everytime it rains i turn on wipers sometimes they work and then they just stop so i flip the switch back again and forward a few times and theyll work again sometimes with no problem but most times they just stop again after theyve made 1-2 passes. so my question is it the switch on the colum or is it the wiper motor. i have a 96 blazer and that switch has the cruise control switch too but that works just fine no problems at all an thats only reason i aint sure if its motor or switch

 

GM has a nasty reputation for having some cold solders on the circuit board inside the wiper motor. I don't know how many I have soldered up in the past (um... More than 10). I bet that if you were to just wait (or drive over some pretty good bumps), that they would start to work again.

I'm not sure about the Blazer wiper motor, but the ones that I have repaired are on the full size C/K pickups. On these, you can remove the connector and the front cover from the wiper motor and the circuit board will slide out. Resolder all of the solder joints that lead from the connector plug to the circuit board. It has worked like a charm on ALL of the ones I have repaired.

If you already have a soldering iron, it is a free fix. Even if you don't have a soldering iron, you can pull out the circuit board and the cracks in the solder are VERY visable if they are there. At that point, you can go pick up a $10 soldering pencil and make the repair. You're out $10. If you don't see any problems there, then your problem lies elsewhere and you still haven't spent any money.

*EDIT* - I just remembered how to check them without any disassembly. Turn on your wipers. If when you wiggle the electrical connector at the motor, the wipers stop (if working) or start (if not working), then it is the solders on the circuit board.

I'd love to say that replacing the wiper motor is an answer, but the aftermarket replacements suffer from the same problem and will fail sometime down the road as well. My father has run through that with his '94 K2500. Replaced it once and then I soldered it up. It failed 9 months after he replaced the motor assembly, then he called me to see what I thought. 5 years later and he hasn't had one problem with the wiper motor. Sad to say that doesn't hold true for the rest of the truck, but he beats the living CRAP out of that thing on a daily basis!