Wipers working fine, then not at all on my 98 gmc sonoma

[antman33]

So I saw this thread of the guy who had the problem of his wipers not turning off ...

http://gmcowners.com/gmc-forum/showthread.php?t=15611

Well, I have the exact opposite problem. My wipers seem to work fine and then just stop entirely - which is horrible if in the middle of a rain storm haha.

Your response in that thread seemed easy enough for a complete novice like myself but is that in fact the same issue and (sorry) but where exactly IS this wiper circuit board? I was assuming under the hood but, if it is under the hood, I honestly have no idea where it would be under the hood haha.

I guess what I am asking is, once I find it, should I replace it or simply solder it as you said previous?

 

[Molson02536]

So I saw this thread of the guy who had the problem of his wipers not turning off ...

http://gmcowners.com/gmc-forum/showthread.php?t=15611

Well, I have the exact opposite problem. My wipers seem to work fine and then just stop entirely - which is horrible if in the middle of a rain storm haha.

Your response in that thread seemed easy enough for a complete novice like myself but is that in fact the same issue and (sorry) but where exactly IS this wiper circuit board? I was assuming under the hood but, if it is under the hood, I honestly have no idea where it would be under the hood haha.

I guess what I am asking is, once I find it, should I replace it or simply solder it as you said previous?

Re-solder it first and if your having a hard time doing that, you can buy the replacement board at Auto Zone or NAPA. The other place you can get on is the whole wiper motor at the Salvage Yard for about $35.00 and you have the whole unit and you can try to get yours working and keep it in the closet as a spare.

This is what your looking for to re-solder or replace, it sits on top of the wiper motor and you'll see it after you remove the plastic cover over it. http://www.bizrate.com/automotive-parts/oid852033090.html. If your wiper stop working and you need to using it, try taping the wire harness lightly and in most case. You'll get the wipers to work again till the next had bump you hit on the road.

Keep us posted and be safe.

 

[Railroadman]

Wipers

I had the same issue with my wipers. I replaced the circuit card and problem solved. The card is under the hood on the firewall in front ot the driver. It has been a while but seemed like about 5 screws to get the plate off. Not to bad of job. Railroadman

 

[antman33]

Re-solder it first and if your having a hard time doing that, you can buy the replacement board at Auto Zone or NAPA. The other place you can get on is the whole wiper motor at the Salvage Yard for about $35.00 and you have the whole unit and you can try to get yours working and keep it in the closet as a spare.

This is what your looking for to re-solder or replace, it sits on top of the wiper motor and you'll see it after you remove the plastic cover over it. http://www.bizrate.com/automotive-parts/oid852033090.html. If your wiper stop working and you need to using it, try taping the wire harness lightly and in most case. You'll get the wipers to work again till the next had bump you hit on the road.

Keep us posted and be safe.

Sir once again your sage advice is absolutely dead on - I called Napa, gave them my trucks make and model, and the guy said "Yeah we've got that part, its the Wiper Pulse Motor Board and its around $20" ... so I just replaced it.

Haha, in my world, if the part is less than $50 I'm just gonna replace it, especially when its well over 10 years old. I just wish I had asked this question about 3 years ago when my wipers started to act up - but I am in Los Angeles and it rarely rains as has been this week.

Oh, also, if anybody else ever has this issue, the easiest way to get the replacement part is to remove your current "Wiper Motor Pulse Board" and bring it with you to Napa as, in the case of my specific truck, there were several available.

 

[HoffmanMyster]

I am having the same problem with my 97 Sonoma. I managed to get the wipers working when I hit the motor for awhile, but after seeing this I'm thinking it is probably the same issue. Can anyone give me some help with removing the motor? Or does the motor not actually need to be removed to fix this (I'm not sure where this circuit board that everyone is talking about is)? I tried to remove the panel covering the arms and everything that makes the wipers move (connecting them to the motor), but the screws on that panel are plastic and don't seem to come out at all. Do I not actually need to remove those screws? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Molson02536]

I am having the same problem with my 97 Sonoma. I managed to get the wipers working when I hit the motor for awhile, but after seeing this I'm thinking it is probably the same issue. Can anyone give me some help with removing the motor? Or does the motor not actually need to be removed to fix this (I'm not sure where this circuit board that everyone is talking about is)? I tried to remove the panel covering the arms and everything that makes the wipers move (connecting them to the motor), but the screws on that panel are plastic and don't seem to come out at all. Do I not actually need to remove those screws? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This is really an easy fix. The wiring can be unplugged before the circuit board is removed, or afterward. You may find it easier to unplug it after the circuit board was removed.

