08-04-2012, 03:29 PM
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#1
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Windshield wiper stuttering
I have a new-to-me 2004 Alero GLS. The car has been stored for the past six years and has only 13k miles. Despite the low miles, there are a few things to sort out. My first Olds, but I have been fooling around with cars, both GM and non-GM, for a long time. So I should be up to speed on it shortly.
One issue it has is the windshield wipers. Sometimes, on the intermittent setting, they will go to full sweep - but then come back down in stages. Maybe a quarter second between each stage. This does not happen on non-intermittent settings. In fact, switching to regular wipe and then back to intermittent seems to 'fix' it for awhile.
Is this a common problem? Is there a wiper module that might have cold solder connections?
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
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08-04-2012, 03:34 PM
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#2
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GLS member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: indy
Posts: 8,411
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first of all, welcome to the site, and very nice find!!! 13k miles wish i had that..
other then that, im not sure, mines done that once the whole time i have owned the car.
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S. . .L. . . E . . .E. . .P. . .Y. . .IS A TRAITOR--HE GOT BORED SO HE SOLD ME AFTER HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A RICE ROCKET
Oldsnut is my Hero!
Meet Destiny, shes a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero GLS, F40 6MT swap. (#2 of 3)
2/24/14 - 200,000 miles body/motor. 22,300 on F40.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldsnut
He would Plasti Dip his pecker if he could.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tipnitty
A girl touched my Pee Pee. So you can say things are getting pretty serious for me.
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08-04-2012, 04:20 PM
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#3
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Thanks for the welcome! The car belonged to an uncle of mine who recently passed away. I wish he could have driven it more than he did. As of a week ago, it only had 11k miles. But then my son and I put on about 2k miles over the past few days driving it to its new home.
Besides the wipers, another problem is a squeal from the serp belt area when cold. It goes away within a minute or two. Listening to it with a stethoscope, I am thinking I need to replace the upper idler pulley. Alternator, PS pump, and water pump sound fine, as does the lower idler pully. Might need to replace the tensioner pulley too - as it sounds a bit rough.
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
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08-04-2012, 05:03 PM
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#4
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GLS member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Indiana
Posts: 3,201
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Sitting like that is bad at least it was garaged. I want pics cause this sounds too good to be true
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The number one official sedan hater
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08-04-2012, 05:34 PM
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#5
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Premier V.I.P. Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 1,979
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Spray the belt with water when it squeals. If it goes away then put a belt on it. Check all the puleys for dirt when u have the belt off too
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The dumbass that shows up randomly 10 years after selling the car.
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08-05-2012, 09:05 AM
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#6
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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I'll give the water trick a try this morning and see what happens with the squealing.
So no thoughts on the wiper problem? It doesn't rain very often here, so I can ignore it for a while. But like Morton salt, "when it rains it pours".
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
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08-05-2012, 01:56 PM
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#7
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GLS member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kansas
Posts: 2,116
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mine has issues with the intermittent settings doing that if i am at idle but if i am driving it is just fine, don't make much sense, however half the time by the time i decide to stop using mist and turn them on it is raining too hard for intermittent anyways
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11-06-2012, 07:01 PM
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#8
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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I am going to get a chance to investigate this problem in a couple of weeks, and would like to get it resolved. Looking at the Haynes #38026 manual, there are only two things which could possibly be bad - one of the switches in the steering column, and the motor itself. Or more likely the circuit board attached to the motor has a cold solder joint. Considering the number of miles on the car, I am ruling out the switches. Am hoping I can simply touch up any soldered connections on the motors circuit board, and not have to replace the whole motor assembly.
Looking at page 12-14, it doesn't seem that difficult to r+r the motor assembly. Any tricks I should know about? Am thinking about going over to the Pick N Pull to practice on a junker.
Also, when looking up replacement motors, it seems that there was a running change in Feb 2003. Since there doesn't seem to be a lot of discussion on this problem, I am wonder if it is primarily an issue with cars like mine with the post-Feb 2003 motors? Or do earlier ones have the same issue?
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
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11-06-2012, 09:26 PM
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#9
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3500 DONE!
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Albany, NY
Posts: 5,915
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Might be a 2003+ thing. I had an 02 with 160kthe and never had an issue....have a 2000little now with 96k and the original motor. Swapping them is cake...take out the 4 clips thqt hold cowlthen pull it forward a little cause the back part of the cowl goes ynder the windshield. Obviously take wipers off first...good luck with that.
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2002 3400 & 3500 GL "Ruby"-->R.I.P. 163k. My first car. Put 130k on her.
2000 3500 GLS "Robin"-->Intake,Headers,Exhaust,H&R springs,KYB AGX,Sway bars,Strut bars and more
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11-06-2012, 09:34 PM
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#10
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GLS member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kansas
Posts: 2,116
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I have had mine apart before, my passenger side wiper arm broke free from the transmission so I did a personal upgrade so it won't happen again
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11-07-2012, 01:23 AM
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#11
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 7
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Not too be an ass. But Have you changed the wipers. I bought mine with 120,000 and noticed a big difference.
