Last night, I was driving on the freeway during a very hard rain. My wiper motor works, but only on the first speed. The high speed does not work. When I set the switch to the faster speed, the wipers just freeze on the window.

After a ride like that, I decided that I need to take care of this problem once and for all. For as long as I remember, the wiper motor has never functioned on the fast speed. Any one have any idea what might be the problem?

Also, speaking of wiper motors, I just recently did the tailgate wiring, and the rear wiper motor does not work. It had been inactive since I got the car (back in '89) and probably before, and I would wonder what I might do to get it working again.

Thanks everyone!

...wiper motor has never functioned on the fast speed. Any one have any idea what might be the problem?

My references are to my 81 242:

Possibly the switch on the steering column. Trade with a known good one to see. Very easy to access. At least clean all the connections with some spray elctrical cleaner. Maybe it's that simple.

I'm not sure if the relay, probably under the driver's left foot behind a metal plate at side kick panel, has anything to do with it, but if you can get a good one to trade, it's really easy to access. Junkyard price about $3.00 for me.

I don't know much about the motor itself. I did take off the cover just above where the elec plug plugs in, (a flat round metal cover help by four screws)and cleaned two contact points under there. Between that cleaning and a junkyard relay, I got my intermittents back and cured a parking problem. The wipers had been parking in the middle of the windshield and intermittents didn't work at all.

Good luck.


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Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick On Blocks, stock; 86 240, 129K

It could be the stalk switch or it could be the motor itself. When you switch from normal to high speed, it switches power from one brush to a second brush in the motor.

Frankly, the easiest test is to borrow a known good switch and sub it. You don't even have to screw it down -- simply plug the harness to it. This diagnostic should take only a few moments.

If you go shopping at the boneyard for a switch, remember that you need one for a 245.

Regarding the rear wiper, did you include a ground wire along with the new harness?

Probe around in the tailgate with a test light or voltmeter and confirm that the motor has 12 volts at it when the key is on and that a second tab has 12 volts present when the wiper switch is turned on.
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Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

I don't know if I did run a ground wire to it. I just used the replacement harness from IPD, and I just assumed it would have all the nessicary connections. I might have knocked a ground wire loose somewhere though. I forgot, the tailgate might not actually ground like the rest of the car does...

I'll be sure to check that.

The ground wire is a short, black wire contained within the hinge. It's riveted to each half of the hinge, but usually fractures from the flexing.

On all my wagons, I removed the remains of the original ground wire and installed a longer ground. It runs from under the headliner (near the hinge), through the hinge alongside the harness, and to a convenient tailgate chassis screw near the wiper motor.

For wires in the tailgate harness, I use instrument test lead wire. It's highly stranded, so withstands a million flexes. And it's rubber insulated (not vinyl) so stays flexible in the cold.
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Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)