There is a flat cover that is held on with three torx screws (T20). Remove the screws and remove the cover. The circuit board will now be visible on the motor.

Remove the circuit board by grasping the wiring connector and gently pulling it towards the front of the vehicle. When the circuit board has fallen free, unplug it from the wiring harness if you haven't already done so.

The solder joints that connect the wiring socket to the board go bad and will need to be re-soldered. I my self just re soldered those and re-installed the circuit board. I did get an entire wiper motor assembly, which included the board, from a salvage yard for $25.00 which i keep just in case i run in to this issue again.

Napa, Auto Zone sells the circuit board for just under $30.00 if you don't have the soldering gun and it's just a simple swapping it out the old one with the new board.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[HoffmanMyster]

This is really an easy fix. The wiring can be unplugged before the circuit board is removed, or afterward. You may find it easier to unplug it after the circuit board was removed.

There is a flat cover that is held on with three torx screws (T20). Remove the screws and remove the cover. The circuit board will now be visible on the motor.

Remove the circuit board by grasping the wiring connector and gently pulling it towards the front of the vehicle. When the circuit board has fallen free, unplug it from the wiring harness if you haven't already done so.

The solder joints that connect the wiring socket to the board go bad and will need to be re-soldered. I my self just re soldered those and re-installed the circuit board. I did get an entire wiper motor assembly, which included the board, from a salvage yard for $25.00 which i keep just in case i run in to this issue again.

Napa, Auto Zone sells the circuit board for just under $30.00 if you don't have the soldering gun and it's just a simple swapping it out the old one with the new board.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Firstly, thank you so incredibly much for the speedy response. I was able to fix the whole thing today, which is great because here in Wisconsin it has been raining a lot lately (in winter, lame, I know).

I went ahead and bought a whole new circuit board for this fix since it was only 23 dollars and then I'll be guaranteed that my solder job wont fail for whatever reason. I'm keeping my old board as a backup and will re-solder it when I get the chance.

As for the fix itself, you are right, it is really easy. I was expecting to have to take the whole motor out, but that cover and the board were pretty easy to work with, other than the issue of small spaces and screwdrivers...

Anyway, it's all back together and working flawlessly right now, so hopefully that will be the end of my "near death" experiences caused by faulty wipers.

Thanks again!

 

[HoffmanMyster]

This is really an easy fix. The wiring can be unplugged before the circuit board is removed, or afterward. You may find it easier to unplug it after the circuit board was removed.

There is a flat cover that is held on with three torx screws (T20). Remove the screws and remove the cover. The circuit board will now be visible on the motor.

Remove the circuit board by grasping the wiring connector and gently pulling it towards the front of the vehicle. When the circuit board has fallen free, unplug it from the wiring harness if you haven't already done so.

The solder joints that connect the wiring socket to the board go bad and will need to be re-soldered. I my self just re soldered those and re-installed the circuit board. I did get an entire wiper motor assembly, which included the board, from a salvage yard for $25.00 which i keep just in case i run in to this issue again.

Napa, Auto Zone sells the circuit board for just under $30.00 if you don't have the soldering gun and it's just a simple swapping it out the old one with the new board.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Firstly, thank you so incredibly much for the speedy response. I was able to fix the whole thing today, which is great because here in Wisconsin it has been raining a lot lately (in winter, lame, I know).

I went ahead and bought a whole new circuit board for this fix since it was only 23 dollars and then I'll be guaranteed that my solder job wont fail for whatever reason. I'm keeping my old board as a backup and will re-solder it when I get the chance.

As for the fix itself, you are right, it is really easy. I was expecting to have to take the whole motor out, but that cover and the board were pretty easy to work with, other than the issue of small spaces and screwdrivers...

