circuit board in the wiper module
laxman21
09-05-2008, 06:11 PM
Can this be cleaned?
How do you replace it? And where would I get one?
Wipers work on and off on truck. Turning off and on or opening the hood and giving the motor a smack gets them started again.
99 burb LT
THanks
How do you replace it? And where would I get one?
Wipers work on and off on truck. Turning off and on or opening the hood and giving the motor a smack gets them started again.
99 burb LT
THanks
777stickman
09-05-2008, 07:22 PM
Had to do this for the same troubles you described, only more.
It's best to take the motor out to do it although it can be done with the motor in. Take out 3-4 screws on the motor cover plate. The module is what the wiring harness attaches to.
Got mine from a local Car Quest.
Make sure you have the VIN with you when you order one.
Any other ?'s just ask..........Steve
It's best to take the motor out to do it although it can be done with the motor in. Take out 3-4 screws on the motor cover plate. The module is what the wiring harness attaches to.
Got mine from a local Car Quest.
Make sure you have the VIN with you when you order one.
Any other ?'s just ask..........Steve
chuck's
09-05-2008, 09:49 PM
Before installing a new module,look closely at the solder joints on the circuit board where the the pins connect to the wiring harness.What can happen is that the solder cracks and breaks the circuit.Try to resolder the joints.This may be the cause of your problem.
chuck's
chuck's
laxman21
09-06-2008, 11:04 PM
ru3
09-07-2008, 10:28 AM
I would try and re solider the joints where you plug in the wiring harness to the circuit board.
Cusser
09-09-2008, 02:18 PM
This was covered by at least two separate product recalls, call dealer with VIN number. Unfortunately, even though my year and model was listed, mine didn't make it on the recall list (thanks GM SOBs). GM apaprently would rather make money from me for their engineering bozo, this went on about a decade. See two attachments below:
Mid-90's Chevy and GMC Wiper Module Circuit Board
Replacement and/or Repair Procedures
The fault in this circuit board is quite common and is attributed to bad
solder joints from either design error or manufacturing flaw. Symptoms
which indicate a bad circuit board include (but are not limited to): wipers
will not work at all or work intermittently; wipers stop working for no
apparent reason, maybe even in mid-stroke; wiper function is erratic, with
no delay feature, delay is the same regardless of setting, or no low- or
high-speed setting; wipers may start to work if you tap on the wiper module
or move the electrical connector.
You have a choice of either Repairing your existing circuit board yourself,
or Replacing it.
Replacement - You have at least three options available to you, depending on
your relationship with your dealer and how much of a stink you want to put
up.
1.. Pay for the replacement part plus the labor to have the dealer install
it (~$50 for the part plus ? for labor. Most expensive, least work).
2.. Pay for the replacement part and install it yourself (~$50 for the
part, your labor is free. Takes about 15 minutes.).
3.. Have the part replaced under recall if applicable (Free, minus the
time your truck will be in the shop. Least expensive, most work.).
4.. (Repair it yourself - Instructions below after Replacement)
Option #1 is very straightforward, just go down to your local dealer and
have him do the work and pay the bill when he is finished. You don't even
have to read any further.
Option #2 is also very straightforward. Have the parts department research
the correct part number for your model year circuit board, purchase the part
from them and install it. The wiper module is a small 2"x 4" black box
attatched somewhere near the top of the firewall on the driver's side. It
has the wiper motor mounted to it, and an electrical connector plugged into
the end. Remove the electrical connector first, and using a Torx (6-pointed
star) driver, remove the cover from the module. The circuit board sits
directly underneath the cover and will be coated with grease. Gently pry
the circuit board out of the module, do a little spring cleaning inside the
case and add a dab of grease to the drive gears if needed. Install the new
circuit board in the same manner as the old one was. Clean the inside of
the cover and reinstall with the same Torx head screws. If you purchased a
"kit" that included a new cover along with the new circuit board, make sure
to use the new cover and screws provided as the new circuit board is thicker
and the new cover has been altered to fit it.
