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LEARNING

14
OBJECTIVES
Upon completion and review of this chapter, you
should be able to:
• Explain the operation of an automotive horn.
• Identify the different types of wiper systems
and explain their operation.
• Identify the different types of windshield
washer systems and explain their operation.

KEY TERMS
Horns, Wiper, Automobile Horn
and Washer Depressed Park Position
Horn Relay
Horn Switch
System Washer Pumps
Wiper Switch
Operation
INTRODUCTION
This chapter introduces you to the operation of an
automotive horn and washer/wiper circuits. It will
further show how various original equipment man-
ufacturers apply technology to their horn and
washer/wiper systems. Chapter 14 of the Shop
Manual shows you how to diagnose horn and
wiper/washer system concerns.

HORN CIRCUITS
An automobile horn is a safety device operated by
the driver to alert pedestrians and other motorists.
Some states require two horn systems, with differ-
ent sound levels for city and country use.

Circuit Diagram
Some early automobiles used a simple series horn
circuit, as shown in Figure 14-1A. Battery current
is supplied to the horn circuit through the fuse
panel, or from a terminal on the starter relay or
solenoid. The normally open horn switch is
installed between the power source and the
grounded horn. When the driver pushes the horn
button, the horn switch closes and current flows
through the circuit to sound the horn. If the car has
more than one horn (Figure 14-1B), each horn
will form a parallel path to ground.

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306 Chapter Fourteen

Figure 14-1. A simple circuit with a single horn in

series with the switch (A), or two horns in parallel with
each other and in series with the switch (B).

Figure 14-3. The horn switch is mounted in the steer-

ing column. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)

Figure 14-2. Many horn systems are controlled by a

relay. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)

Most horn circuits include a horn relay

(Figure 14-2). The normally open relay contacts
are between the power source and the grounded
horn. The horn switch is between the relay coil
and ground. When the horn switch is closed, a
small amount of current flows through the relay
coil. This closes the relay coil and allows a Figure 14-4. Horn buttons can be placed at various
locations around the steering wheel.
greater amount of current to flow through the
horns.

the end of a multifunction lever or stalk on the

Horn Switches, Relays, steering column. All of these designs operate in
the same way: Pressure on the switch causes con-
and Fuses tacts to close. When the pressure is released,
The horn switch is normally installed in the spring tension opens the contacts.
steering wheel or steering column (Figure 14-3). Horn relays can be mounted on the fuse panel
Contact points can be placed so that the switch (Figure 14-5). They also can be attached to the
will be closed by pressure at different points on bulkhead connector or mounted near the horns in
the steering wheel (Figure 14-4). Some cars have the engine compartment. The relay is not service-
a button in the center of the wheel; others have a able, and must be replaced if defective. The horn
number of buttons around the rim of the wheel, or circuit often shares a 15- to 20-ampere fuse with
a large separate horn ring. Many imported cars several other circuits. It may also be protected by
and some domestic cars have the horn button on a fusible link.
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Horns, Wiper, and Washer System Operation 307

