wipers/washers come on in the morning

[rabbitman]

'92 Golf Diesel

So in the morning when I turn on the glow plugs the washers and wipers come on too. They have less power than normal and it doesn't always do it, it goes through fazes so it will do it for a week and then won't do it for a week To stop them I mess with the switch and sometimes it helps and sometimes they come right back on. Today just the wipers came on, the switch had no affect and smoke came out from by the steering wheel.....Any hints are very appreciated

P.S. It happens more in rainy weather.

[TylerDurden]

Likely a bad ground. Also likely a water leak messing with the fusebox.

[rabbitman]

Good point, electricity isn't my strong point...... I'll check the grounds and see if that helps, thanks

[rabbitman]

Hey so I don't know why the last time the wipers malfunctioned I had to pull the fuse to kill 'em but I cleaned all the battery connections and it fixed it. Still have to mess with the occasional wiper/washer coming on in the morning, I'm thinking it's either the switch or a ground.

[vanbcguy]

I'd be HIGHLY surprised to find that it was ground related.  Phantom lights coming on that shouldn't can be ground issues fairly easily due to their somewhat low resistance, but enough energy passing through the wipers to activate them would come with massive other electrical problems in the car.

Shorted out wiring or a bad switch would be my focus.  I could MAYBE see water in the fusebox providing enough of a pathway particularly if there's road salt in your area but I'd definitely be starting with the switch.

[rabbitman]

Yeah that's a good point. One thing though, when it happens the wipers and washers are really really weak and wriggling the switch sorta turns them off......like they'll go off and then back on a couple times. It very rarely does it during the day which is what throws me off. I guess it most likely is the switch