Option #3 gets a little involved. First you must find a recall notice for
your truck. Start by checking on the internet at www.nhtsa.gov and drill
down thru the links for recalls to determine if your truck is actually
listed (there are other sites to check as well). Just because your truck
may not be listed doesn't mean it's not under recall. It could easily
depend on how your truck is described. For example, a 1995 Chevrolet C1500
Pick-up could easily be listed as a C1500, 1500, 1500-3500, C-Series, C/K
Series, Chevrolet Truck, GM Truck, C10 (the old designation), etc. It would
pay to look under as many designations as you can think of before giving up.
If you find your truck as listed, so much the better. Print out a copy of
the recall and wave it at your dealer's service manager and they should fix
it No Questions Asked. If they still refuse, contact Chevrolet/GMC Customer
Assistance and/or the NHTSA's hotline (both are toll-free and listed on
their respective web sites).
If you do not find your truck specifically listed, all hope is not yet lost.
Search for the same truck under a different model year, or a substantially
similar vehicle which does have a recall (For example, the Chevy Blazer
shares the same wiper components as the Chevy S-10 and Astro, the GMC Jimmy,
Safari and Sonoma, the Olds Bravada, etc.). Print out a copy of the recall
for the other vehicle and go to your dealer's parts department. Have them
search for the part number of the circuit board for the recalled vehicle,
then for the part number for your truck. Odds are in your favor that they
will both be exactly the same. Hence, your wiper module is one of the
faulty ones being recalled and should be covered but your truck may have
been left off the recall list. Take this info to the service manager and
depending on how much he wants to keep you as a customer, he will find a way
to have the board replaced under the recall. If not, then you still have
options #1 and #2 above, or you could fix your existing board yourself.
Repair - You can easily repair your existing board if you know how to turn a
screwdriver and know which end of a soldering gun to hold. If you haven't
mastered either of these skills, then have someone else do the job for you.
Step 1 - Locate the wiper module and remove the circuit board as described
in Option #2 above. Be VERY careful removing the circuit board. Do not
crack, bend or break it or you're outta luck and will have to buy a new one.
The circuit board is approx. 2"x 4" and has two distinct sides. The top is
the side where all the components live, especially the large black socket
for the electrical connector (more on that later). The bottom is where all
the lead wires from the electrical components poke thru the board and are
soldered to the printed circuit. Carefully wipe the excess grease off the
board.
Step 2 - The fault in the board is caused by bad solder joints holding the
large socket onto the printed circuit. If the board itself is cracked or
broken, then you will have to get a new one. Carefully inspect the tiny
mounds of solder underneath the large socket on the bottom of the board.
Each drop of solder connects a lead wire from the socket to the printed
circuit. A bad solder joint may look like it has a tiny circle in the drop
of solder around the wire end, a chip or crack in the little mound of
solder, or it may be too small to see. At this point you will need a
soldering gun and solder, and a steady hand. (Note - Plain or rosin-core
solder has been recommended to me. Do not use acid-core solder as it will
damage your work.)
Step 3 - Set your circuit board bottom side up so you can see the solder
joints for the socket onto the printed circuit. Heat up your soldering gun
and apply just a tiny drop of solder to the tip. Place the hot tip with the
melted solder directly onto the existing solder joint in question just long
enough until the gun melts the existing solder and the new solder mixes in
with it. Remove the gun from the work and allow to cool. Remelting the
original solder and adding some extra should repair the joint and make
continuity again and reinforce it. Repeat for all the solder joints in
question, and/or all the solder joints for the socket. Don't overheat your
work, or solder may run down and create a short to another circuit, or you
may unknowingly fry a component on the other side of the board.
Step 4 - Allow everything to cool, then reinstall the board as listed in
Option #2 above.
******************
The Suburban Wiper Syndrome
My '92 Suburban K2500 was recently struck by the "erratic wiper" syndrome. This problem is apparently well known among Sub owners...and has been said to often be related to solder joints on the wiper control circuit board. The board is located inside the wiper motor assembly, behind the flat cover shown here, just above the firewall on the driver side in the engine compartment.
