Infinite1

Hi,
I have a 1998 Ford F150 with a 4.2L V-6. I cannot get the windshield wipers to work properly.

Initially, when I turned the wipers to the off position they would not go completely off. Instead, they would work on the slowest intermittent speed. I ordered a new wiper control stalk and put it on and the wipers did the same thing.

Next, I bought a new wiper motor and put it on and it did the same thing.

Next, I changed the three Windshield wiper relays in the fuse box under the hood. One was for the Windshield Wiper (WSW) Hi/Lo, the other was for the WSW Run/Park, and the last was for the Washer Pump. It still did the same thing.

I took the wiper control stalk off of my 1999 Ford F-150 and put it on the 1998 Ford F-150 and the switch didn’t work at all.

I decided to take the wiper control stalk that was originally on the 1998 Ford F-150 and remove the cap on the end of the stalk. I noticed that even though the wiper switch was in the off position (according to the marks on the outside of the stalk), on the inside there was still room (additional travel within the switch) to move the contacts past the off position. When I moved it past the off position, the wipers turned off. The problem then was that they will spray water and move three times before turning off. Also they then started to working on high speed only after spraying water.

I have a "rigged" fix, but they are still not working correctly. I appreciate your help!

bkitchens

Please respond with your "rigged fix". I have a similar problem. 1995 f150 extended cab with 4.2L v6. Wipers intermittently stop working or intermittently start without input on the control switch. Washer and wiper may squirt and pulse...I believe this has even happened without the ignition engaged. Have heard relay behind fuse panel clicking while truck sat with ignition off. Dealer replace the control switch, but the problem persists.

RLXXI

Replace the multifunction switch. It's the only fix. Very common problem.
.

terryh80

It's the GEM module behind the fuse box. DON'T replace the multi-switch. The GEM is known to have issues that affect the wipers, lights, and turn signals.

white89gt

This is 4 years old... I'd hope it's fixed now.

But you are correct on your assessment.

CTguy1955

I have a 2000 5.4 4x4 and the stem with wiper speed control is brand new. The old one ended up having nothing wrong with it. My wipers stay on and the fluid squirts unless I pull the 30 amp fuse.
Today I switched the two same fuses for the Park and Tow lights, and it made no difference. I pulled the hot wire for the Fluid, and I can leave the 30 amp fuse inside the truck as long as I am
very careful when making a turn signal, not to pull forward or the wipers come on and the only way to shut them off is to turn the engine off and try to get the wipers close to park.

I took a 12 bolt light up tester and attached it to the battery ground and went through the Park and Tow fuse plug in 5 pins. The Tow only had one that was hot but that made
sense as its only supplying 12v to back of truck trailer plug, but with the truck running and the wipers not on ( new blades and no water ) I only had 2 of 5 that had juice.

The mechanic who installed the used engine for Me thought He may have pinched the wiring harness..... After reading this, I wonder if its my 21 year old GEM Module ?????
Thank You for posting this, I appreciate it very much. WHEN I do a search for the Gem mod, weird stuff comes up. I need help with that too please






Of the three on top, only the far right lights up, and of the 2 horizontal ones, only the top one lights up. I do not know if with the wipers on if that would change anything ?

terryh80

I would swap the relays with one you know works like the horn and make sure a relay isn't stuck. My wipers would randomly not work, of course you only find out when it's raining. I checked fuses, swap relays to ensure they were all good, changed out the turn signal wiper stalk as I've had those fail where the cruise would shut off when the turn signal was used and other issues. I checked power going to the relay but not coming out. That told me the GEM was bad. There's a place in Florida that offers to rebuild them but all they do is tell you it's bad and can't be rebuilt and they offer to sell you another which turns out is a Cardone remanufactured unit for a lot more money. After fighting with them, they're rude asses, I finally disputed the credit card transaction and they didn't fight it. I ended up pulling my module to get the numbers of it, went to O'Reillys and ordered it from them for like $160. They had to order it, took about four days, stuck it in and no more issues. Well worth it to not have to put in a separate switch for the wipers and washer. Good Luck.

Mike Orr

So is the GEM module the same as the PCM? I’m asking because I go to look up GEM and it shows me a PCM.

CTguy1955

(went to O'Reillys and ordered it from them for like $160)

I would look on O'Reillys website for a 160 dollar part called pcm or gem Cardone Engine Control Module - Remanufactured 78-8748F | O'Reilly Aut (oreillyauto.com) PCM is not the part for sure

I too could not find one on amazon or Advanced Auto that had both the fuse box and the Gem Module.

terryh80

Yeah, the call them both. I originally took mine out and opened it up and cleaned it and it worked for a while but there isn't any moving parts inside. It's best to check the fuses, relays, and wiring and then just move on and purchase the GEM.