Windshield Wipers on 98 S10

Mid-90's Chevy and GMC Wiper Module Circuit Board Replacement and/or Repair Procedures

The fault in this circuit board is quite common and is attributed to bad solder joints from either design error or manufacturing flaw. Symptoms which indicate a bad circuit board include (but are not limited to): wipers will not work or work intermittently; wipers stop working for no apparent reason, maybe even in mid-stroke; wiper function is erratic, with no delay feature, delay is the same regardless of setting, or no low- or high-speed setting; wipers may start to work if you tap on the wiper module or move the electrical connector.

You have a choice of either Repairing your existing circuit board yourself, or Replacing it.

Replacement - You have at least three options available to you, depending on your relationship with your dealer and how much of a stink you want to put up.

1. Pay for the replacement part plus the labor to have the dealer install it (~ for the part plus ? for labor. Most expensive, least work).
2. Pay for the replacement part and install it yourself (~ for the part, your labor is free. Takes about 15 minutes.).
3. Have the part replaced under recall if applicable (Free, minus the time your truck will be in the shop. Least expensive, most work.).
4. (Repair it yourself - Instructions below after Replacement)

Option #1 is very straightforward, just go down to your local dealer and have him do the work and pay the bill when he is finished. You don't even have to read any further.

Option #2 is also very straightforward. Have the parts department research the correct part number for your model year circuit board, purchase the part from them and install it. The wiper module is a small 2"x 4" black box attatched somewhere near the top of the firewall on the driver's side. It has the wiper motor mounted to it, and an electrical connector plugged into the end. Remove the electrical connector first, and using a Torx (6-pointed star) driver, remove the cover from the module. The circuit board sits directly underneath the cover and will be coated with grease. Gently pry the circuit board out of the module, do a little spring cleaning inside the case and add a dab of grease to the drive gears if needed. Install the new circuit board in the same manner as the old one was. Clean the inside of the cover and reinstall with the same Torx head screws.

Option #3 gets a little involved. First you must find a recall notice for your truck. Start by checking on the internet at

and drill down thru the links for recalls to determine if your truck is actually listed (there are other sites to check as well). Just because your truck may not be listed doesn't mean it's not under recall. It could easily depend on how your truck is described. For example, a 1995 Chevrolet C1500 Pick-up could easily be listed as a C1500, 1500, 1500-3500, C-Series, C/K Series, Chevrolet Truck, GM Truck, C10 (the old designation), etc. It would pay to look under as many designations as you can think of before giving up.

If you find your truck as listed, so much the better. Print out a copy of the recall and wave it at your dealer's service manager and they should fix it No Questions Asked. If they still refuse, contact Chevrolet/GMC Customer Assistance and/or the NHTSA's hotline (both are toll-free and listed on their respective web sites).

If you do not find your truck specifically listed, all hope is not yet lost. Search for the same truck under a different model year, or a substantially similar vehicle which does have a recall (For example, the Chevy Blazer shares the same wiper components as the Chevy S-10 and Astro, the GMC Jimmy, Safari and Sonoma, the Olds Bravada, etc.). Print out a copy of the recall for the other vehicle and go to your dealer's parts department. Have them search for the part number of the circuit board for the recalled vehicle, then for the part number for your truck. Odds are in your favor that they will both be exactly the same. Hence, your wiper module is one of the faulty ones being recalled and should be covered but your truck may have been left off the recall list. Take this info to the service manager and depending on how much he wants to keep you as a customer, he will find a way to have the board replaced under the recall. If not, then you still have options #1 and #2 above, or you could fix your existing board yourself.

Repair - You can easily repair your existing board if you know how to turn a screwdriver and know which end of a soldering gun to hold. If you haven't mastered either of these skills, then have someone else do the job for you.

Step 1 - Locate the wiper module and remove the circuit board as described in Option #2 above. Be VERY careful removing the circuit board. Do not crack, bend or break it or you're outta luck and will have to buy a new one. The circuit board is approx. 2"x 4" and has two distinct sides. The top is the side where all the components live, especially the large black socket for the electrical connector (more on that later). The bottom is where all the lead wires from the electrical components poke thru the board and are soldered to the printed circuit. Carefully wipe the excess grease off the board.

Step 2 - The fault in the board is caused by bad solder joints holding the large socket onto the printed circuit. If the board itself is cracked or broken, then you will have to get a new one. Carefully inspect the tiny mounds of solder underneath the large socket on the bottom of the board. Each drop of solder connects a lead wire from the socket to the printed circuit. A bad solder joint may look like it has a tiny circle in the drop of solder around the wire end, a chip or crack in the little mound of solder, or it may be too small to see. At this point you will need a soldering gun and solder, and a steady hand.

Step 3 - Set your circuit board bottom side up so you can see the solder joints for the socket onto the printed circuit. Heat up your soldering gun and apply just a tiny drop of solder to the tip. Place the hot tip with the melted solder directly onto the existing solder joint in question just long enough until the gun melts the existing solder and the new solder mixes in with it. Remove the gun from the work and allow to cool. Remelting the original solder and adding some extra should repair the joint and make continuity again and reinforce it. Repeat for all the solder joints in question, and/or all the solder joints for the socket. Don't overheat your work, or solder may run down and create a short to another circuit, or you may unknowingly fry a component on the other side of the board.

Step 4 - Allow everything to cool, then reinstall the board as listed in Option #2 above.

Good luck - Jonathan

He's given that reply, in my estimation, 400 or so times now. Heck, we even tell people to just google his name and you'll find the answers. Really! All credit to Jonathan for keeping up with it, inspite of being annoyed with the frequency of responses.

Big Chris

I just finished re-soldering my cold solder joints on my wiper circuit board, 96 GMC Sierra, takes about 15 minutes as stated and is easy. I pulled the wiper fuse, disconnected the harness from the wiper motor board, used a T20 Torx driver to remove the 3 fasteners, circuit board came out with no coaxing.

I then used a good electrical cleaner and canned air to remove any dirt, there was plenty of grease in the motor gears.

I took the circuit board to my bench, used a small but powerful magnifier to inspect all of the solder joints and there were 5 or 6 that had obvious cracks in the solder where the connection had loosened up.

I heated up the soldering iron, cleaned the tip with a damp sponge (important), tinned the tip with the hot iron using rosin core solder (not acid core), touched each of the bad connections, adding a dab of solder to each one, watched each joint melt together.

There was one place on the board where it appears that the circuit board, copper lead that goes to the largest component had split, that there was a 1/16th piece missing along with what looked like a burned area. I left this alone until I tested the board, after reinstalling the wipers worked fine including the delays but the washer fluid mist did not work. I'm thinking that the piece of copper lead that is missing goes to the mist function but do not know. Later I will solder a wire connecting these two parts and see what happens.

I realize I could take it in for the recall but the time involved going to the dealer and waiting is prohibitive. Thanks to this board and the people involved I was given information to do the job. Thanks for sharing. Rod Williams

I tried Option # 3. My 98 S10 is not listed in the recall. Called GM and they admitted millions (their estimate, not mine) of vehicles are having this problem, but stated 98 S10s are not part of the recall. Called the dealer, explained the situation to him. He researched by my VIN # and said he would not cover the repair since it was not under the recall.

GM did say that if I have it repaired to keep my receipts, and if it is recalled in the future they might return my money. I just have to prove I owned the vehicle and that I had it repaired by GM.

I called the NHTS. Some lady answered who had no idea what I was talking about. All she knew was how to write up a complaint. I did get her to open a new complaint regarding the 98 S10. She is supposed to send me a copy of the complaint for review.

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