The History from the Bell to the

Electric Horn
Many types of signal alarms have been used on
cars as follows:
• Mechanical bell
• Bulb horn
• Compression whistle
• Exhaust horn
• Hand-operated horn (Klaxon)
• Electric horn
The mechanical bell was used on very early cars;
the driver operated the bell with a foot pedal. The
bulb horn, similar to that on a child’s bicycle, proved
to be inconvenient and unreliable.The compression
whistle was most often used in cars with no battery
or limited battery capacity; a profiled cylinder pro-
vided the whistle’s power. Exhaust horns used
gases from the engine exhaust; they, too, were foot-
Figure 14-5. The horn relay can be mounted on the operated. The hand-operated Klaxon horn ampli-
fuse panel. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation) fied a grating sound caused by a metal tooth riding
over a metal gear. This did not work well, because
the horn had to be near the driver rather than at the
front of the car. Over the years, the electric horn has
Horns been the most popular type of signal alarm.
Except for Chrysler’s air horn, which uses air
pressure from the compressor, automobile horns
use electromagnetism to vibrate a diaphragm and
produce sound waves. A typical horn contains WINDSHIELD WIPERS
normally closed contact points in series with
a coil. One of the contact points is mounted on a
AND WASHERS
movable armature to which the horn diaphragm Federal law requires that all cars built in, or
is connected. imported into, the United States since 1968 have
The horn coil is in series with the horn switch both a two-windshield wiper system and a wind-
or horn relay contacts. When the horn switch or shield washer system. Wiper systems on older
horn relay contacts close, current flows through vehicles may be operated by engine vacuum or by
the horn coil to ground. The electromagnetic field the power steering hydraulic system.
created by the coil attracts the armature, also Modern wiper systems are operated by electric
moving the diaphragm. The armature movement motors. The washer system can be manually oper-
opens the contact points, which open the coil ated, or it can have an electric pump. Many vehi-
circuit. With no magnetic field to hold them, the cles also have a single-speed wiper and washer
armature and diaphragm move back to their for the rear window. This is a completely separate
normal positions. The points are again closed, system, but it operates in the same way as the
allowing current to flow through the coil. This windshield wiper and washer system.
making and breaking of the electromagnetic
circuit causes the horn diaphragm to vibrate.
Since this cycle occurs very rapidly, the result-
ing rapid movements of the diaphragm create
Circuit Diagram
sound waves. The speed or frequency of the A typical two-speed wiper system circuit diagram
cycling determines the pitch of the sound created. is shown in Figure 14-6. The motor fields are per-
This can be adjusted by changing the spring ten- manent magnets. The wiper switch controls both
sion on the horn armature to increase or decrease the wiper motor speeds and the washer pump. The
the electromagnetic pull on the diaphragm. park switch within the wiper motor ensures that
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308 Chapter Fourteen

Figure 14-7. Low-speed current flow.

Figure 14-6. A simple two-speed wiper circuit.

when the wiper switch is turned off, the motor

will continue to turn until the wiper arms have
reached the bottom edge, or park position, of the
windshield. The circuit shown has a circuit
breaker built into the wiper switch. The circuit
breaker also can be a separate unit, or it can be
mounted on the wiper motor.
Figure 14-7 shows low-speed current flow
through the simple circuit. Current flows through
the wiper switch contacts, the low-speed brush L,
and the common (shared) brush C to ground.
During high-speed operation, the current flows
Figure 14-8. The park switch allows the motor to
through the high-speed brush H and the common continue turning until the wiper arms reach their park
brush to ground. When the wiper switch is turned position.
to park, or off, the park switch comes into the
circuit. position, the park switch is at the P contact, as
The park switch is a two-position, cam- shown in Figure 14-8. No current flows through
operated switch within the wiper motor. It moves the park switch. At all other wiper arm positions,
from one position to the other during each motor the park switch is held against spring tension
revolution. When the wiper arms are at their park at the other contact. If the wiper switch is turned
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Horns, Wiper, and Washer System Operation 309

Figure 14-10. Many late-model cars have a

depressed-park wiper position.

Figure 14-9. This three-speed wiper system controls

motor speed by routing field current flow through vari-
ous resistors. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)

