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Windshield wipers and horn not working

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Old Feb 1, 2012 | 08:04 PM
  #1  
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Default Windshield wipers and horn not working

Ok, the wipers have been off duty for way too long already.

Here's the scoop. About 2 years ago (no joke...) I went to turn on my wipers, and I got nothing. I took it to a shop, where they claimed to have tested the motor, and it checked out. They told me it was either the box under the dash or the multifunction switch was bad. I switched the box and the switch from my friend's car into mine to test it, and I still get nothing, so I'm left with a wiring issue (what else IS there?) How do I go about checking the wiring? Which wires from the switch go to the motor, and why does the motor have 2 wire harnesses attached to it?

The horn, another issue. The foam divider in the center of the steering wheel that separates the two copper plates rotted out while I was out kyaking for the day, and the horn blew until it died. The battery was still good when I got back, but it annoyed the people at the boat launch for a good 20 minutes, I was told.

Yesterday I switched out the horns with some I pulled from the boneyard, and no joy. The fuse in the fusebox is good. Are there any other culprits or is this wiring too?

Last edited by Project 5.GO!; Feb 1, 2012 at 08:07 PM.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 01:00 AM
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Nobody? Then I bet more than a few of you are using Rain-x as wipers and a middle finger for a horn.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 12:06 PM
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start simple, check the fuses first. Don't even bother with the manual just pull and check each one, it takes less time and you can be sure they are all good. Don't forget the one under the hood too.

For checking wiring it sounds stupid, but just turn on the wipers and then pull/tug/jiggle(all technical terms I know) all the wiring going to/from the switch/motors and see if the wipers kick on somewhere. If they do then isolate what area does it, then which wire.....
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 12:16 PM
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All the fuses in the box are good. Where are there fuses under the hood?
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 12:27 PM
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Gimme a few minutes, I'll dig up some diagrams and point the way
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 12:32 PM
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K, white wire on the motor is the low speed setting.
Dark blue/orange is high speed setting.
Black/Pink is variable setting.
Red is incoming power from the fuse panel.
(2) Black is ground.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 12:57 PM
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latemodelrestoration sells a horn pad repair kit. If it's the pad you replaced, looking at the diagram, there's a relay in the horn circuit that you could test. It has 3 wires going to it, yellow/light green, dark blue, and light blue/white. Not sure where it's located.

Last edited by Five0hFox; Feb 3, 2012 at 01:18 PM.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 01:48 PM
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Thanks for the help guys!

I cut foam for the pad, and got that back together good as new.

Ok, printed out the wiring descriptions, and I'll see if that relay is the box I replaced. How do I go about testing the circuits? I have the tester with the probe that reads if the circuit is hot. Will I need a continuity tester? God, I suck at electrical stuff.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 02:20 PM
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The wiper switch provides the signal pulses to trigger the motor. When testing, just look for a momentary 12v signal on the desired setting. Imagine each time your wipers move from the parked position, they receive a brief 12v signal on the corresponding wire.
Old Feb 3, 2012 | 04:51 PM
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Ok, I can see and account for all the wires at the motor, but the only one that I can recognize at the multifunction switch is the dark blue/orange, and it's not alone. There are 2 of those on 2 seperate plugs on the multifunction switch. I guess I wouldn't see the ground or the fuse panel wires at the switch, but the high and low should be there. Anyone know where on the 3 multifunction switch plugs the wires leading to the high and low circuits are located?

And I can't find that relay for the horn, prolly have to take out my dash to get to it...



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