I decided to look at mine...the hard way. I removed the entire wiper unit, which involves taking some plastic off up near the windshield, and disconnecting the wiper mechanical and electrical linkages, plus some bolts, screws, etc. The EASY way, as I learned later, is to just remove the three screws holding the circuit board cover. Actually, you only have to remove screw A, and just loosen B and C, since the corners are slotted, rather than holes. The are Torx head.
When the cover is removed, the circuit board is visible...
Amazingly, the board can simply be LIFTED OUT (with careful prying around the edges).
As shown next, the circuit board comes free, with the black cable connector socket attached to it (so disconnect the cable first ... of course you have to lift the plastic catch on the plug up to do that).
These pictures were taken AFTER I made my first attempt. I must have shorted something out in my testing, because now it didn't work at all. By examining the circuit board, I saw a burned-through trace on the board. In case it was a likely future burn-out spot, I soldered an external fuse holder to bridge the burned area...the red wires and white holder you see below. This arrangement just hangs out of the box when re-assembled, so I could replace the fuse if need be in the future without opening the wiper unit. Typically you wouldn't have to do this...it was just to make up for my error.
And here is a close-up of the burned spot. The wires connect between the origin solder joint A, and a heavy ground trace B that the burned trace is connected to.
All this is beside the point though. I didn't see any problem with the soldering on the circuit board (didn't look carefully enough), so I presumed the problem was with the connector contacts. I cleaned them up, put it back together, and it seemed to work fine. However, shortly it began to act up again. This time, at least, I knew enough just to pull the board, rather than the whole wiper assembly.
This time, I saw the real problem...four solder joints had cracks in them...all of them where the black electrical connector socket prongs come through the board...A, B, C, and D below.
Here are closeups of some of the cracked joints. These were clearly the problem...when it started acting up again, I found I could make it do funny things by wiggling the connector socket, yet I'd cleaned up the actual plug prongs, and made the socket contacts tighter by judicious use of a dental probe. So something internal had to be it.
I think one cause of the cracks is that these soldered prongs act as support for the wiring socket. There are two extra plastic support pins that come through the board, but these aren't very effective. Probably at some point someone tried to pull the wire connector off, and twisted the hell out of it before they realized they had to release the plastic clip to get it out! The solution is simple: resolder the joints as others had recommended. Since they are heavy lugs from the socket connector, you can use a good amount of heat without fear of damaging parts. This may not be true with other solder joints, however...just the ones on the socket lugs. Here's one of the joints after re-soldering...
Here's a shot of the wiper housing before putting the board back in.
To make a long story a bit longer, I stuck the board back in (being careful to seat the board prongs back into their connectors shown at A). You can see the commutator rings that allow the wipers to come back to "home" position after turning the switch off. Everything works fine now, and I anticipate it doing so for a long time to come...and the Burb lived happily ever after!
Mid-90's Chevy and GMC Wiper Module Circuit Board
Replacement and/or Repair Procedures
The fault in this circuit board is quite common and is attributed to bad
solder joints from either design error or manufacturing flaw. Symptoms
which indicate a bad circuit board include (but are not limited to): wipers
will not work at all or work intermittently; wipers stop working for no
apparent reason, maybe even in mid-stroke; wiper function is erratic, with
no delay feature, delay is the same regardless of setting, or no low- or
high-speed setting; wipers may start to work if you tap on the wiper module
or move the electrical connector.
You have a choice of either Repairing your existing circuit board yourself,
or Replacing it.
Replacement - You have at least three options available to you, depending on
your relationship with your dealer and how much of a stink you want to put
up.
1.. Pay for the replacement part plus the labor to have the dealer install
it (~$50 for the part plus ? for labor. Most expensive, least work).
2.. Pay for the replacement part and install it yourself (~$50 for the
part, your labor is free. Takes about 15 minutes.).
3.. Have the part replaced under recall if applicable (Free, minus the
time your truck will be in the shop. Least expensive, most work.).
