89 sho wiper

[dewey630]

ive read many posts on the wiper and am having a problem with a little twist. a while back wiper would work intermittedly, now not at all. the multifunction switch seems ok, blinkers, high beam, and washer all work. relay ohms out ok and has power to the relay. does anyone have and ideas what to try next, or a wiring diagram for the sho so i can trace wires. thanks

[shorod]

I'd suspect the issue is with the contacts in the turn signal stalk. There are contacts in the knob for the wipers and when they get dirty, they cause odd performance of the wipers. It usually starts out as a sensitive intermittent wiper setting and will progressively get worse.

It's not too bad to pop the end cap off, remove one screw, then take the knob off so you can access the contacts, clean them up, apply new switch lubricant, reassemble, and have the wipers working like new again. I did a write up on this at one time, years ago when I had a sub-megapixel digital camera.

-Rod

[dewey630]

thanks, ill give that a try

[shorod]

I found the write-up I did on the process. If you'd like a copy of it, send me a Private Message with the request and an e-mail address for you.

-Rod

[dewey630]

i popped the cap on the stalk....but didnt find a screw. just a four pointed plastic piece centered on a d shaped pin. i couldnt get it removed. what else can i try. thanks

[shorod]

If you have some electrical parts cleaner that does not attack that plastic, you could try spraying it in to the area exposed with the cap removed. If after doing so you notice an improvement in the way the wipers work you'll at least know you're in the right area. I haven't taken many of these stalks apart so if it's significantly different from what I wrote up, I won't be of much help. Maybe you could post a photo of what yours looks like and we can see if someone will know how it comes apart.

-Rod

[dewey630]

ive gotten a pic posted...but hears a new one, the other morning they came one without touching in switch....i tried turning on and off but no luck. i killed the motor backing up and restarted, and the wipers went to the home position and stayed off. Any new ideas? thanks

p.s. anybody got a wiring diagram so i can jumper a couple wires to temporary run the wipers....i need the car on monday and its supposed to snow here. thanks again

[shorod]

Unfortunately the end of the stalk is out of focus so I can't tell how much different it looks from the 1993 I took apart.

The wiring diagram I have access to for the 1989 does not show the functions for the various wires so I don't think it would be of much help.

-Rod

[dewey630]

ok, heres a new pic. but heres a new one. i found a wiring diagram from autozone.com and found the dark green wire is hot. there is also brn/wht, org, blu/wht , blk/ht which run thru an internal govenor. i jumperedthe drk green with brn/wht but it arched. so i put it back and guess what.....the wipers work, but wont home when turned off. do you think that governor has anything to do with it?

[shorod]

Much better image, and I can definitely say that is different from what my SHO was like. Since that's what you see when you pop the cap off, about the only way I could see that end staying on the stalk is if there is a groove in the center shaft with a pin or spring-loaded key. I'm guessing there's a spring loaded key, it almost appears that could be at about the 7 o'clock position. I wonder if you were to use a jeweler's screwdriver or similar to slide between the shaft and whatever that is that shows in the photo, if you might be able to release the thumbwheel from the stalk.

-Rod