[SA_Mustang]

hey guys i have run into a wiring gremlin in my 88. The wipers are running the wrong direction. they only move when switched to High and then they went down onto the hood. anysuggestions of were to start looking for the problem. maybe a bad switch or motor? the motor is a remanu'ed motor only a few years old ( i believe) bu any help hints or tricks to fix this problem would be great.

the switch moves fine and all other functions of the turn signals wrk justnot the wipers.

thanks

[snake 42]

Originally Posted by SA_Mustang

hey guys i have run into a wiring gremlin in my 88. The wipers are running the wrong direction. they only move when switched to High and then they went down onto the hood. anysuggestions of were to start looking for the problem. maybe a bad switch or motor? the motor is a remanu'ed motor only a few years old ( i believe) bu any help hints or tricks to fix this problem would be great.

the switch moves fine and all other functions of the turn signals wrk justnot the wipers.

thanks

Take the wiper arms off the shaft and start the wiper motor. Let it run while you watch the drive shafts and have someone turn off the wipers and see if the shafts both stop at the same time. If they do then the only thing wrong is the wiper arms are installed in the wrong position. With the shafts in the off position install your wiper arms in the position they would be when off.
No Bigge

Snake 42

[SA_Mustang]

thanks for the reply, and here is another noob question, how do i get te fricken things off? I tried for a few minutes and they would not cooperate with me so....

[EagleAutosports]

I would also suspect the signal arm being the problem. You have 4 harnesses to it, and they tend to burn out and it seems the one that quit is the wiper controls. I'd suggest taking the signal arm completely off of the column and check the condition of the harnesses. If you see any blackened wires, melted plastic, or smell anything, it needs to be replaced. Just because you don't see anything doesn't mean there's nothing wrong either. They usually go out about this time, meaning their age. Mine's an 88 and it needed replacing, no way around it. If a harness needs replacing, your Ford dealer parts counter carries the pigtails, this is very common. But where you're having wiper trouble, my lights were my trouble. They'd wink off and I'd be driving in the dark... lots of fun. I bet that's your problem because you say they only work when you put them on high. The position of the wipers doesn't have anything to do with the proper operation or not operating until they're switched to high.
You take the wiper arms off by using some needle nose pliers and you'll see a small tab on the top side. You pull those out slightly, then pry the arm upwards off of the shaft. But again, that isn't your problem. That turn signal arm needs replacing. They usually run around $100-$110 and it's only 2 bolts, 4 wiring harnesses and 15 minutes of your time.

[SA_Mustang]

well we played around under the dash today and got the hi and low speeds working on the wipers. but who ever owned the car before me had desided to do some "creative wiring" under the dash so we have to sort out the mess they made of things. so the project continues....slowly but we are making progress. we have a parts car where all of the wiper functions work so we will switch the controler tomorrow and try to get the wiring sorted out. Man some people really should not be allowed near the wiring in a car if they don't know what they are doing. we have 8 un hooked connectors under the dash to sort out and find out why they are the way they are. I hope this will lead to a fix in my heating and a/c and a few other gremlins hiding in the mess.

[EagleAutosports]

Oh man. I agree about keeping those away from wiring if they don't know how to do it right. Let us know what happens.

[128chris]

No doubt. As a christmas present to my stepmom, i got elected to install her aftermarket keyless lock system in her truck. I know wiring but it still took a few phone calls to friends with the degree's to get it working and right. Alot of fun taking dash's apart and running wires too.

[8850lx]

Originally Posted by SA_Mustang

hey guys i have run into a wiring gremlin in my 88. The wipers are running the wrong direction. they only move when switched to High and then they went down onto the hood. anysuggestions of were to start looking for the problem. maybe a bad switch or motor? the motor is a remanu'ed motor only a few years old ( i believe) bu any help hints or tricks to fix this problem would be great.

the switch moves fine and all other functions of the turn signals wrk justnot the wipers.

thanks

I know this post is kind of old but looks like it is missing some solution to the direction problem you were having. if your motor is only running in one direction it most likely the reversing switch is bad or dirty as the one in these photos. unplug the connectors and the contact cover just snaps off. clean contacts and contact plate and replace. gl

[8850lx]

oops, I made a big mistake above and have not found how to edit the post.
it is not a reversing switch. the reversing action is done mechanicly (cam). the switch may be a stop position switch.