1983 sd electrical problems in steering column
 

When I am driving along, sometimes the wipers will go through one to three swipes. I now have daytime running lights....they come on with the ignition key in the "on" position. The wipers will sometimes go through a few cycles when I put on the blinkers or flash the bright lights. I have tried to get into the steering column, but the nut seems to be fused and I am afraid to persuade it. Anyone have experience with this type of thing?

Look into repairing / replacing the stalk first.

The 'mist' function causes one round trip (2 swipes)... if that contact has broken, it may do this whenever the stalk is jiggled.

The symptoms that you describe are most likely caused by the deterioration of the combination switch............the stalk that contains the wipers, washer, and turn signals.

You can access it quite easily and remove it if necessary by removing both the steering wheel and the cluster.

The wheel is removed by using a 10mm socket bit with a 2x4 jammed into the wheel to provide countertorque. It's best done with two men, but you can do it yourself if you've got the strength. You should have an 18" breaker bar to get the screw to crack loose. If you've got a proper socket bit with no wear and you keep the bit square in the screw, you can put over 150 lb.-ft. into the screw without concern. It will crack loose before this value.

The cluster is removed by pulling it out with a couple of hooks designed for this purpose, or you can reach below the dash and push it forward from behind if you have sufficient strength.