Wipers

My wipers are only working on high& even then they're still slow. It does have the intermittent ones but it's only working when the stick is in high, they don't even return to the bottom of the windshield when I shut them off so I gotta 'self park' them.

Could it be a bad ground on the wiper motor causing this?

yeah, it could be a bad ground at the wiper motor. also check the circuit breaker for corrosion in the fuse block.

i have the same problem. ive been told its the wiper control box is bad or has a bad connection. mines a 93

You guys should use the search to find more threads on this topic.

There are two possibilities, the control box or the wiper motor. The first is easy to diagnose. Simply remove the control box from the circuit by disconnecting at each end then connect the wires without the box. You should get only low and high speed. The box is located under the knee panel just to the left of the steering column and held in place with velcro.

The wiper motor is another matter. Should you replace the motor, you need to watch out for the connector. There are two different kinds. DC makes an adapter cable to go from the old style to the new ( I believe it was changed in '91), but it is very expensive (I was quoted ~$70!).

My '92 had a problem like yours. I got another motor for free and thought I might as well take the original apart. I removed the cover plate and found the contact springs "Sprung". I bent them to improve the contact presure and put it back together. When I replaced the plastic bushings for the wiper transmission, I decied to swap motors as well. I have been using it for three months. Not long you say? I live in Oregon!

I don't know what year your XJ is, but mine is a 95 with intermittent wipers too. I've got the same problem right now, but I know the cause of it. The plugin on the side of the steering wheel is not plugged in all the way. I've been to lazy to fix it, but I really never drive mine on the road anymore either. Anyhow, that might be another cause for your problem. Just my two pennies though........

Thanks, it's a '90. Is the wiper motor box the clear looking one with all the gears inside?

Noticed something else...today I went thru a large mud puddle at about 25mph& the clock went on for the first time, went thru a larger one at a slower speed& it went out. Looked @the bulb a while ago when I had the dash off to remove the radio& noticed the bulb was blackened so I was assuming it was just blown out, just thought it was kinda ironic how it came on& went back off like that.