1999 Plymouth Voyager wipers out of control

STEVENM2

MEMBER
1999 PLYMOUTH VOYAGER
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
153,000 MILES

For years my intermittant wipers didn't work reliably. I let that pass. NOW, when I turn on the wipers, at first they do not come on at all, THEN they start and stay on, even after I turn them off! They do the same in continuous or intermittant mode - run nonstop. When they do finally stop, they stop at a random spot. In addition, when I hit the windshield washer button, the water gets sprayed but the wipers do not run.

What to do? Is there an electronic control that I can replace?

6 Replies

CARADIODOC

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33,873 POSTS

Hi stevenm2. Welcome to the forum. The wipers are controlled by a very trouble-prone Body Computer. I haven't heard of them causing the wiper motor to run constantly, but causing them to not run at all has been a very common problem. A bad motor ground will cause that too, but based on the two symptoms, it sounds like a computer problem. The Body Computer is bolted to and plugged into the fuse box above and in front of the brake pedal.

Caradiodoc

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Monday, June 14th, 2010 AT 1:42 PM

STEVENM2

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OK, thanks. I take it that the Body Computer is the item marked "A" in this picture I took just now...I also assume the items "B" and "C" are not it.

How do I get that out of there?

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Monday, June 14th, 2010 AT 3:01 PM

CARADIODOC

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It's item "A", but it looks different than I remember from ten years ago workng at the dealership. The plugs on the bottom are connected to the computer, but I remembered it as being in front of the fuses and up higher. There are three 5/16" head bolts holding them together, then you pull the computer straight down to unplug it.

Caradiodoc

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Monday, June 14th, 2010 AT 3:24 PM

STEVENM2

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3 POSTS

OK thanks for that, but now I have a dilemma - I took another drive today and tested the wipers again. They worked! Now I am afraid to mess with it. Perhaps there is a bad ground somewhere, as you mentioned before? Or dirty contacts? Is it possible for the BCM to have an intermittent problem?

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Monday, June 14th, 2010 AT 5:13 PM

CARADIODOC

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Anything is possible when a computer is involved, but in my limited experience, every time the Body Computer has been at fault, the wiper motor was dead in all speeds. That said, I'm working with another fellow with similar problems on a '97 model. His only works on the high speed.

There have been problems with the ground strap on the motor mounting plate making poor contact under the mounting bolt head, but that will cause the motor to not run. The park switch turns on in the park position to ground the sensing wire. That tells the computer to turn the motor off. If the problem acts up again where they don't turn off, use a piece of wire to ground the dark green / white wire in the motor's connector. As long as it's grounded, the motor should not run. If it does still run, that wire has a bad connection or the Body Computer is defective.

If the motor stops when the wire is grounded, suspect the park switch inside the motor. The fix would be replacing the motor.

Caradiodoc