4.. (Repair it yourself - Instructions below after Replacement)
Option #1 is very straightforward, just go down to your local dealer and
have him do the work and pay the bill when he is finished. You don't even
have to read any further.
Option #2 is also very straightforward. Have the parts department research
the correct part number for your model year circuit board, purchase the part
from them and install it. The wiper module is a small 2"x 4" black box
attatched somewhere near the top of the firewall on the driver's side. It
has the wiper motor mounted to it, and an electrical connector plugged into
the end. Remove the electrical connector first, and using a Torx (6-pointed
star) driver, remove the cover from the module. The circuit board sits
directly underneath the cover and will be coated with grease. Gently pry
the circuit board out of the module, do a little spring cleaning inside the
case and add a dab of grease to the drive gears if needed. Install the new
circuit board in the same manner as the old one was. Clean the inside of
the cover and reinstall with the same Torx head screws. If you purchased a
"kit" that included a new cover along with the new circuit board, make sure
to use the new cover and screws provided as the new circuit board is thicker
and the new cover has been altered to fit it.
Option #3 gets a little involved. First you must find a recall notice for
your truck. Start by checking on the internet at www.nhtsa.gov and drill
down thru the links for recalls to determine if your truck is actually
listed (there are other sites to check as well). Just because your truck
may not be listed doesn't mean it's not under recall. It could easily
depend on how your truck is described. For example, a 1995 Chevrolet C1500
Pick-up could easily be listed as a C1500, 1500, 1500-3500, C-Series, C/K
Series, Chevrolet Truck, GM Truck, C10 (the old designation), etc. It would
pay to look under as many designations as you can think of before giving up.
If you find your truck as listed, so much the better. Print out a copy of
the recall and wave it at your dealer's service manager and they should fix
it No Questions Asked. If they still refuse, contact Chevrolet/GMC Customer
Assistance and/or the NHTSA's hotline (both are toll-free and listed on
their respective web sites).
If you do not find your truck specifically listed, all hope is not yet lost.
Search for the same truck under a different model year, or a substantially
similar vehicle which does have a recall (For example, the Chevy Blazer
shares the same wiper components as the Chevy S-10 and Astro, the GMC Jimmy,
Safari and Sonoma, the Olds Bravada, etc.). Print out a copy of the recall
for the other vehicle and go to your dealer's parts department. Have them
search for the part number of the circuit board for the recalled vehicle,
then for the part number for your truck. Odds are in your favor that they
will both be exactly the same. Hence, your wiper module is one of the
faulty ones being recalled and should be covered but your truck may have
been left off the recall list. Take this info to the service manager and
depending on how much he wants to keep you as a customer, he will find a way
to have the board replaced under the recall. If not, then you still have
options #1 and #2 above, or you could fix your existing board yourself.
Repair - You can easily repair your existing board if you know how to turn a
screwdriver and know which end of a soldering gun to hold. If you haven't
mastered either of these skills, then have someone else do the job for you.
Step 1 - Locate the wiper module and remove the circuit board as described
in Option #2 above. Be VERY careful removing the circuit board. Do not
crack, bend or break it or you're outta luck and will have to buy a new one.
The circuit board is approx. 2"x 4" and has two distinct sides. The top is
the side where all the components live, especially the large black socket
for the electrical connector (more on that later). The bottom is where all
the lead wires from the electrical components poke thru the board and are
soldered to the printed circuit. Carefully wipe the excess grease off the
board.
Step 2 - The fault in the board is caused by bad solder joints holding the
large socket onto the printed circuit. If the board itself is cracked or
broken, then you will have to get a new one. Carefully inspect the tiny
mounds of solder underneath the large socket on the bottom of the board.
Each drop of solder connects a lead wire from the socket to the printed
circuit. A bad solder joint may look like it has a tiny circle in the drop
of solder around the wire end, a chip or crack in the little mound of
solder, or it may be too small to see. At this point you will need a
soldering gun and solder, and a steady hand. (Note - Plain or rosin-core
solder has been recommended to me. Do not use acid-core solder as it will
damage your work.)
