Lost Wiper adjustability

[motovate]

1989 Chevy Suburban V2500 4x4. I just lost the adaptability factor on my wipers. I did have several Delay positions that quit. Now it's on or off and when turned off wipers just stop when shut off instead of returning to the bottom. I can get them to the bottom by turning them on/off/on/off until I get them to stop near the bottom.

I don't have a clue why it did this and was wondering if it might be the combined turn single, on off delay switch?

Thanks LBM

[gmachinz]

Under the steering column is the wiper delay module...it may have gotten shorted out.

[motovate]

Thanks - I looked it up on Rock Auto to see if the part was available and what it looked like, then I went and pulled the cover off and found it. I'd seen it before with the heat sink but didn't have a clue what it was - I sure would of never thought it might be connected to the wipers.

I disconnected it , looked around for bad wires and wiggled/ put it back together. No change on how the wipers worked.

How common is it for these to go out???

Rock Auto has them for $54 (Airtex) or $59 (GM).

I suppose my only 2 choices are run it like it is or pay the $60+ shipping?

Appreciate the answer & any other thoughts.

LBM

Originally Posted by gmachinz

Under the steering column is the wiper delay module...it may have gotten shorted out.

[gmachinz]

The bad thing is it's complicated to test the pulse/delay system on these trucks....there's many things it "could" be. The twist knob on the stalk is merely a potentiometer which adjusts the saturation time of the various capacitors inside the delay module combined with several steps of resistance. Can it go bad? Yes. But so can the module....the motor wiring itself is nothing magical-they are the same back to 1978 essentially. I'd snag a few modules from a salvage yard before buying a new one at $60 and just try them out. You can unplug the module from yours and remove it-then plug the two harness leads back together-this at least gives you wiper function but without delay.

[motovate]

Thanks - I did some more looking on line found a couple one was $70+ and the other was $117+ - OUCH. Found a lot of later replacement module boards so it kind of looks like they all have a short life span. The wipers work now and I have 2 speeds. Just have to fiddle with it a bit when I turn them off. I do like the wiper delay part so I'll see what I can do.

My first thought was the twist knob stock. I just never went beyond that since I didn't don't use the Sub much. I just woke up a few days ago and decided to bring it back to life and started making a to do list. Glad I ask about the issue so I can add the correct "thing!" Always good to learn something new.

I live Northern Arizona -out in the "County" so to speak. Closest parts store is 35 miles, closest salvage yards is 50+ miles one way - so I'm tending to do a lot of parts things online since the cost of travel often times = the cost of the part. I think I'll be going over to Prescott sometime in the next couple of weeks so I'll put it on the list to go over to "UPicket" and see what I can find. If they are cheap enough I will grab a couple and hope. If they don't work I'll just pay the $ to Rock Auto.

LBM

Originally Posted by gmachinz

The bad thing is it's complicated to test the pulse/delay system on these trucks....there's many things it "could" be. The twist knob on the stalk is merely a potentiometer which adjusts the saturation time of the various capacitors inside the delay module combined with several steps of resistance. Can it go bad? Yes. But so can the module....the motor wiring itself is nothing magical-they are the same back to 1978 essentially. I'd snag a few modules from a salvage yard before buying a new one at $60 and just try them out. You can unplug the module from yours and remove it-then plug the two harness leads back together-this at least gives you wiper function but without delay.

[gmachinz]

Just tell them it's a wiper relay-if you get into detail about it being a delay module blah blah they might start thinking "ooh, crap-sounds like a pricey part" lol