. Also, did you drill the drain wholes as someone else had suggested and has it been raining there?

You are not going to see it until you begin removing a bunch of stuff.

IIRC we:

1) Removed wiper arms.

2) Removed the cowl panel.

3) Moved things aside (wish I knew what they were).

4) It is actually connected to the bottom of the driver's side wiper arm assembly. (This was the step that took us forever. It just didn't want to come lose so we had to bang it off.)

Over all, once someone has done this job it probably takes 30 minutes. But, since this was our first time and we didn't really know what we were doing it took us about 2 hours.

Also, we didn't drill any holes because there are already enough holes there. I think the problem was that his were so dirty with leafs/ debris that they cloged.

Lastly, we didn't replace the wiring because we couldn't tell if we would have to cut the old wiring in order to install it so we just skipped it.

[Bluerauder]

my windshield wipers wont turn off for some reason, the switch is off and makes no difference. anyone had or heard of a problem like this? im thinking its the switch.

Nope, this is the first time this has happened here ... very unusual. :rofl:

Do a search on "wacky wipers" or "windshield wipers" and report back. :D

[Bigdogjim]

I could write a "book" wait untill the light go wacky...........:rofl:

[Bigdogjim]

I could write a "book" wait untill the light go wacky...........:rofl:

Have your washers gone off yet?

[Bluerauder]

Have your washers gone off yet?
Yes and it almost turned ugly back in June 2005 ..... :rofl:


As for the window washer trick -- watch out. When my washers went haywire back about 8 months ago, I emptied a full reservoir on a VW Passat behind me. The woman driver thought that I did it on purpose and was getting visibly psychotic in my rearview mirror. I thought that she was gonna put her car in gear at the redlight and ram me. When the light changed to green, she found a way to go around me and cut back in (nearly hitting my right fender). Once she was ahead of me, she squirted her windows to "teach me a lesson". I just gave the :dunno: sign since my wipers were still running and pumping. Some of these folks are hanging onto the ragged edge of reality and it doesn't take much to set 'em off.

[1stMerc]

I knew it, took car into dealer today for wipers and wouldn't you know it they didn't act up. But, hadn't acted up last few days since i took water hose and srayed into holes in cowl. Oh well, had to go in for oil change, and change out rear tires anyway. But, found out wiper blades were still under warranty after 25xxx miles.

[GreekGod]

...mine haven't acted up since two summers ago, but I will request the repair at next service. There is a proceedure for techs to follow when a customer complains. It is an interrmittant failure.

[1stMerc]

...mine haven't acted up since two summers ago, but I will request the repair at next service. There is a proceedure for techs to follow when a customer complains. It is an interrmittant failure.

Guess that was my mistake didn't say "intermittent". Told him they didn't work and sometimes comes on by themselves.

[MENINBLK]

Mine was repaired last fall.
They would come on without being turned on, and only work steady on the low and high speed.
When I turned the lever through the delay, the wipers would only acknowledge the change
as I turned the lever from low to off.
They are supposed to acknowledge the adjustments from off to low.
Wiper motor assembly was replaced.

[ledzilla]

I'm looking to do this repair myself, especially now considering the wiper motor has failed completely. In its dieing thoes it decided to put the wiper arms up across the windshield while the Marauder was turned off in the middle of the night. My main question is how do you remove the wiper arms? I wasn't sure how they came off and I don't want to break anything.

[Smokie]

I understand how a motor fails to run or may run intermittently very clearly, what I don't understand is how a motor finds it's own power supply to run when the switch is turned OFF without a malfunction of the controlling switch.

I would be very grateful if someone could explain how that works to me. Thanks.

By the way if you unplug the wire harness that feeds the motor power from the switch, will the motor still run by itself?

[ledzilla]

You know, I really don't understand it either. I had pulled the fuse from under the dash becaues it was running on its own. I come out the next morning to head to work and the wipers are up across the windshield. The only other thing I can think of that happened is that some punk forced them into that position, but there hasn't been anything like that happening in my neighborhood for well over a decade.

[GreekGod]

I understand how a motor fails to run or may run intermittently very clearly, what I don't understand is how a motor finds it's own power supply to run when the switch is turned OFF without a malfunction of the controlling switch.

I would be very grateful if someone could explain how that works to me. Thanks.

By the way if you unplug the wire harness that feeds the motor power from the switch, will the motor still run by itself?

I think someone did explain what goes wrong, in a prior post. It might take some searching to find the post.

[Smokie]

One possibility may be the switch controls the ground side instead of the hot side, that would make for a constant 12 volts to the motor, IF that is the case a motor that shorts to ground would blow the circuit fuse on a dead short, if somehow the motor shorts to ground without a total dead short it is possible for the motor to move without the benefit of the switch being on.

