Wiper question

Well, I was finally able to locate winter wiper blades for my van,(it doesn't help when all 3 are a different size:lol:) But now I kind of feel stupid asking this question: How do I get the wipers to stop in the upright position? I know owning Ventures in the past , a big problem with those vans and their siblings were trying to get the wipers to stay down, this problem is just the opposite. I poured through the owners manual and did not see anything listed on how to do this. They show you how to remove the wiper blade and re-install it though. All the vehicles I have owned in the past, you were able to turn the key to "accessory" and turn on the wipers and then when they reached where you wanted them, you simply turned the key off. It does not work that way with the Uplander. When I turn the key to "accessory", and turn the wipers on, then turn the key off, the wipers go back down, ( and it's really really hard to try to put on new blades when they are in that position.) I even turned the wipers on "accessory" and then opened the van's door , which usually kills the power to whatever is running at the time,(radio,dvd player, etc.) and that doesn't even work. Has anybody else out there changed their wiper blades, and if so how did you manage to do it?

Well here's the bad news. Talked with my local Chevy service manager and he said that there is no way to get the wipers to stay in the upright position to change the blades. I then asked him how to do it then and he said that I'll have to do it where they rest and he described the job with a term not suitable for this forum, (Hint, it's a 5 letter word beginning with the letter "B".):frown: Guess I'll have to wait until the temps in my area get out of the single digits before I attempt to change them.

My 2005 Uplander's wipers stop in the up position when you turn off the engine. I tried it after reading your post and was pleasantly surprised. I'm assuming yours is a later design. Have you tried pulling the fuse while the wipers are running?

You know, I HAD thought of doing that as a last resort:lol: and will end up doing just that....once the temperature gets out of the single digits, the wind dies down below 10 mph,(and the windchill goes above 20 degrees, and it stops snowing!:lol:)

AJT- Mine must be a later(newer) design in that aspect as it's an '06. They must've changed the ignition on these vans as this is the first vehicle I have owned where the accessory position is between off and run. All my other GM vehicles, the accessory was located in front of the off position closer to the driver. Also when I turn the key off the radio still operates( and DVD system,) and I noticed the rear wipers are powered in this position but the front ones are not. Once you open any of the front doors you kill the power. How is your Uplander holding up? Mine's great, had it since October '06 and loving it. It's so much better than my previous Ventures. It seems as if GM finally listened to the vehicle owners and made changes to this van which greatly improved it. The only thing I'm still having trouble adjusting to is the location of the cruise control stalk. I'm used to having it on the left side, integrated with the turn signal. Many times I accidently turned on my rear wipers meaning to turn on the cruise control.

If you put the wiper switch to the "HI" position and turn of the key when the wipers are up, they should stop.

you guys don't have no business changing wipers or driving on [i hope not] CA roads.

Idiots.

you guys don't have no business changing wipers or driving on [i hope not] CA roads.

Idiots.
What?? :screwy:

If you put the wiper switch to the "HI" position and turn of the key when the wipers are up, they should stop.
I was finally able to try that idea today (as our temperature finally went above freezing,) ands you know what? IT WORKED! May I ask how you found that out as I did not see any info on this in my owners manual and nobody at the dealer's service dept knew this trick. Thanks for the tip :thumbsup:.

To work on the wipers on our '08 Uplander, I can first raise the hood when the ignition is Off and the wiper arms are at "Park/rest" position. Then, they can be easily worked on.

I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I need to change the blades. To be honest, in the past , I was so used to turning the wipers on and stopping them facing up to change the blade, I didn't even think of the alternative you mention. There are a few items i had to get used to on this van that none of my other vehicles in the past had or did differently.