1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Windshield Wipers Won't Turn Off!

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by tmantstud, Dec 27, 2008.

  1. Feb 5, 2010 at 1:23 PM
    #21
    tmantstud

    tmantstud [OP] High Mileage Work

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2008
    Member:
    #7352
    Messages:
    131
    Gender:
    Male
    Kansas City, Kansas
    Vehicle:
    98 Tacoma high mileage
    Bed liner, Polk db651s speakers, JVC head unit, Coverking custom saddle blanket seat cover
    Success. I traced my wires back down to my washer pump and the wire leading from it was bent awkardly to a point were a split had formed in it's sheathing. Sprayed it heavily with contact cleaner and dried it off, now the wipers work properly. Ill replace the pump and wires.
     
  2. Jan 11, 2011 at 8:38 AM
    #22
    allred27

    allred27 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2008
    Member:
    #10088
    Messages:
    12
    Sorry I never posted my fix....

    It ended up being a couple of wires...
    Under the wheel-well on the front passenger side, there is a black box, I believe it is the windshield wiper fluid pump & wiper fluid container. Anyways my tires are over sized and rubs it when I make sharp turns to the left. The black plastic box wore-out and exposed 2 wires, when it rains the water will hit the wires and make the wipers turn on.
    So all I did was; put electrical tape on the exposed wires and covered the hole the tire made, I haven't had the problem since.
    Hope that helps.
     
  3. Jun 28, 2011 at 9:57 PM
    #23
    coastalbum100

    coastalbum100 Member

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2011
    Member:
    #58706
    Messages:
    9
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    97 tacoma 2.7 4wd
    a shorted windshield washer motor will do this cut the wires from the motor tie them off see what happens if fixed replace pump:cool:sorry i see u fixed it belo0w
     
  4. Jun 29, 2011 at 5:56 AM
    #24
    skytower

    skytower Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2010
    Member:
    #38505
    Messages:
    3,264
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dave
    virginia
    Vehicle:
    08 Tacoma 4x4
    Hitch and wiring, aux back-up light, rear strobe lights, radio and underseat sub.
  5. Feb 15, 2013 at 2:51 PM
    #25
    SLP98TACO

    SLP98TACO New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 15, 2013
    Member:
    #97592
    Messages:
    1
    Gender:
    Male
    Logan, Utah
    Vehicle:
    tacoma SR5
    Reading from other comments, I had the same problem with my windshield wipers turning on, and not turning off. Also losing power to the pump. I first checked all the wiring, the switch and all the connections, all seamed to have full power and good connection, So i gambled and bought a brand new switch, few say that this is the problem. well not for me.. So after installing the switch, (takes less than 5 mins) driving down the road wipers turn on?!! So it was not the switch. after this I again checked the wiring and then checked the wires where they connect to the Washer fluid, (under front right wheel well) everything looked okay, even though the cover for it still exposes wires, and tube for fluid. With some help of a friend come to find out that there was two wires that had a little bit of corrosion on them that they were actually connecting making a circuit to make them run. Ultimately a bad ground. So for those that are losing power to there pump and wipers wont turn off, examine these wires in the wheel well. all you need to do is cut out the bad connection and connect them or solder them back together.
     
  6. Jul 26, 2015 at 7:07 PM
    #26
    Sugar Silva

    Sugar Silva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2014
    Member:
    #125848
    Messages:
    1,446
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dave
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    16 Toyota Land Cruiser
    Kings Sliders TRD Rock Warrior Wheels Tint
    Washed the truck this morning and had the same issue. Wipers were coming on and going off intermittently throughout the first half of the day. Only 16,000 miles on the truck so I'll take it in this weekend and let the dealer figure it out. 2nd gen but I figure it has to be similar. I'll update
     
  7. Jul 27, 2015 at 9:46 AM
    #27
    keakar

    keakar Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2014
    Member:
    #139537
    Messages:
    5,258
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    karl
    louisiana
    Vehicle:
    2006 4runner sport 4.7L V8 (white)
    used to have - 99 2.4L I4 5 lug & 04 prerunner v6
    they have a circuit board to control the intermittent function and if moisture, water, or corrosion gets in there it can go spastic

    your hood gasket might not be sealing well letting water run onto the wiper motor
     
