[RobtRoma]

My wipers have done a few odd things over the last couple months. Example - The intermittent setting will occasionally wipe inconsistently... wipe, wipe, pause, wipe, pause, wipe pause, wipe, wipe, pause.

Tonight, I sprayed my windows by pulling the wiper control stalk towards me. This usually sprays the window and wipes until I let go. Normally, I'll get two full wipes after I let go and then the wipers park themselves. Tonight, after I let go, I got 1-3/4 wipes but the wipers stopped in the middle of the windshield. I had to pull the stalk a few more times to get them to park properly. I tried them again a little while later and they worked normally.

I found the fuse location in the manual. I'm going to check that tomorrow. I figure if that's OK, there might a problem with the wiper relay. Does anyone know where it's located and where I might be able to get one (aside from the dealership)?

 

[hurk]

The owner's manual maintenance section shows the location of the Power Distribution Box.
The box is in the engine bay on the driver's side next to the fender & near the airbox.
I'm assuming the wiper relay is in there.

 

[RobtRoma]

I looked in the manual and saw a bunch of relays listed in that location but none of them were listed as being for the front wipers. It was late last night and I might have missed it. I'll look again... Thanks for the input.

 

[perryT200]

Was there ever a reported fix for this problem? It is exactly what I am experiencing on my 2002 with 113k.

The intermittent function does not work at all, hi/low work at the same speed and the wipers to not park in a rested position.

there is a fuse I haven't checked yet because then I doubt the wipers would work at all and it appears to be a relay problem, but I can't find a relay in the owners manual.

any help would be appreciated
thanks
Perry

 

[patsfan1704]

looking at my Haynes wiring diagram (which is generic for all model years and could differ year to year) there is NO relay for the wiper system. The system basically consists of the fuse, the wiper switch, and the wiper motor. I would rule out the fuse, and lean towards the switch or the motor. From the wiring diagram, it appears the park feature is within the motor itself. So if its not returning to park it could be the motor. First thing to check is the condition of the connections, wiring, and ground. The way the system works is very similar to this video:

There are also many other videos on troubleshooting wiper motors and switches, take a look at those.

 

[wptski]

I took apart an old wiper gearbox years ago but basically there was a park switch inside that was open/closed on every wipe cycle by a cam lobe. The switch did nothing till the main switch was turned OFF, it then made one cycle and parked. IIRC, it parked mid way and I had to adjust it by bending a copper piece so it stop in the correct position.

 

[perryT200]

from what I can tell that would be correct, the motor is shot, it might be the switch but further review makes me think it is the motor,

a ford focus has relays

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/show ... p?t=145761

and they are at the kick panel by the fuses. but a quick search for compatibility wiper motors on ebay and amazon show that the escape and the focus do not use the same motor

therefore I would say if the escape has a relay it is in the motor itself and not in either of the fuse boxes under the hood or in the kick panel.

luckily the default is the wipers work at full speed instead of stop completely,. 6 hours from home on thanksgiving is not when you want to lose the wipers

 

[1X4WDEscape]

I'm ready to hit the sack but I recall there being a logic module that runs most of that stuff. Lights, heated glass and mirrors, flashers, etc. Maybe you can get lucky by disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to reset it?