off while the wiper arms are not at their park posi-
tion current will flow through the park switch to
the low-speed brush. The motor will continue to
turn until the wiper arms reach their park position. Figure 14-11. Low-speed current flow in a
At that point, the park switch moves to the P con- depressed-park system. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)
tact and all current stops.
When extra features are added to the wiper sys- below the level of the hood during this motor
tem, the circuits become more complex. For exam- reversal. The motor reversal also opens the park
ple, many manufacturers offer three-speed wiper switch to stop all wiper motor current flow.
systems. These systems use electromagnetic motor A depressed-park wiper system is shown in
fields. The switch contacts route field current Figure 14-11. During normal operation, current
through resistors of various values (Figure 14-9) to flows through either brush A or common brush B
vary the wiper motor speed. Some GM two-speed to ground. When the wiper switch is turned off
wiper circuits also use this type of motor. (Figure 14-12), current flows through the park
Many late-model vehicles have wiper arms switch, into brush B, and through low-speed
that retreat below hood level when the switch brush A to ground. This reverses the motor’s rota-
is turned off (Figure 14-10). This is called a tion until the wiper arms reach the depressed park
depressed park position and is controlled by the position, the park switch moves to the grounded
park switch. When the wiper switch is turned off, position, and all current stops.
the park switch allows the motor to continue turn- Many wiper systems have a low-speed int-
ing until the wiper arms reach the bottom edge of ermittent or delay mode. This allows the wiper
the windshield. The park switch then reverses arms to sweep the windshield completely at int-
current flow through the wiper motor, which ervals of three to 30 seconds. Most intermittent,
makes a partial revolution in the opposite direc- or delay, wiper systems route current through a
tion. The wiper linkage pulls the wiper arms down solid-state module containing a variable resistor
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310 Chapter Fourteen

Figure 14-14. The intermittent wipe governor or

module is installed between the wiper switch and the
Figure 14-12. The park switch reverses current flow
wiper motor.
through the motor so that the wiper arms are pulled
down into the depressed-park position. (DaimlerChrysler
Corporation)
charge, and therefore the interval between the
wiper arm sweeps.

SCR Intermittent Wipers

On some imported cars, the intermittent or delay
mode is sensitive to vehicle speed and varies from
approximately 15 seconds (at low road speed) up
to the wipers’ normal low speed (at moderate road
speed) as vehicle speed changes. The intermittent
mode can be cancelled by pressing a cancel
switch, and wiper speed can be set manually with
the wiper switch. Intermittent wiper control cir-
cuitry on many cars is contained in a separate
module that is installed between the wiper switch
and the wiper motor, as shown in Figure 14-14.

Switches
The wiper switch is between the power source
Figure 14-13. An SCR in the solid-state intermittent and the grounded wiper motor. The wiper switch
wiper module or control unit triggers the wiper motor does not receive current unless the ignition switch
for intermittent wiper arm sweeps. (DaimlerChrysler is turned to the Accessory or the Run position.
Corporation)
The wiper switch may be mounted on the instru-
ment panel, or it can be mounted in the steering
and a capacitor (Figure 14-13). Once the cur- column and controlled by a multifunction lever or
rent passing through the variable resistor has stalk (Figure 14-15).
fully charged the capacitor, it triggers a silicon- If the system has an electric washer pump, the
controlled rectifier (SCR) that allows current pump is generally controlled by contacts within
flow to the wiper motor. The park switch within the wiper switch. The washer is usually operated
the motor shunts the SCR circuit to ground. by a spring-loaded pushbutton that is part of the
Current to the motor continues, however, until wiper switch (Figure 14-16). Moving the switch
the wiper arms reach their park position and the to its wash position or pressing the pushbutton
park switch is opened. The driver through the will operate the washer pump as long as the
variable resistor controls the capacitor rate of switch is held in position or is pressed.
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Horns, Wiper, and Washer System Operation 311

Figure 14-15. The washer switch is usually a spring-loaded pushbutton mounted on the instrument panel
or on a multifunction lever. (GM Service and Parts Operations)

