[Xman]

As seen in the news, Texas has been getting lots of rain. My intermittent wipers are not working properly. The four fastest positions just run the wipers all the time (at the same speed as 1st position continueous). Is anyone else experiencing this or do all the positions provide a intermittent wiper operation?

 

[bsmcall]

With the wipers off, move the lever up one position and rotate the center portion of the lever by moving the top away from you to decrease the delay time (more often) and rotate the toward you for more off time between wipes.
The next position up is low speed and all the way up is high speed.

 

[Xman]

When I rotate my intermittent switch, only 3 of the 7 positions provide intermittent operation. The four positions faster settings just provide the same wiper speed as low (second level position up). Do other GTOs operate in this manner. If not, I've got a minor problem I need to go back to the dealer for. If other GTOs do operate this way, then I need to go back to Pontiac and see if they intended the design of their intermittent wiper function to have more switch positions than intermittent wiper settings.

 

[Joey Waid]

I noticed the same thing last night. According to the owners manual on page 3-7 it is based on speed the slower you go the faster wipers go and visversa.

 

[djdub]

When I rotate my intermittent switch, only 3 of the 7 positions provide intermittent operation. The four positions faster settings just provide the same wiper speed as low (second level position up). Do other GTOs operate in this manner. If not, I've got a minor problem I need to go back to the dealer for. If other GTOs do operate this way, then I need to go back to Pontiac and see if they intended the design of their intermittent wiper function to have more switch positions than intermittent wiper settings.

That's because they are speed sensitive. If you're stopped, the 7 positions are all different. Once you get to a certain speed the last couple postions are the same as the low continuous setting (how many of those positions, depends on the speed). The intermittent wipers are primarily for stop and go traffic not for cruising at highway speeds.

 

[kevracer]

The wipers are speed sensitive? Cool, I have to check that out in the next rain.

 

[muohio]

I hate how the intermittent wipers are speed sensitive. The two lowest settings still allow a pause, but from their it's normal speed above 15mph. You would think that they could compromise between a 3 second pause and always on. I hate when the wipersc scrap against the window but can't go at the lowest setting.

 

[IdirecTV4u]

I'm with Xman. Is anyone else experiencing this or is it just a handful of us? I understand they are speed sensitive, but... at any speed, the first three twists of the handle are all the same...too slow. Anything above that, is like having the wipers set to the on position. And this is happening at any speed. Any GM techs here have any theories on this before I head to the dealer?

 

[BigNick]

I think the idea behind it is that in a steady rain, your wipers adjust their speed with how fast your car "runs into" the raindrops, so you don't have to fiddle constantly with speed settings.

I thought it was odd at first, but my winter-beater (a 1996 Ford Aspire) has two speeds of wiper: Low and High (no intermittent) so I'm used to hitting the wipers manually when the rain isn't hard enough to require full-time wiper action.

Rain-X will let you do 75 MPH and never need wipers if the raindrops are large enough. They just roll right off. I used to use this stuff all the time during the summer. DON'T spill it on your paint.

The GTO is sitting during the winter, I fire it up and drive around the block at least once every ten days (no garage). I avoid wet spots on the road so the salt residue doesn't get sprayed on the car. Can't wait for winter to be over.