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11-07-2012, 11:11 AM
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#12
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Thanks guys. Good to know the r+r is an easy job.
Trace: the wiper blades are clearly not an issue. The "stuttering" is 6 or so distinct stop-start-stop-start movements on the downward stroke.
My guess is that there is some problem with the intermittent wiper circuitry. Probably a cold solder joint or two. Looking at some photos of the motor, it looks like it should be easy to get to the circuit board.
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
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11-07-2012, 12:05 PM
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#13
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Premier V.I.P. Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 1,979
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If your going to a you-pul to get a motor to practice... just swap it in the car and see if it fixes your problem first. no poin in wasting a good motor if you screw up for nothing. you verified that the wiper motor is indeed stopping (stuttering) and not just slipping on the trans?
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The dumbass that shows up randomly 10 years after selling the car.
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11-07-2012, 12:16 PM
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#14
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GLS member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: indy
Posts: 8,411
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did the water trick work? mine squeals cause its got some powerstearing fluid on it, would the water trick help with my slight squeal?
__________________
S. . .L. . . E . . .E. . .P. . .Y. . .IS A TRAITOR--HE GOT BORED SO HE SOLD ME AFTER HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A RICE ROCKET
Oldsnut is my Hero!
Meet Destiny, shes a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero GLS, F40 6MT swap. (#2 of 3)
2/24/14 - 200,000 miles body/motor. 22,300 on F40.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldsnut
He would Plasti Dip his pecker if he could.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tipnitty
A girl touched my Pee Pee. So you can say things are getting pretty serious for me.
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11-07-2012, 03:02 PM
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#15
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Premier V.I.P. Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 1,979
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepyalero
did the water trick work? mine squeals cause its got some powerstearing fluid on it, would the water trick help with my slight squeal?
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the "water trick" only tells you where the noise is coming from. it does not fix anything. try degreaser on the belt and wash well. give it a few hundred miles to clean up. otherwise if its bad enough, get a new belt.
__________________
The dumbass that shows up randomly 10 years after selling the car.
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11-07-2012, 09:55 PM
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#16
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GLS member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: indy
Posts: 8,411
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okay thanks man
__________________
S. . .L. . . E . . .E. . .P. . .Y. . .IS A TRAITOR--HE GOT BORED SO HE SOLD ME AFTER HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH A RICE ROCKET
Oldsnut is my Hero!
Meet Destiny, shes a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero GLS, F40 6MT swap. (#2 of 3)
2/24/14 - 200,000 miles body/motor. 22,300 on F40.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldsnut
He would Plasti Dip his pecker if he could.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by tipnitty
A girl touched my Pee Pee. So you can say things are getting pretty serious for me.
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11-08-2012, 03:51 PM
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#17
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepyalero
did the water trick work? mine squeals cause its got some powerstearing fluid on it, would the water trick help with my slight squeal?
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I created another thread on this in the LA1 3400 Specific forum. It turned out that a new (Gates) belt fixed it.
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
Last edited by wws944 : 11-08-2012 at 04:00 PM.
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11-08-2012, 03:57 PM
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#18
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by a.graham52
If your going to a you-pul to get a motor to practice... just swap it in the car and see if it fixes your problem first. no poin in wasting a good motor if you screw up for nothing. you verified that the wiper motor is indeed stopping (stuttering) and not just slipping on the trans?
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By the time I buy it at the PNP, the price (including core charge, taxes, environmental fees, etc - this is California...) works out to nearly $40 for something that has a zillion miles, led a hard life, and is probably on its last legs. If I need to, I would rather buy a new part. OTOH, the $2 admission charge is an easy way to get a little practice on the r+r procedure, and take a good look at the part, before my daughter gets home with the car.
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2004 Alero GLS (and a few others)
Last edited by wws944 : 11-09-2012 at 01:05 AM.
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11-09-2012, 12:00 AM
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#19
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GLS member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Kansas
Posts: 2,116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billytheman1188
Might be a 2003+ thing. I had an 02 with 160kthe and never had an issue....have a 2000little now with 96k and the original motor. Swapping them is cake...take out the 4 clips thqt hold cowlthen pull it forward a little cause the back part of the cowl goes ynder the windshield. Obviously take wipers off first...good luck with that.
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I am assuming that the same motors were used in cavy's and other gm models as well. I was on the ecotec forum and there were many people who also listed having this issue with the intermittent settings and most of them had 03's
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11-09-2012, 08:19 PM
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#20
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GX Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Northern California
Posts: 57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 03glgold
I am assuming that the same motors were used in cavy's and other gm models as well. I was on the ecotec forum and there were many people who also listed having this issue with the intermittent settings and most of them had 03's
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Yep, you are right. The Delco part number is 22711473. Besides the Grand Am, it also fits similar year (2003-2005) Cavaliers and Sunfires.
Looks like Grand Ams outnumber Aleros at the Pick-N-Pulls around here by about 5:1.
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