Anyway, it's all back together and working flawlessly right now, so hopefully that will be the end of my "near death" experiences caused by faulty wipers.

Thanks again!

 

[HoffmanMyster]

I tried to post a reply yesterday but it didn't work. Here is the text I had written out:

This is really an easy fix. The wiring can be unplugged before the circuit board is removed, or afterward. You may find it easier to unplug it after the circuit board was removed.

There is a flat cover that is held on with three torx screws (T20). Remove the screws and remove the cover. The circuit board will now be visible on the motor.

Remove the circuit board by grasping the wiring connector and gently pulling it towards the front of the vehicle. When the circuit board has fallen free, unplug it from the wiring harness if you haven't already done so.

The solder joints that connect the wiring socket to the board go bad and will need to be re-soldered. I my self just re soldered those and re-installed the circuit board. I did get an entire wiper motor assembly, which included the board, from a salvage yard for $25.00 which i keep just in case i run in to this issue again.

Napa, Auto Zone sells the circuit board for just under $30.00 if you don't have the soldering gun and it's just a simple swapping it out the old one with the new board.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Firstly, thank you so incredibly much for the speedy response. I was able to fix the whole thing today, which is great because here in Wisconsin it has been raining a lot lately (in winter, lame, I know).

I went ahead and bought a whole new circuit board for this fix since it was only 23 dollars and then I'll be guaranteed that my solder job wont fail for whatever reason. I'm keeping my old board as a backup and will re-solder it when I get the chance.

As for the fix itself, you are right, it is really easy. I was expecting to have to take the whole motor out, but that cover and the board were pretty easy to work with, other than the issue of small spaces and screwdrivers...

Anyway, it's all back together and working flawlessly right now, so hopefully that will be the end of my "near death" experiences caused by faulty wipers.

Thanks again!

 

[HoffmanMyster]

Alright, I'm going to try this agian. I attempted to post a reply at least three times now, and I actually fixed this the day that you posted your reply. I saved my post and will paste it below:

This is really an easy fix. The wiring can be unplugged before the circuit board is removed, or afterward. You may find it easier to unplug it after the circuit board was removed.

There is a flat cover that is held on with three torx screws (T20). Remove the screws and remove the cover. The circuit board will now be visible on the motor.

Remove the circuit board by grasping the wiring connector and gently pulling it towards the front of the vehicle. When the circuit board has fallen free, unplug it from the wiring harness if you haven't already done so.

The solder joints that connect the wiring socket to the board go bad and will need to be re-soldered. I my self just re soldered those and re-installed the circuit board. I did get an entire wiper motor assembly, which included the board, from a salvage yard for $25.00 which i keep just in case i run in to this issue again.

Napa, Auto Zone sells the circuit board for just under $30.00 if you don't have the soldering gun and it's just a simple swapping it out the old one with the new board.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Firstly, thank you so incredibly much for the speedy response. I was able to fix the whole thing today, which is great because here in Wisconsin it has been raining a lot lately (in winter, lame, I know).

I went ahead and bought a whole new circuit board for this fix since it was only 23 dollars and then I'll be guaranteed that my solder job wont fail for whatever reason. I'm keeping my old board as a backup and will re-solder it when I get the chance.

As for the fix itself, you are right, it is really easy. I was expecting to have to take the whole motor out, but that cover and the board were pretty easy to work with, other than the issue of small spaces and screwdrivers...

Anyway, it's all back together and working flawlessly right now, so hopefully that will be the end of my "near death" experiences caused by faulty wipers.

Thanks again!

 

[Retired_Navy]

Is this the wiper motor and the board in question?

Here's a couple pics I just took. My wipers seems to work fine in all modes then all of a sudden, nothing. I tore apart the column yesterday and repllced the switch. It seemed to fix the issue. Then today they didn't work again. I was thinking the issue is now related to the ignition switch but not so sure after reading this string.

It looks like the previous owner made a ground strap (blue crimp connectors) and for some reason put a piece of paper between the board and the cover. My daughter just noticed it looks like a face....weird.

Thanks, Just traded for this truck and now working through all the small issues.

Hal