Motors
Most two-speed wiper motors use permanent
ceramic magnets as pole pieces. Three brushes
ride on the motor’s commutator. One brush is a
common, or shared, brush and conducts current
whenever the wiper motor is operating. The other
brushes are placed at different positions relative
to the motor armature. Current through one brush
produces a different motor speed than current
through the other brush. The wiper switch con-
tacts route current to one of these two brushes,
depending upon which wiper motor speed the dri-
ver selects.
In many wiper motors, the high-speed brush is
placed directly opposite the common brush
(Figure 14-16). The low-speed brush is offset to
one side. This placement of the low-speed brush
affects the interaction of the magnetic fields
within the motor and makes the motor turn
slowly. The placement of the high-speed brush
causes the motor to turn rapidly. Chrysler and
some GM two-speed motors vary from this pat-
tern (Figures 14-13 and 14-17). The low-speed
brush is directly opposite the common brush and
the high-speed brush is offset. A resistor wired in
series with the low-speed brush reduces the
motor’s torque at low speed. This extra resistance
in the low-speed circuit results in a lower motor
speed even with the reversed brush position.
The common brush can be grounded and the
two speed-control brushes can be insulated, as
shown in Figure 14-17. Other motors have the
Figure 14-16. In this system, the high-speed brush is
set directly opposite the common brush. The common speed-control brushes grounded through the
brush is insulated, and the two speed-control brushes wiper switch contacts and the common brush
are grounded through the wiper switch. insulated, as shown in Figure 14-17.
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312 Chapter Fourteen

Some two-speed and all three-speed wiper directly to ground and is called the shunt
motors have two electromagnetic field windings field. The two coils are wound in opposite direc-
(Figure 14-18). One field coil is in series with a tions, so that their magnetic fields oppose
motor brush and is called the series field. each other.
The other field coil is a separate circuit branch The wiper switch controls current through
these two field coils. At low speed, about the
same amount of current flows through both coils.
Their opposing magnetic fields result in a weak
total field, so the motor turns slowly. At medium
speed (three-speed motor), current to one coil
must flow through a resistor. This makes the
coil’s magnetic field weaker and results in a
stronger total field within the motor. The motor
revolves faster. At high speed, current to the coil
must flow through a greater value resistor. The
total magnetic field of the motor is again
increased, and the motor speed increases. The
resistors can act on either the shunt coil or the
series coil to reduce current flow and thereby
increase the motor’s total field strength and
speed. In Figure 14-18, the resistors act on the
Figure 14-17. This motor has an extra resistor in the shunt field. Many wiper motors can be serviced
low-speed circuit, and so the low-speed brush is to some extent, as shown in the Shop Manual,
placed directly across from the common brush. The
common brush is grounded, and the two speed-
Chapter 14.
control brushes are insulated.

Figure 14-18. In this motor with two electromagnetic fields, the motor speed is controlled by the
amount of current through one of the fields. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)
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Horns, Wiper, and Washer System Operation 313

Figure 14-19. The washer pump is often mounted on the fluid reservoir. (DaimlerChrysler Corporation)

Washer Pumps
Windshield washer pumps (Figure 14-19) draw
a cleaning solution from a reservoir and force it
through nozzles onto the windshield. The unit can
be a positive-displacement pump or a centrifugal
pump that forces a steady stream of fluid, or it can
be a pulse-type pump that operates valves with a
cam to force separate spurts of fluid.
The washer pump is generally mounted in or
on the fluid reservoir (Figure 14-19). Some GM
pulse pumps are mounted on the wiper motor
(Figure 14-20). Washer pumps are not usually
serviceable, so they are replaced if they fail.
Figure 14-20. Some GM systems have a washer
pump mounted on the wiper motor. (GM Service and
SUMMARY Parts Operations)

An automotive horn circuit can be a simple

series circuit, or it can use a relay to control cur-
rent through the horns. The horn switch is a fields. The park position can be at the bottom
normally open push-pull switch that is oper- edge of the windshield or below the bottom
ated by the driver. Horns use electromagnet- edge. An intermittent wipe feature can be driver-
ism to vibrate a diaphragm and to produce or speed-controlled. Each of these variations
sound waves. requires slightly different circuitry. Washer
Windshield wiper and washer circuits have pumps can be mounted at the cleaner reservoir
many variations. They can include a permanent or on the wiper motor. Pumps are not serviced,
magnet motor or one with electromagnetic but are replaced.