'98 Windshield Wiper Issue

[EricWoodland]

Hey everyone-

I'm working on my wife's '98 Camry. After fixing many issues, I've found one that stumps me. The windshield wipers have the following options OFF/INT/LOW/HI. All work fine, except when I enter Intermittent mode the wipers continue to run as if they were in Low (completely ignoring the speed selected on the dial). I've checked all wiring from the switch to the motor and everything appears to be normal. Is there a specific relay I can check or does this sound more like the motor is going south?

Thanks!

-=Woody=-

[dc_98_cam]

Something to try out ... get a can of spray type electrical contact cleaner from your local electronics store ... try to get some of the spray to penetrate the cracks and voids of the wiper control switch ... move the switch back and forth a few times ... no guarantee though .... Just thinking that the problem might be contact related, due to moisture or humidity.

[EricWoodland]

Originally Posted by dc_98_cam

Something to try out ... get a can of spray type electrical contact cleaner from your local electronics store ... try to get some of the spray to penetrate the cracks and voids of the wiper control switch ... move the switch back and forth a few times ... no guarantee though .... Just thinking that the problem might be contact related, due to moisture or humidity.

Good suggestion. I had the wiper motor exposed when I started this thread, so I went ahead and hit those contacts with the electrical contact cleaner. No change. Is it easy to access the internals of the control switch or should I spray the outside and hope it penetrates to the inside?

Thanks again-

-=Woody=-

[dc_98_cam]

The wiper switch is shown on the wiring diagram as one integral part ....
Not sure if it comes apart without tearing it up ...
Maybe just spray it as best you can.

One other observation ... several recent posts have described a problem where the door locks have activated when the wiper switch was moved or activated ...
It could be that the wiper switch connection wires .... as they travel along the steering wheel column... kind of under the dash area, are being rubbed against something.
Just as one more thing to try ... move the wires around under the dash, in the vicinity of the steering wheel column and see if there are any relevant changes ...

Not completely sure, but it looks like the wire which controls the intermittent delay on the wiper motor is
a light blue wire with a yellow stripe .... going from the wiper control switch down the steering column, and eventually going to the wiper motor .... Might be something to locate ... jostle around a little, and see if anything different happens.

Again .... might be advisable to give the wiper control switch a spritz or two with the contact cleaner.

... Was looking through the Body Electrical section of the repair manual ... there should be a diagnostic procedure for the window wiper and washer switch ... not sure what page, just scroll down until you find it.

[EricWoodland]

Is the repair manual readily available or an item I will need to purchase?

Thanks for the update, I'll test it out and let you know my results.

-=Woody=-

[dc_98_cam]

Originally Posted by EricWoodland

Is the repair manual readily available or an item I will need to purchase?

Thanks for the update, I'll test it out and let you know my results.

-=Woody=-

If you go to the Gen 5 forum page, at the top, there is a sticky post giving a link to the manuals ... It ought to work .....Save a copy.