Dear Bill,

The coincidence with the wiper motor seems completely unrelated, so I'd like to ask for your clarification. Was your test wire meant to supply battery to the motor itself? Was it directly from the battery positive terminal and only to the motor side of the four-pin connector? If there was a chance it got tangled with the supply side of the plug I'd ask if you pulled the wiper interval relay.

Hi-Lo and "step" refer to the same aluminum box on the fender.

The ignition switch would by my suspect too, but you having it apart I'd think you would have measured to make sure there was no carbon track in the bakelite capable of supplying enough current to hold in the headlight relay. Even if not measured, something that bad should have been visible. I'm impressed you got the thing back together without breaking the pot metal.

The headlight relay coil wire - blue/white I think, also feeds fuse 14, if I recall, to run fog light and dim the radio display. Pulling that fuse might eliminate another possible path for the voltage holding that relay down. A meter or test light should help you find the source of it. I still can't tie it to the wiper incident. You were hoping confession was good for the sol-ution.

Try pulling fuse 14 to check for effect. That's the easy thing. Then try pulling the ignition switch plug off and putting it back on. Not much harder.

If no help, let us know what aftermarket electronics you have; alarm, keyless, fancy audio, etc.

Best luck-
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore