1998 Silverado intermittent wiper problem

Hi there,
The windshield wipers on my 1998 Chevy Silverado K1500 work about 60-70% of the time. When they don’t work, I can still hear the wiper motor running. When I separated the linkage & removed the wiper motor to inspect, I found all appeared in fine condition. To me it acts as if there is a chipped tooth (you know, like when a starter motor sometimes doesn’t engage the flywheel) which catches only half of the time…you can hear the motor running, but see no action.

Of course, I cannot replicate the problem when I’m inspecting it with the cowl cover off. It’s like how the sick kid has a miraculous recovery in the Doctor’s waiting room! The only time it malfunctions “on command” lately has been the three attempts I’ve made to renew my state inspection that expires five days from now. I’m getting desperate as the clock runs down–help!!!
Thank you,
Andrew in Charlotte, NC

Figured it out on the C/K page of automotiveforums.com. It was the five solder connections on the pulse board nearest the plug on the wiper motor. Solder was cold cracked on all five connections. I simply heated up the solder to remake each joint and it’s back to working perfectly. I found out this was a recall issue that stopped at 1997, but is the same part/problem on the 1998. This is a very easy FREE fix for anyone with a soldering iron. Took about 10 minutes in all.