On my 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, my windshield wipers stopped working. I removed the cover and fiddled with it and when I put everything back together it worked again. On a later date it stopped working again. I then replaced the wiper motor with a rebuilt motor. It worked fine on a cross-country trip. It has since stopped working again. Today, I unplugged the harness under the hood and tried to check to see if I was getting any voltage. before unplugging the harness, when I touched it, I got a spark from the plastic plug. (I don’t know if this is relevant - may have just been static electricity.) I was getting voltage from the wiring and it changed as I moved the windshield wiper switch. When I plugged the harness back together, the wipers worked again. Can anyone suggest what I can do to correct this problem? There is no visible problem on the plug with the connection or any corrosion.
The controller board on the wiper unit is probably bad. I don’t know if Caravans are know for this, but Chevy Blazers had a bad run of controller boards that would crack at the connector, causing the same problems your having.
It could also be a compromised connector. The metal tangs can get corroded or bent, and intermittently lose contact. You may be able to clean it up with some electrical contact cleaner, then apply some dielectric grease, like bulb grease, to keep moisture out.
I think the wipers are controlled by the BCM module, for the delay mode at least. Hopefully the trouble isn’t with it but it may be. I suggest you get a service manual if you are going to work on this yourself. It will be well worth the cost. The factory one is the best one to get. Check Ebay for some good prices on them.
Some additional information – The wipers either work or don’t work. The problem is not with the delay specifically. They have never gotten stuck in the “up” position. Today, I determined to try my best to do only one thing at a time before trying the wipers again after they did not work for a couple of days. The wipers started working again and the only thing that I did was turn the fan switch on the dsah board to the “off” position.
The way most are wired, there’s a constant 12V source that is used to ‘park’ the wipers. This line appears to be fine. The one to worry about is the switched 12V lines that power the motor out of park. The intermittent wipers usually pulse the 12V low speed to get the wipers out of ‘park’, then let the constant 12V return it to ‘park’. I still think the problems at the connector.
95% certain it’s the BCM (body control module) this has failed on 2 Chrysler mini vans that I know of… Mine, and a friends. Both were Gen 2, 1996 models. the BCM is located under the dash, behind the fuse panel. I have bought them at the junk yard for about 25$, but it will change the mileage on the van, and you have to MAKE SURE that it is the same model, engine, etc. as yours. For example, if the parts van has a Security system, power windows, etc. and yours doesn’t then it most likely won’t work. If you match it up carefully it will cure your wiper problems. This BCM is actually a computer, and many functions run through it, including the wipers. One other thing to try would be the wiper relays… there are two of them, one is for delay, and the other for on/off I think. they are located in the under the hood fuse panel. Swap them out with others of the same number, like the A/C one, and see what happens…
What a lame idea to run the wiper delay through the BCM.
I agree… I’m betting there is a way to circumvent the BCM, but it would take away many of the wiper’s features, and would probably involve a toggle switch on the dash, etc. etc. AND as the BCM crashes, other things will go wrong too; door locks, etc. These modern cars w/ multiple computers do have their drawbacks…