Need help with electric wipers not parking

[rdv350]

Since I bought my bronco the wipers have never parked when the switch is turned off. They just stop where ever they are when the switch is turned off. From what I understand there is one wire that goes from the switch to the wiper motor which is the park wire. Here are the questions I have.

Should the park wire always have power to it, or should it only have power to it when the wiper switch is off?

Second which wire would be the park wire? I have 4 wires going to the motor, a blue, red, white, and black wire. Which one is it?

I should also note that there is a orange wire and a green wire which come off the back of the switch and are cut. I believe the green wire is for the washer pump, but I am not sure what the orange wire is for. Can anyone tell me what the orange wire is for and if it could be causing my problem.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Viperwolf1]

Blue is high speed, white-orange is low speed. The red wire is always hot no matter what the position of the wiper switch. When parked the black-white wire will be at ground potential because of the park switch in the wiper motor. When running (and wiper switch is turned to OFF) the black-white wire feeds the 12v from the red wire back to the wiper switch where it is jumpered to the low speed wire (white-orange) to return the motor to the park position.
Green-black wire is washer pump. Orange-white is power to the switch. White-black is power to washers.

 

[rdv350]

Ok, it took me a couple times to read that to figure it out. So the red wire should have power all the time correct? I will have to check that first.

 

[rdv350]

Ok the red wire does have power going to the motor. So does that mean the problem is with the motor?

 

[Viperwolf1]

Ok the red wire does have power going to the motor. So does that mean the problem is with the motor?

Make sure the red wire has power all the time, running and off. If you lose power to this wire when the switch is turned off then the wipers will not park. This would be a wiring problem. The black-white wire should be at ground potential (0v) with the switch on and motor running. When the switch is turned off and the wipers are not parked the black-white wire should have 12v on it. When the motor parks this drops back down to ground potential and the motor stops.
Let me know what you find on these wires and I can you where the problem is.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Ok the red wire does have power going to the motor. So does that mean the problem is with the motor?

If the red wire has power with the wiper switch turned off, then yes, it is a fried park switch in the wiper motor.

Ford loved that wiper motor, they used in in nearly everything. I think the bolt on arm varies between models. Some are in the engine compartment, some under the dash. If it looks the same, it probably is.

If the wiper park in the down position after you swap the motor, take the arm off, spin it 180° on the shaft and put it back on.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Potentially could still be a problem with the wiper switch. It really depends on what's happening with the black-white wire voltage.

 

[rdv350]

Ok here's what I got. Red wire has power to it all the time. Black wire also has power to all the time. I doubt it is a switch problem because I have three different wiper switches and they all do the same thing. So would a bad park switch allow the black wire to have power all the time?

 

[SC74]

Mine has the same problem and I've always just timed cutting them off. Good info to know so it can be on my future repair list!

 

[Viperwolf1]

Ok here's what I got. Red wire has power to it all the time. Black wire also has power to all the time. I doubt it is a switch problem because I have three different wiper switches and they all do the same thing. So would a bad park switch allow the black wire to have power all the time?

Yes it would.

 

[rdv350]

I should clarify something, the black has doesn't have power until I turn the switch off and then it stays at 12v until I turn the truck off. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that my wire seems ok, the switch doesn't appear to be the problem, so it must be the motor?

 

[Viperwolf1]

Correct. There is one point on the linkage rotation that should disconnect the red from the black-white wire. That's what parks your wipers after you turn the switch off. It doesn't appear to be working. I've never taken the motor apart to see the switch but it might be worth a look to see if it's fixable. I wouldn't spend much effort though, motors are cheap.

 

[rdv350]

Thanks Viperwolf for your help and getting back to me with some answers. I will try a new motor and see what happens.

 

[tmacstickman]

I just went through something very similar regarding proper park position. First, you need to determine what year the wiper motor is, it is usually stamped on it. I say this because the earlier models have a park position switch that can be adjusted. The later years, like my '76 do not have it but may still be re-set. If you have either a '69 or a '76 I can give you the proper instructions.