Step 3 - Set your circuit board bottom side up so you can see the solder
joints for the socket onto the printed circuit. Heat up your soldering gun
and apply just a tiny drop of solder to the tip. Place the hot tip with the
melted solder directly onto the existing solder joint in question just long
enough until the gun melts the existing solder and the new solder mixes in
with it. Remove the gun from the work and allow to cool. Remelting the
original solder and adding some extra should repair the joint and make
continuity again and reinforce it. Repeat for all the solder joints in
question, and/or all the solder joints for the socket. Don't overheat your
work, or solder may run down and create a short to another circuit, or you
may unknowingly fry a component on the other side of the board.
Step 4 - Allow everything to cool, then reinstall the board as listed in
Option #2 above.
******************
The Suburban Wiper Syndrome
My '92 Suburban K2500 was recently struck by the "erratic wiper" syndrome. This problem is apparently well known among Sub owners...and has been said to often be related to solder joints on the wiper control circuit board. The board is located inside the wiper motor assembly, behind the flat cover shown here, just above the firewall on the driver side in the engine compartment.
I decided to look at mine...the hard way. I removed the entire wiper unit, which involves taking some plastic off up near the windshield, and disconnecting the wiper mechanical and electrical linkages, plus some bolts, screws, etc. The EASY way, as I learned later, is to just remove the three screws holding the circuit board cover. Actually, you only have to remove screw A, and just loosen B and C, since the corners are slotted, rather than holes. The are Torx head.
When the cover is removed, the circuit board is visible...
Amazingly, the board can simply be LIFTED OUT (with careful prying around the edges).
As shown next, the circuit board comes free, with the black cable connector socket attached to it (so disconnect the cable first ... of course you have to lift the plastic catch on the plug up to do that).
These pictures were taken AFTER I made my first attempt. I must have shorted something out in my testing, because now it didn't work at all. By examining the circuit board, I saw a burned-through trace on the board. In case it was a likely future burn-out spot, I soldered an external fuse holder to bridge the burned area...the red wires and white holder you see below. This arrangement just hangs out of the box when re-assembled, so I could replace the fuse if need be in the future without opening the wiper unit. Typically you wouldn't have to do this...it was just to make up for my error.
And here is a close-up of the burned spot. The wires connect between the origin solder joint A, and a heavy ground trace B that the burned trace is connected to.
All this is beside the point though. I didn't see any problem with the soldering on the circuit board (didn't look carefully enough), so I presumed the problem was with the connector contacts. I cleaned them up, put it back together, and it seemed to work fine. However, shortly it began to act up again. This time, at least, I knew enough just to pull the board, rather than the whole wiper assembly.
This time, I saw the real problem...four solder joints had cracks in them...all of them where the black electrical connector socket prongs come through the board...A, B, C, and D below.
Here are closeups of some of the cracked joints. These were clearly the problem...when it started acting up again, I found I could make it do funny things by wiggling the connector socket, yet I'd cleaned up the actual plug prongs, and made the socket contacts tighter by judicious use of a dental probe. So something internal had to be it.
I think one cause of the cracks is that these soldered prongs act as support for the wiring socket. There are two extra plastic support pins that come through the board, but these aren't very effective. Probably at some point someone tried to pull the wire connector off, and twisted the hell out of it before they realized they had to release the plastic clip to get it out! The solution is simple: resolder the joints as others had recommended. Since they are heavy lugs from the socket connector, you can use a good amount of heat without fear of damaging parts. This may not be true with other solder joints, however...just the ones on the socket lugs. Here's one of the joints after re-soldering...
Here's a shot of the wiper housing before putting the board back in.
To make a long story a bit longer, I stuck the board back in (being careful to seat the board prongs back into their connectors shown at A). You can see the commutator rings that allow the wipers to come back to "home" position after turning the switch off. Everything works fine now, and I anticipate it doing so for a long time to come...and the Burb lived happily ever after!
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