RESOLVED:89 wiper questions

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Jan 7, 2011 | 05:40 PM

kevin206

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From: McMinnville, TN

RESOLVED:89 wiper questions

I just got a 89 F2504wd and noticed today that the wipers don't work. The guy said they would get slow after running a while and threw a wiper motor in the bed for me. I've tried to search and haven't found what I'm looking for.

How do I troubleshoot this? Where is the circuit breaker? Is there a fuse? How do I tell if I have intermitent wipers? How do I spell 'intermitent'?

Right now when I turn the dash mounted wiper switch, the gauge needles jump a little, the tach, volt, etc. Should I start with the switch?

Last edited by kevin206; Jan 13, 2011 at 05:17 PM. Reason: resolved isse

Jan 7, 2011 | 06:04 PM

bobbyjo9

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Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin206

Id start with your fuses. If its a lariet you have intermittent wipers. If not, you can try turning the switch the opposite direction of the fast/slow position. If it goes past the off position, you have intermittent wipers.

Jan 7, 2011 | 08:52 PM

kevin206

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From: McMinnville, TN

I guess I have intermittent wipers. The switch does turn counterclockwise. All my fuses seem good. The schematic says it's on a circuit breaker, not a fuse. I think I hear the circuit breaker cutting out when I try to run the wipers. However, I can't seem to find the breaker. It's not in the fuse box. It sounds like it may be behind the switch somewhere.

Jan 7, 2011 | 09:17 PM

Conanski

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From: Ottawa, Ontario

Slow wipers is a sure sign the motor is almost done and it's probably totally seized now. You have to remove the cowl piece behind the hood to access the motor on this vintage truck, not a hugh job but it can be tricky to do without scratching it.

Jan 8, 2011 | 07:23 AM

Coolbean1000

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Check out this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...2-minutes.html

It addresses the same problem. (it could be wiper motor, which is a known TSB item for that model year range, or the relay/circuit breaker thing behind the switch/**** and above the parking break pedal.

Jan 8, 2011 | 05:01 PM

kevin206

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From: McMinnville, TN

So I finally have the cowl panel loose, But I can't get the antenna off....I unhooked my wiper linkage and turned the wiper switch on. All I get is a clicking behind the switch. I'm pretty sure it's the circuit breaker. I unplugged the wiring to the motor and there is no clicking behind the switch. I hooked up the wiper motor that was laying in the bed. I didn't install it, I just laid it in the engine compartment. All I got was clicking behind the switch!!!

Is there a way to troubleshoot the motor before I go out and buy a new one?

Jan 8, 2011 | 06:20 PM

Eddiec1564

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From: Arcadia, Fla

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin206

.......I unplugged the wiring to the motor and there is no clicking behind the switch. I hooked up the wiper motor that was laying in the bed. I didn't install it, I just laid it in the engine compartment. All I got was clicking behind the switch!!!

Is there a way to troubleshoot the motor before I go out and buy a new one?

These wiper motors must have a good ground to the firewall(on my 89 F250 I ran a ground wire directly to the battery) or they will not work good. Most likely the magnets inside the motor fell loose and thats what's causing it not to run. The clicking is probly the breaker opening from the "dead short" from the motor not moving.

Try moving the arm on the motor if its still on, or use vise-grips on the shaft and try turning it(without messing up the shaft). Sometimes that will start up the motor if its on a bad spot on the comuntater.

On the magnet issue, I have fixed probly 3 or 4 of the motors by JB welding the magnets back in place. One problem there, is you MUST get the magnets in proper location for the motor to work. I wished I photoed a good motor as the 1st one I tried ran toooo slow as I got the magnets in the wrong place.

If you are going to get another wiper motor, best not to get one from a junkyard as most of them are bad allready with loose magnets as I found out the hard way.