what is the definitive answer for the phantom wipe question? I've read all the answers in the archives. None say " this is the solution'.

That's because there was more than one problem.

I have a cutlass steering column in the shop and all the wires and wiper motor and thinking of transplanting the guts into my column and rest into my car to fix the problem . Havent ever seen a phantom wipe on a crappy old cutlass so maybe

From what I've seen there are 3 problems/solutions (very generalized from reading lots of articles):

Wipes when car is turned on - bad circuit board
Wipes when you hit bumps - loose wiring and/or bad switch
Wipes when you use turn signals - bad switch

Cheapest fix will be if it's worn wires under the steering column, but will take you some time. Get the shroud off and drop the column. Straighten out any twisted wires and look for worn spots and wrap up if you find any. Next would be the circuit board, you can try the rebuild kit from rd, if you can solder it's real cheap... or you can get a new board for around $30. The one that finally fixed mine was the switch internal to the column. Cost me about $70. I did find after doing all 3 that the PW came back after about a year, but was fixed again but giving the switch some use. Seems dust collects when the switch is never used and will cause it to return (I almost never drive my Fiero in the rain).

Mine wiped when using turn signals. I did not have a switch problem. I swapped in an 88 circuit board and that solved it. Easy and free for me. Came from my Formula parts car. No problems since.

Must be a GM thing. My 85 Trans Am did it and the 86 Fiero did too.

Spoon

------------------
"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut