H3 Weird electronic glitches

[lugantom]

Wondering if there's any relationship here ...

Had my heater core replaced. First leaked coolant; then, after replacing, took me a few days to notice that condensate drain was pinched and went back in to wrong side of firewall. Guy at dealer fixed promptly, just pulled tube back out and reattached, but drained about a gallon of water.

Now I have an error code for the traction system; code indicates bad brake pressure.

Should I fear that the moisture hit the BCM? Code didn't hit until several days after we fixed the condensate drain. Mysteriously appeared this AM after spending the night in the garage.

Probably unrelated - my wipers are possessed. Stop randomly in various locations unless on fastest setting. Anyone seen that? One guy at dealer told me that they may have a "I'm in the down position" switch that is glitching.

Rough day for the H3. Clearance lamps broke off, threw the traction control needs service error message, and wipers became possessed, all in about 18 hours.

 

[ABNTROOP]

As far as wipers go, just replace the motor. I had same issue and that was my fix. Easy DIY fix too

 

[Paladine71]

Check your battery terminals, to ensure that they are tight. You can get some strange gremlins if they are loose, and a drained battery.

 

[4speedfunk]

X2! Anytime you get strange, seemingly un-related electrical issues...check the battery and cables first.

 

[lugantom]

Thanks for the suggestion. In my searches, I found a few folks with similarly flaky behavior that disappeared with clean cable connections.

Sadly, didn't solve my problems. I'll see what dealer thinks tomorrow. If they have no bright ideas on wipers, I'll change wiper motor, as at least one post says that fixed it.

I have no idea on the traction control failure warning. Hopefully dealer has a TSB on it.


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[lugantom]

Did some more research on flaky wipers. Many posts from H3 owners with exactly the same problem.

Interestingly, multiple different solutions.

In approximate order of likelihood based on number of posts, here are the verified root causes:
1) Bad module on wiper motor:
"The problem was the WMCM (wiper motor control module), very common with symptoms noted. "
2) Loose battery connections
3) One guy had a bad fuse box

The most common and most expensive misdiagnosis has been replacing the body control module (BCM). Nobody said it solved their problem.




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[lugantom]

Did some more searching on the SERVICE STAB SYS TRACTION FAILURE code. LOTS of root causes on this one.

Same ranking order:
1) Mine was a sensor switch above the brake pedal that went bad. I drove mine around for a week with the light on.
2) Clean terminals
3) Switch on t-case
4) Wheel speed sensor

Symptoms varied - some also lost 4wd, some their brake lights.



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[lugantom]

One other tidbit – the dealer put a code reader on it this morning and said the code indicated a brake pressure switch.

as someone noted in another forum post, this DIC error message seems to be a catchall for many different error codes.


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[ABNTROOP]

Did some more research on flaky wipers. Many posts from H3 owners with exactly the same problem.

Interestingly, multiple different solutions.

In approximate order of likelihood based on number of posts, here are the verified root causes:
1) Bad module on wiper motor:
"The problem was the WMCM (wiper motor control module), very common with symptoms noted. "
2) Loose battery connections
3) One guy had a bad fuse box

The most common and most expensive misdiagnosis has been replacing the body control module (BCM). Nobody said it solved their problem.




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h2 has a wmcm, h3 does not. If wipers are behaving erratically, it can be battery connections, wiper motor (the typical culprit) wiper control switch, issues with fuse box and/ or wiring, or BCM. I swapped my fuse box first as the old cover was broken and I had corrosion, however it did not fix my issue. I ended up driving for another 6 mo+ with my wipers only working on high, parking randomly, and automatically coming on for three swipes every time I started the truck. I finally ordered a replacement motor, swapped it out and presto, issue fixed. Good luck with your fix!

 

[alrock]

It might make sense to test the battery to make sure it's working properly too. It could be weak. It's an easy thing to test and get out of the way as a possible cause.

 

[lugantom]

Quick update: dealer's diagnosis same as others had guessed - replace wiper motor (understand it strictly speaking doesn't have the wiper control module, it's sort of integrated into the motor, but the motor itself doesn't really fail, it's the integrated control circuit that reportedly fails frequently) and replace a brake switch. I understand that the brake switch is on the back of the master cylinder?

Now waiting on parts. I'll do the wiper motor myself. Could have saved $20 or so ordering on-line, but dealer has been good to me, I'll get part through them, but I'll have them do the brake switch as I'm not sure how big a deal it is.

One key learning from reading various threads is that many folks out there are quick to replace and reprogram the body control module. I'll post whether dealer's diagnosis, which seems to match what most others have suggested, really does the trick.

Thanks for all for the useful info!

 

[lugantom]

I'll post pics later, but wiper issue easily solved replacing motor.

Dealer says warning was due to bad brake switch, but issue gone without replacing. Still confirming that one.


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[lugantom]

I still need to post pics, but here's the final analysis:
1) Wiper problem was the integral controller on the motor; was about a 1 hour DIY fix as others had posted
2) The error code for the traction control failure went away
a) I think dealer just left a poorly positioned switch or a loose wire when they re-did my dash after changing out the heater core, because they swore that they didn't fix anything except slightly reposition a switch, and the code has gone away
b) When I brought the truck back to replace a brake switch, they realized that they had ordered the wrong part, so we didn't replace anything, and the error is gone.

So, I learned two things:
1) If you get erratic wiper behavior, best bet is to swap the motor first, before messing with anything more complex
2) Among the many reported sources of the traction control failure, I still don't know exactly which one triggered my warning message/light and then stopped triggering it

 

[3Hummers]

At least the TC "fix" was cheap.

 

[lugantom]

PicsofWiperMotor

Finally got it together; here are pics of the wiper motor swap.

Here's a shot of the wiper arms and trim parts removed:

I found it easier to flex the black trim tray from under this retainer, since I couldn't remove the retainer. All the trim snaps in and out, but it always feels like it's going to snap before the retainers release. In this case, I never did get the retainer to release.

Here's the view with the trim pushed aside or removed, ready to remove the wiper motor assembly:

Here's the removed wiper assembly:

DOH! Did this after a long week of work and travel, and put the arms on backwards the first time. Didn't realize until it didn't fit back into place.
Wrong way:

Right way:

Assembly in place with new motor:

Trim back on - put back on wiper arms and fake air intakes after that - no worries. Wipers have worked fine since.

 

[Bigunit]

Good job and thanks for the pics.