My first post! My wipers weren't working on high speed and I've traced the problem to the motor. I can reach under the dash and move the motor back and forth slightly with my hand, or rotate it a bit, and the high speed will cut in and out. The van is a 1990 E150 (Econoline) Club Wagon XLT, 302 engine.

The wiper motor is very different from what my Chilton's manual suggests. The manual shows a single unit bolted in place, whereas my motor points down towards the brake pedal and seems to be held, by a large steel clip, into what I'd call the wiper gearbox unit above it (i.e. the unit that is bolted to the firewal and from which the wiper drive shaft protrudes into the cowling). There's a three-wire electrical connection on the upper part of the assembly (gearbox) and another three-wire connection to the motor at the bottom.

Anyway, questions:

* It looks like that big clip comes off and the motor slides down and out of the gearbox. Is it as simple as that? I imagine there may be internal electrical connections and perhaps mechanical ones to deal with....?

* Has anyone else encountered this sort of problem, and was it with the motor or the upper (gearbox) part?

* Is there simply an adjustment or something I should tighten to keep the motor from moving?

* Does anyone have an accurate diagram for this motor? Both the Chilton's and Haynes manuals I've seen only seem to reflect the older style of motor.

Any advice and anecdotes would be appreciated. My wife drives this van every day and I want it to be ready and safe for winter, incl. snow.

Waz

 

Welcome to FTE!
I've never had the problem you're having. Did you move the motor at low speed and did not have it cut in and out? Sounds to me like a connector needs to be cleaned or maybe a wire is broken, maybe inside the insulation, causing an intermittent connection.