Another wipers-stay-on failure question
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,725
Likes: 8
From: Lake Country, BC, Canada
Another wipers-stay-on failure question
I hate to start another thread on wipers - but I've been searching for days, and while I find a lot of threads that say I need to repair/replace the wiper switch, or the motor, I'm not finding anything that tells how to identify which of the two has failed, and how to repair the wiper switch if it is the switch.
The problem - while traveling to an out-of-town autocross last weekend, I passed through some light rain, and had the wipers on intermittent for about 10 minutes. After a wipe, I noticed the wipers stopped several inches up the windshield, rather than return to the park position - then after a couple of seconds, maybe the interval of the intermittent cycle, the wipers wiped continuously - I think it's low speed, and they do so in all switch positions, including off, as long as the ignition is on. When the rain ended a few minutes later, I pulled over, and pulled the connector under the hood to stop the wipers (took several tries to get them parked at the bottom of their range).
So how do I determine if it's the switch or the motor? My car is fairly low mileage (163,000km, about 100,000 miles), and because it's mostly my sunny day toy going on 18 years, barring when track events are on rainy days, it hasn't seen a lot of wet-weather. Icemark in this thread https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...moving-460906/ seems to suggest that the motor is the problem in such cases at least half the time (or more, in another thread). I really don't want to futz around with my switch, only to find it's the motor that is defective.
The second problem is there are lots of links to switch repair guides, assuming that is the problem I have, that point at IceMark's MazdaMark site or FC3Spro.com, for example, neither of which is around anymore. Maybe we need to make sure such wisdom is here at RX7club.com in the 2nd gen archives or stickies.
Tanks in advance for any help.
The problem - while traveling to an out-of-town autocross last weekend, I passed through some light rain, and had the wipers on intermittent for about 10 minutes. After a wipe, I noticed the wipers stopped several inches up the windshield, rather than return to the park position - then after a couple of seconds, maybe the interval of the intermittent cycle, the wipers wiped continuously - I think it's low speed, and they do so in all switch positions, including off, as long as the ignition is on. When the rain ended a few minutes later, I pulled over, and pulled the connector under the hood to stop the wipers (took several tries to get them parked at the bottom of their range).
So how do I determine if it's the switch or the motor? My car is fairly low mileage (163,000km, about 100,000 miles), and because it's mostly my sunny day toy going on 18 years, barring when track events are on rainy days, it hasn't seen a lot of wet-weather. Icemark in this thread https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...moving-460906/ seems to suggest that the motor is the problem in such cases at least half the time (or more, in another thread). I really don't want to futz around with my switch, only to find it's the motor that is defective.
The second problem is there are lots of links to switch repair guides, assuming that is the problem I have, that point at IceMark's MazdaMark site or FC3Spro.com, for example, neither of which is around anymore. Maybe we need to make sure such wisdom is here at RX7club.com in the 2nd gen archives or stickies.
Tanks in advance for any help.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,725
Likes: 8
From: Lake Country, BC, Canada
By way of God helping those who help themselves - I have found a working link using the Google to a website that appears to have a copy of Icemark's switch repair guide. http://rotarydiagnostics.com/WiperRepair.htm. The replacement relay references might be outdated - anyone have comment. Maybe we can ask the site about copying the content here, if in fact it is good. I'm not sure how active this site is... the home page link is broken, no nav to this page from the homepage, the only way to get there is with a search engine link or someone else having the link. It doesn't help me figure out if the motor or the switch is the problem, but at least it's got the steps for replacing the relays in the switch if needed.
Last edited by rx7racerca; Jun 19, 2017 at 11:39 PM.
rotorhole
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 680
Likes: 70
From: retired rotorist
the diagnostic are in the service manual, your problem sounds like the wiper motor since there is a small area of continuity on the motor gear that tells the switch to park that sometimes gets gunked up with corrosion.