  8. Jul 28, 2015 at 8:15 PM
    #28
    Sugar Silva

    Sugar Silva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2014
    Member:
    #125848
    Messages:
    1,446
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dave
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    16 Toyota Land Cruiser
    Kings Sliders TRD Rock Warrior Wheels Tint
    Took it to the dealer this morning. They were unable to duplicate it despite using a hose. We'll see
     
  9. Aug 9, 2015 at 2:27 PM
    #29
    Sugar Silva

    Sugar Silva Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2014
    Member:
    #125848
    Messages:
    1,446
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Dave
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    16 Toyota Land Cruiser
    Kings Sliders TRD Rock Warrior Wheels Tint
    Washed the truck today and the wipers went ape shit again. I'll be going back to the dealer in the morning. I captured a video, they asked me to do that last time when they were unable to recreate the problem, so we shall see what they say
     
  10. Dec 8, 2016 at 12:06 PM
    #30
    DesertRatliff

    DesertRatliff Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2012
    Member:
    #70618
    Messages:
    2,383
    Gender:
    Male
    Mt. Hood, OR
    Vehicle:
    Mas Tacos Por Favor
    Great info. Having this very problem now. The washer hasn't worked in some time and had an instance where the wipers wouldn't shut off. From those symptoms, I figured it was the switch. I found one second hand and it did nothing to help the problem, so it's not the switch/stalk. I'll hunt faulty wiring now that I know where to look. Thanks!
     
  11. Dec 8, 2016 at 2:59 PM
    #31
    DesertRatliff

    DesertRatliff Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2012
    Member:
    #70618
    Messages:
    2,383
    Gender:
    Male
    Mt. Hood, OR
    Vehicle:
    Mas Tacos Por Favor
    Update: just pulled all the sheathing and electric tape from the pump connector up. Turns out 2 of the 4 wires were broken about 6 inches up from the connector and two were about to break. I tried soldering all 4 of them back together, but they were too corroded to take the tin, so I just used some Positap connectors and everything works for the first time in about 8 months

    With winter here, I was really worried to have malfunctioning washer and wipers. Super relieved now. Thanks!
     
  12. Jan 7, 2017 at 10:26 AM
    #32
    EB Group

    EB Group Carbon Jedi

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2015
    Member:
    #159469
    Messages:
    1,406
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Rudy
    Halifax
    Vehicle:
    2017 TRD Sport DCSB 6M
    Just experience the same issue myself this morning. Everything worked fine then the wipers turned on low on their own. I could not turn them off. My washer fluid spray would not work either.
    I pulled the fuse to turn off the wipers.
    When I got home I discovered that unplugging the wiper control arm stopped the wipers. I figure it's a bad arm but I'm not so sure because of the other comments. I'll check the wiring on the fluid pump.
    I have a spare pump and complete wiring from my parts truck I can use.
    Unfortunately I already sold my parts wiper control arm.
     
  13. Mar 8, 2019 at 3:24 PM
    #33
    Wsidr1

    Wsidr1 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2018
    Member:
    #259004
    Messages:
    3,078
    Gender:
    Male
    Indiana
    Vehicle:
    2 x 95.5 Ext 2.7L & 3.4L A/T 4x4
    Thread revival.

    I had the same problem today: wipers came on by themselves, would not shutoff, and washer would not function. I had to stop and pull the fuse.

    Thanks to previous posters, I went straight to the washer tank area wiring. Thought I would add pics of what was wrong with my truck (1995.5).

    Noted pinched/melted looking section of wire. Oddly, there is no pinch hazard in that area. I believe it must have happened during manufacturing of either the W/H or the truck. This is the body side of the harness that connects to the pump.

    upload_2019-3-8_17-18-51.jpg

    Closeup, after I shaved off some insulation, you can see the damage inside. I unplugged the washer pump and the wipers functioned normally.
    upload_2019-3-8_17-19-38.jpg

    Cut, twisted, soldered, and taped. All good.

    BTW, I had to remove the tank cover, which is bolted and it is the same bolts that hold the tank. If you live in the rust belt, expect:

    upload_2019-3-8_17-21-41.jpg

    3 out of 4 bolts twisted off. Drilled 3 new holes right next to the originals and used one zip tie.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2019
    DesertRatliff likes this.

Products Discussed in

To Top