I have a 1996 Grand Caravan LE, which has been very reliable.

The current issues I have are:

1. The wipers - the wipers only work on the highest setting. They will not work on any other setting, or when I press in the switch for the washer fluid. The high beams still works, and so do the turn signals.

My guess is that this is my fault, due to the cold weather I have tried to activate the wipers to clean the snow from my windshield after warming the vehicle. One day on the way home, the wipers started to die in speed and I had to increase the speed only for it to eventually to only work on the max setting.

I'd like to know if this is the switch or the motor, or possibly something else.

2. I believe I suffer from the "clock spring" issue. My horn no longer works, my cruise control didn't seem to work Sunday, and the airbag light stays on. The airbag light has been on for some time now, maybe about a month or two. The cruise control is a more recent issue. The horn issue I am not able to determine when that occurred, as I've never had to use it much.

Any input is welcome.

 

I'd say for sure the clockspring. It's covered under a recall so that's a free fix.

Probably you have a bad switch for the wiper washer issue. See if you can get to a junk yard or maybe find a friend with a minivan where you could try a quick swap to see it that solves your issue before spending money.

 

How much do these parts usually run in the junkyard? I might plan a trip sometime soon, since I can do the repairs myself.

 

Little tip on the wipers.......

You may only have to reset the wiper motor by disconnecting the wiper mechanism from the motor

THEN

Run the motor on high speed for 5 seconds

THEN

Reconnect the wiper motor to the wiper mechanism.

This MAY work for you without having to replace anything

Here's why

My experience......

Wipers did not work on my van after it sat for almost 2 years ( long story)

Replaced wiper motor with autozone one

I however did not remember however how the mechanism went back on, i just put it back to together.

Wipers only worked on high and did not park

So i thought it was the switch

Bought one for 100 bucks at the dealer ( wanted quality )

STILL did not work properly

So i then thought it was the BCM ( body control module )

WRONG WRONG WRONG

I only found this out after trying to find a rebuilt one online

Found one rebuilt with a 5 year warranty from a company in jacksonville

BAD BAD BAD COMPANY ( can't remember the name will post later when i remember it )

Got the rebuilt one, they DID NOT correct the mileage to match my old unit

I sent it back ( i had to pay to ship it back to them )

They sent me THE SAME ONE BACK with the SAME old mileage on it

THEY NEVER CORRECTED IT !!!!

Needless to say i sent it back and then they tell me they don't give refunds

Had to fight them through my credit card company and FINALLY after 3 months i got my credit to my card.

How did i find out i had to re set the wiper motor??????

After living with this problem of the wipers only working on high and not parking

I was travelling from northern florida back home on business

Hit a rough bmmpy road, THEN the wipers decided to work on ALL speeds

However they did not park!!!!

STRANGE!!

So i thought it was a bad ground to the motor

Started researching where to find the ground wire on the motor or how it is ground

When i came across a method from the manufacturer of the wiper motor online where it states that the wiper motor has a module that has to be set or calibrated.

This is done when you install a brand new motor AND you run power to the motor without it being connected to the wiper mechanism. If you do this you HAVE TO recablibrate or set it for it to run correctly.

I did this, and re installed the wipers with the correct distance from each other per the haynes manual.

Call me crazy i know, but everything hell related i went through scratching my head and losing sleep over having to possibly replace an expensive BCM through the dealer i decided to try it.

IT WORKED !!!!

None of this was mentioned on ANY forum that i read ( unless i missed something ) and it's too easily confused for the bcm being bad.

Long response but hopefully it will help others!

So something as simple as this solved my ghost wiper problem,

 

Interesting, I'll be sure to give that a try before I make a commitment to buying anything new. I don't know how auto stores work since I never had to return anything (was thinking of trying a switch or motor first, or vice versa).

 

I got a donor 96 if you want the switch for free

 

Well I had the clock spring replaced, and it fixed the other problems, but now I need a new airbag. The wipers still don't work except on high.

Also since getting the repairs done, my clock resets to weird times whenever I turn it off and my stations get reset. Also at random times the ignition is hard to switch on and none of the doors will lock, can't turn on the lights anywhere in the vehicle, and the clock won't show on.

I'm wondering what to check for to fix this problem, as I didn't have it before.

 

 

Yes, but I think I can't turn on the headlights either. Nothing works but the seats until I turn the engine on. Also, the radio/clock has stopped working completely.

Basically, everything works when the engine is on. But if not the interior lights, door locks, and other small electrical things will not operate. As mentioned, I think it extends to the headlights as well.

 

Have you talked to whoever replaced the clockspring? Sounds like they may have damaged the ignition switch harness, the switch itself or some other wire harness in the steering column. Exactly how is a mystery. Why do you need a new airbag?