Wiper Woes

[81f100custom]

So yesterday on the way to work it was raining like nobody's business and wouldn't you know it my wipers want to start working intermittently when on the low or high position. So I have been on the wiper troubleshooting page here but have not been able to perform any or all of the checks outlined there because of work and now when I get home its dark out and so on. I just thought I would throw out a quick what I was experiencing and see if anyone has maybe had a similar experience and maybe what is most likely the culprit. So when on low they where working just fine and just started stopping randomly at any position on the windshield and hardly ever the same position and would stay stopped from 2 or 3 seconds up to maybe a minute and would always start back working on there own. I tried this on high and also same result. The switch is a Ford delay intermittent type and wiper motor is one of O'Reilly's Lifetime .    

[1986F150Six]

The intermittent switch has a ground wire. Check that it has not loosened.

[mat in tn]

my first thought too was a bad ground. look here in the evtm for the ground locations of any and all involved. also , any ground which is at or on the dash structure relies on the bolts which mount the dash to the cab.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Often the problem with these intermittent wiper switches is cracked solder joints in the module.
It is attached to a stay on the parking brake assembly and gets jolted every time the brake is released.

This could be your problem. (It happened to me more than once before I arrived at a solution.)

I know I've posted pics of the problem and how to solder it back together.
The long term answer is to wrap the module in foam rubber and zip tie it up behind the fuse panel so it has a gentler ride once repaired.

Let me see if there is a thread here, or I have to link back to FTE....  

[ArdWrknTrk]

The ground is a wire eyelet screwed to the dash structure above the driver's knees...

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm running in circles at FTE gathering up my posts and threads about this and Gary has it all organized under Documentation/Electrical/Windshield Wipers

Ha! What was I thinking??  

[mat in tn]

yes, and the delay module has " do not drop" written on it. yet it is rarely mounted in a shock safe area. go figure.

[81f100custom]

Thanks, I will check those things mentioned above when I am able. So would the solder joints on the delay board affect the low and high speeds or just the intermittent part of the system?

[ArdWrknTrk]

They affect all modes if current can't pass through the board to the wiper motor.

The other things to check is the run and park contacts in the motor gearbox itself and the magnets glued inside the motor.
But it's a lot easier to verify the wiper speed governor solder is good before tearing the wiper motor apart.