If the controlling switch controls both hot side and ground I find it difficult to understand how the motor can become energized without a failure on the part of the switch, but I guess that is why I repair appliances for a living and cars as a hobby.:D

[ledzilla]

Yeah, I really don't understand what happened or why it happened. All I know is that it did. I'm more of a grease monkey than electrician. What's annoying is that I had a Town Car for 8 years (and was 10yo when I bought it) and it never had the slightest problem with the wipers. The only thing that was broken on it was the A/C because someone I had do some work on it managed to fry the controls out.

And BTW: Could someone please let me know how the wipers are supposed to come off?

[TheDonk]

Well if the wipers are stuck halfway then you may not be able to
get them off without removing the hood, or cutting them off.
Normally you would park them in a vertical orientation (hood closed)
and pull the arms away from the windshield. There is slide lock that
holds the arms on the splined hub (see a tab on the side?) and you
have to move the arm far enough to allow the slide lock to open up,
the slide is locked by the arm by design until opened sufficiently.

[GreekGod]

Quote:
<table border="3" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="96%"> <tbody> <tr> <td class="VERTCENT" align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="25%">TSB
05-4-9
</td> <td class="VERTCENT" align="left" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="65%">
UNCOMMANDED WINDSHIELD WIPER OPERATION</td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#0000ff">Publication Date: February 16, 2005 </td></tr></tbody></table>
<table border="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="230">FORD:
</td> <td>2003 Crown Victoria </td></tr> <tr> <td width="230">MERCURY:
</td> <td>2003 Grand Marquis </td></tr></tbody></table>
ISSUE:

Some 2003 Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis vehicles may exhibit the windshield wiper turning on intermittently without activating the wiper switch.
ACTION:

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. If no visible sign of moisture or corrosion is present follow normal diagnostics in Section 501-16 of the Workshop Manual.

<table border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <th align="center">PART NUMBER </th> <th align="center">PART NAME </th></tr> <tr> <td class="NOBOTTOMBORDER" align="left">3W7Z-17508-AA </td> <td class="NOBOTTOMBORDER" align="left">Wiper Motor </td></tr> <tr> <td class="NOBORDER" align="left">3W7Z-17A477-AA </td> <td class="NOBORDER" align="left">Connector Pig Tail</td></tr></tbody></table>

[ledzilla]

I'm already aware of the issue with the TSB. The new issue I was referring to is that the wipers activated and stopped across the middle of the windshield while the car was parked in the driveway overnight... And turned off.

[GreekGod]

I'm already aware of the issue with the TSB. The new issue I was referring to is that the wipers activated and stopped across the middle of the windshield while the car was parked in the driveway overnight... And turned off.

Same issue-could easily be related-think "Christine" (the movie).

"If any corrosion or moisture are found, and the wipers exhibit an intermittent uncommanded operation"

[04MRADR]

:cool:I had this happen about a month ago but the windshield washer went on too. This past week it went on and off for an half hour. Tomorrow my mechanic is changing the windshield wiper module that controls both items. How did you ever make out with your problem?


my windshield wipers wont turn off for some reason, the switch is off and makes no difference. anyone had or heard of a problem like this? im thinking its the switch.

[Bluerauder]

:cool:I had this happen about a month ago but the windshield washer went on too. This past week it went on and off for an half hour. Tomorrow my mechanic is changing the windshield wiper module that controls both items. How did you ever make out with your problem?
I am pretty sure that it isn't the wiper module. Same thing started my "wacky wipers" three years ago. Turns out that the wiper motor was shorting out because of water puddling under the motor.

MM wipers would go on whenever they wanted, control stick only on high, would pump the reservoir dry (... and P.O. the woman in the VW Passat behind me :o). I am on my 3rd wiper motor now 'cause the drain hole was not enlarged to allow free drainage when the 2nd motor was installed. It shorted out in about a year. The current wiper motor has been in for about 18 months. Make sure to clean leaves and debris off the car if it is kept outside 'cause the debris chokes up the small/original drain very easily. There is a TSB out on this for "Uncommanded Wiper Operation".

[ImpalaSlayer]

bluerauder, my lil drain thing was chock full of debris. i not pick out every single leaf i see in there :)

[1stMerc]

bluerauder, my lil drain thing was chock full of debris. i not pick out every single leaf i see in there :)

A trick that worked for me for about 4 months, was setting water hose nozzle on jet and spraying in between th slots in the cowl and un fastening the clips. Wipers worked normal after that, in fact so well they couldn't find anything wrong, when i took it in for scheduled oil change and maintenance.

[ImpalaSlayer]

1stmerc i just replaced the motor so its all clean now