I just picked up this great new to me truck and I'm psyched! Having never owned a Truck or a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle before I don't know exactly what maintenance to expect. But right now there are a few superficial things to address. I've had the vehicle for about 2 weeks now and taken it back to the dealer twice because the Windshield wipers only work after about 10 min of running the vehicle and the Washer fluid does not spray out. As in it does not come out anywhere. Also The brakes apparently have been serviced both times but the ABS light flickers on and off for periods of time. Just wondering if you have any pointers.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Michael

 

Hiya Michael and welcome aboard. As far as the windshield wipers, its not too much cash to replace the fluid motor which is probably the problem with why you have no fluid at all, anywhere. Even if you hear it going it might not be working properly to get its job done. You could also check the lines that run to it to see if theres a break in a main one. As far as the wipers, is it possible that THAT motor is going bad as well? it works for a short while but then maybe gets too hot?

As far as the ABS light, that could be a short or something actually wrong with the ABS. Not sure on that one...but I'm sure someone here might be able to shed some light on it.

 

About the wiper motor. GM truck wiper motors are known for cold solders on the pin connections to the circuit board. I bet if you were to tweak the electrical connector to one side, it would work well for awhile. I have done numerous solder jobs on various different years of GM trucks. Each one is still working great with practically no cost if you already have a soldering iron ($15 from walmart for a soldering pencil). The circuit board can be removed without removing the entire motor. Pull the electrical connector off, then remove the one bolt in the center of the black plastic cover on the front of the wiper motor. IIRC, the circuit board can then be pulled out. Next, remelt the solder that holds the pins from the connector to the circuit board. Once the solder flows again, simply hold the pin steady and allow it to cool. Most of the circuit boards I have worked on have had a plastic holder to keep the pins in their proper alignment, but there were a few that did not. For those, I plugged in the connector that was previously removed and soldered the terminals with the circuit board out of the motor housing, but still under the hood (not as convenient).

If that doesn't fix your problem, atleast you know. I have had brand new wiper motors fail like this in a matter of a few months. Cheap cold solders are the reason and by resoldering your original, you'll save a bunch. But again, if it doesn't work, you're out at most $20 and your time to make sure that it wasn't something cheap and simple.

 

This is why I adore you. good stuff Swartlkk!!!!

 

If I have some extra time tonight after work, I may even pull mine and go through it with my soldering iron. Snap quite a few pictures for everyone too.

Again, if I get time, I'll get the pics up for everyone.

*EDIT* - Here are the pictures for you:
[IMG]local://upfiles/667/61F38264D07340069788891D79C1891B.jpg[/IMG]
Remove the electrical connector, then remove the two torx screws as identified by the red circles in the first picture. Then loosen the lower screw, but do not fully remove it. You will have to loosen it enough so that the cover can come off. Next remove the circuit board by pulling on the black plastic electrical connector. There are 3 spade terminals just below where the center screw was located. These are the power terminals for the wiper motor. They may release from the wiper motor alittle hard so if necessary, pry out on the circuit board with a small screw driver right along the wiper motor.

[IMG]local://upfiles/667/F3C680AFD3F04444B174A605B897269E.jpg[/IMG]
Once you have the board out, the areas most prone to failure are the ones circled in the above picture. To the right is the main electrical connector solder pads and to the left is solder pads for the wiper motor. If you take a look at them, the way to identify a cold solder is if the surface of the solder is dull looking. Mine looked great so I did not resolder anything. If yours are dull or you can see cracking in the solder, heat the solder until it flows and then allow to cool off.

 

Thanks for all your help! Its great to be talking to compotent people!
Thanks again.
-Michael

 

Thanks for the advice I'll try it tomorrow and let you know the result.

 

Thanks for the advice. All the solder joints were good so I put the module back in. The wipers did'nt work. I took it back out and noticed a lot of lubricant on the two prongs. There was also a lot in the housing ltself. I cleaned the disk where the prongs touch and all the extra on the module and lo and behold the wipers work fine. A little more data for the grey matter.

 

Thanks for the update.
Always room for more in teh gray matter, especially after a few more beers.

 

swartlkk, did you really go home and pull your wiper board out to reply to this post?

Wow..now THAT'S a board administrator! Touche!