recently i've been experiencing some intermittent electrical issues. at times, my wipers, convertible top, and climate controls will not work. however, when i recycle the key, they work fine. is there a relay that controls all of these and maybe its going bad and not always switching when powering on the car?

 

Could be the ignition switch or a loose wire at the fuse box. S4 or S5?

 

its an S5. i was thinking an ignition switch too but my radio will still work when this issue occurs.

 

Cars have several positions for the ignition switch, acc/run/start. Acc/run are always on together when you turn to run.

 

i understand that, i just find it odd that i can start the car, and all those electronics dont work. then i shut the car off bringing the key to off, start it again, and everything works fine

 

Why do you find it odd? There are a series of wires coming from the ignition switch which controls different functions of the car. Just because one or two work does not guarantee they all work. At the switch are a series of plugs from the front harness connecting to the switch. One has a Blue wire and a Black/Red wire. The B/R wire powers the wiper fuse among other fuses. When the wiper switch does not work leave the key as is and test for voltage on the B/R wire. This will give you some insight into what is causing your problem.

You could also have a grounding problem.

 

ill try to recreate it and check for voltage. thank you

 

Do you have starting issues as well? I had similar issue before, but it was due to bad grounding. I cleaned all my major groundings (The main 3 that described by Aaron Cake), and replaced the battery terminal as well. Now all electronics works much better, they used to only work once in a while or every few attempts.

The Original battery terminal is lead, and they are very soft. Mine was in very bad shape, it stretched so much that they can't be tighten enough to create a good contact.

 

I bet the return spring in the ignition switch is bad, which is usually caused by too much **** on your key chain.

Start the car and when the stuff isn't working, jiggle the key back and forth while it is in the run position. If stuff starts magically working, then it isn't magic, you have a worn ignition switch.

The reason your radio will work but other stuff won't is because there are two accessory wires and contacts in the ignition switch. If ACC2 is not making good contact because the return spring is weak, the radio will still work (it's on ACC1) but wipers and vert top won't work. Also note that the logicon is on ACC2 as well.