my intermittent wipers are acting up, the wipers will work fine in the I and II positions and will work in the MIST position, however they do not want to return to the bottom or work under the intermittent setting. the **** on the end that regulates the time delay of the wipers does not function, they only work at one speed on the I and II positions, turning the **** does nothing. does this sound like a bad switch? what specifically controls the intermittent function, is it inside the wiper switch or an external relay?

 

Internal Relay is probably shot.

Search "Intermitent Wiper problem" and there are a few threads on this and they link to a guide on fixing it.

It's a PITA to get those damn plastic covers off.

 

Is there a way to power up and test these things off the car?

I fitted a replacement binnacle with all switchgear in place (from an earlier car - '86 in my '89) but it only gives single speed, non-parking wipers and no rear wipe (chuckle). BUT all the other switchgear was wired differently - wiper switch indicated left in both positions, cruise control always on etc.

Would be great if I could be sure unit was u/s or not before binning it and coughing up yet more money for another waste of time poxy switch.

I tried opening the old switch to repair - respect to those who acheive this (mine is now a collection of interesting parts)!

 

http://www.teamfc3s.org/info/articles/wipers.html

Theres a whole writeup about testing your wiper motor and switch