Greetings. My wife owns a 1996 Cavalier and yesterday she tells me the wipers quit working. So I go out in the freezing cold to check it out. I find that the wipers work quite fine in every speed (hi low delay) however when you turn them off that is when the problem occurs. You see, when you shut them off instead of going to their normal off position the wipers go all the way up and stop there :banghead: . I was wondering (and hoping) that someone here has the solution to this problem.
Thanks,
John :evillol:

I am having the exact same issue. Anyone know how to fix this?

There is an adjustment for this on the motor for the park position of the wipers.

This adjustment is right on the wiper motor itself? So I assume I would need to take the motor out to get to this adjustment setting?

why would the adjustment change though... thats the question... Im sure there is a reason/fix

it should not have changed...but it did. The car has 191000 miles on it....

I just want the wipers to park so they do not sit right in the middle of my wind shield.

since you said it was freezing cold, they could have been stuck to the windshield and didn't actually catch when the motors were turning until it already had made half a turn. you can turn off your wipers completely, take off the wiper arms, and position them exactly where you want them when you turn them off. if the spindle is stripped where the bottom of the arms mount on, you can use electrical tape (or any other spacer material) to wrap around the spindle for a fix. if you do that and it still returns to the top, there is a metal sliding plate that makes the wipers go back to there original spot after you turn them off that sometimes(rarely) wears down and needs replaced

If that don't work try this procedure:
remove wiper motor (3-10mm bolts)
remove wiper arms(pry's off with large flat screwdriver)
flip over motor-check gold rotating piece held in by T-30 torx
if this spins freely you will need to replace it.(about $40)
remove T-30 torx and gold rotating piece
turn on ignition-do not start
let wipers run one delay cycle-then shut off ignition
note:wiper motor has notched section that looks like a V
replace gold rotating part-this has one nipple that HAS to be
within 3-5mm from V notch
tighten T-30torx very tight or it will have to be re-done
re-install arms and motor

I'm also having the exact same problem described above..
Sometimes the park properly then all of a sudden the park straight up and down for a while - weird !!

Just reading above and what ended up working for everyone ?
I don't want to move the wipers on the spindle as they work fine when going just don't park properly :-(

Steve.

my 96 does the same thing but changing the park position wouldnt that change where the stop when there on my wipers are only sticking up when there off when there on they stop at the normal postion

fire i have the very same problem

same problem but when I have delay on, they work just fine, but when I turn them off the wipers stay straight up

OK here's the answer: Either the small arm on the wiper crank is broken (lost spring tension) or the frame that the wiper motor bolts onto, the tab is bent, broken or worn down. This is a common problem at the dealership.

same problem ... index pin on motor shears after time\use etc replace by mechanic 62.00

I have the same problem. It happened after a big snow storm and my wife went out to warm the car up. She said that they just stopped in the middle of the windshield and would not go down. They seem to work fine until I try to stop them.

Greetings. My wife owns a 1996 Cavalier and yesterday she tells me the wipers quit working. So I go out in the freezing cold to check it out. I find that the wipers work quite fine in every speed (hi low delay) however when you turn them off that is when the problem occurs. You see, when you shut them off instead of going to their normal off position the wipers go all the way up and stop there :banghead: . I was wondering (and hoping) that someone here has the solution to this problem.
Thanks,
John :evillol:
When My 97 did that, chevy had to replace the "transmission" (they called it ) for the wipers. I had hoped that it could be reset or something, but no go. Cost about 200.00. Now that's only what happened to me. Maybe someone else might have a better reply. Good Luck!

I had the same problem. Wipers worked but would not park when you turned them off. They stopped in the middle of the window. If you remove the wiper motor and look on the bottom there are 3 metal stop tabs. One or more of them is bent. You just need to straighten them out.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=4801268
Go to this link and it will tell you step by step.