| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 004307611 | Incident Date: Oct, 09 2004 |
| Consumer's City: SAN RAFAEL | Consumer's State: CA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: General Motors, LLC |
| Model Name: BLAZER | Model Year: 1998 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Visibility:windshield wiper/washer:motor |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 1GNDT13WXW2 | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Nov, 09 2004 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: Aug, 28 2004 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 6 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: During the first rainstorm since i bought my used blazer, my front windshield wiper didn't work when turned on. after repeatedly turning the switch on and off, the wiper finally worked at high speed only. after a while, it worked at low speed and intermitent speed. then while in the intermitent speed position, the wiper worked in low speed only. when switched off, the wiper didn't immediately stop. since the rainstorm, this problem was an intermittent problem with the wiper either working correctly or malfunctioning. i removed the windshield wiper pulse control module from the wiper motor, examined the circuit board, and found eight cracked solder joints. i resoldered the defective solder joints and reinstalled the module into the wiper motor. the front windshield wiper has worked correctly since my repair. the design of the circuit board is poor. these failures occurred at stress points. apparently no accommodation was made to mechanically secure the leads to the circuit board before the leads were soldered. instead, solder was used to both mechanically secure the leads to the circuit board and electrically provide the electrical conductivity required. to exacerbate this situation, not enough solder was used at these joints. the previous owner told me that the front windshield wiper operated erratically, but it happened after the warranty period and the erratic operation was not so bad that he was overly concerned about it. it is a fact that cracks on defective solder joints widen when subjected to stress over a period of time. this has been an identified safety problem in general motors' 1994 to 1997 pickups, sport utility vehicles, and vans. |
