Read this if your wiper switch is faulty
 

Ok I'm gonna give this a shot and see what comes of it.

Ever since I bought my Rex (1987 non-turbocharged manual), the windshield wipers would only work in the low position. Mist, Intermittent, and High settings did not work at all, and in order to return the wiper blades to the rest position I had to turn them off at the right time, else they would stop wherever they were. Sometimes the wipers would not work at all, mostly in the rain (at first... eventually this problem magically fixed itself to where only the Low position worked, but very reliably! :D).

This is a common problem (a design flaw) with the 2nd gen wiper switches that I'm sure many of you are aware of and have to put up with.

This problem was a royal pain in the ass, especially since I live in Portland Oregon where it rains nonstop 8-9 months out of the year.

Recently I repaired my wiper switch to absolutely perfect functionality (during the summer when it DOESN'T rain, ironically). So given that my repair job worked perfectly for me, I figure it can work perfectly for other people. I didn't have to replace any parts in it, I just removed the PCB and repaired the relay so it works right.

Anyone interested in having their switch repaired rather than having to deal with finding a new/replacement switch that will be prone to the same problem, email me. I'm offering my repair service for $25 + all actual shipping costs. This is approximately 10% of what the dealer would charge you for a new switch that would also be susceptible to the same issue. Depending on whether this pans out at all, the price may change depending on demand and how successful any repairs are that I perform.

I will test the switch on my car after fixing it to verify that it does work perfectly, and I'll guarantee my work too. Since, as I said as the beginning of this thread, I've never offered my services for sale before, I don't know what a reasonable warranty period is for this sort of thing, so I'll start with 6 months. If I can't fix your switch, or it fails within a 6 month period, I'll refund your $25. Again, depending on how this progresses, the warranty period may change.

Just so you're aware up front, part of the repair process will entail cutting a small portion out of the switch's plastic casing. This is to facilitate making necessary adjustments to the relay while it's on my car (it would be an absolute bitch to adjust it, reassemble the whole mess, plug it in, and find that it's not yet working perfectly, then have to disassemble the whole thing again. I know, I found out the hard way). This will not endanger the PCB or the relays, as the individual relays have protective covers already on them that pretect them very adequately.

So if anyone's interested, feel free to email me at mojoewinkie@hotmail.com and we'll talk. Thanks!

Joe

Heh. My wipers were stuck on so I pulled the fuse. I then put it back in when it was raining and hit the dash hard and they now turn on and off and squirt but thats it. I think its stuck in fast mode.
Good idea about doin the service but you might want to show a pic of what the cut you do is so there aren't any questions.

i have the same problem you have MoJoeWinkie, but one question, what is the PCB, are you talking about the switch? And where is the rely? because i know i can fix it myself, just was never a real problem for me having to deal with the wipers.
i dont know if ur going to keep this disclosed information because you want to make some easy doe, and i dont blame you. i just dont know if the rely is a pain in the ass to get to..

good idea though, unessesary money spending sucks

yeah what is the PCB??? and is it in the manual???

Justin

I dont believe you guys never found any links on the "wiper-fix". First try, I found about 10 different pages with instructions and pictures.

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

or this: http://2ndgenrx7.freeservers.com/techmaster.html
and choose Technical->Wiper Switch Fix

The pic that MoJoe is talking about is this:

Cleaning/adjusting the relay in the wiper switch is a waste of time. It really needs to be replaced - that's the only way to get good, long life out of the relay.

New relays are CHEAP - like $2 a pop. Desoldering the old relay is a bit of work, but once it's out, it takes about 5 seconds to solder in the new relay and be ready to rock.

There are a total of 3 relays in the wiper switch - one for the front wipers, one for the rear wiper or convertible top, and one for the hazard flashers. The two wiper relays are the same, and the hazard relay rarely if ever goes out - you just don't use your hazards that much :).

If you plan on offering this as a service, you really need to learn how to do it the right way, otherwise you will have a LOT of customers coming back to you in about 1 month with a bad switch.

Dale

The origonal dinky relay with burned out contact and it's heavy duty replacement.

Where it goes.

Pigtails on the coil, NO & NC terminals.

Solder it.

Put it back together.

subscribe. thanks Ace.

Dave Gibson at fc3s.org has been doing this for awhile.

Also check out:
http://www.zapta.com/tal/rx7/wiper/main.html

Shoot, I'd just pop the $2 at Digi-key and get the direct replacements. Something that works as much as the wiper relay is going to go out at some point - the stock relays go for about 80,000-100,000 miles. I don't know if you're really gaining anything by going to the heavy duty relay, other than you can get it at Radio Shack.

Dale

DCFC3S: I did do it the right way. My switch works perfectly, has worked perfectly ever since I made that fix about 4 months ago. The wrong way would have resulted in a still-faulty switch, correct? Why should I deal with getting a replacement relay when the existing one is fine, just needs to be tweaked? And about customers coming back within a month, I explicitly said I would cover my work for SIX months. That also includes being unable to reapir a switch at all for some reason. So those customers would get a full $25 refund.

The PCB is the Printed Circuit Board. There is a wiring diagram in the factory service manual, the Body Electrical section as well as the Wiring Diagrams section (I think). The hardest part of fixing the broken switch is desoldering the contacts that hold the PCB in. In order to test a repair, it has to be resoldered in. If I had to desolder and resolder the PCB repeatedly to test every adjustment, I would charge a whole lot more or not even bother offering the service because it would be too much of a pain. That's why I cut the square hole in the plastic casing to have easy access to the relay without desoldering the PCB again. Obviously I'm not going to cut the plastic without removing the PCB because that would risk cutting into the relay.

I suppose I could put my switch on a scanner and get a pic that way (I don't have a digicam), I'd have to remove it from my car first. Anyone who wants to see a pic of my work, let me know and I'll post it.

I am well aware that there are many resources online that tell you how to fix a faulty wiper switch; that's how I fixed mine. However, I also know that not everyone has the time to fix it, or maybe don't have the skill with a soldering iron required to do it without messing something up. I'm not trying to make it seem like I'm anyone's only hope of fixing their switch. But since I CAN do it, I won't hesitate to make money offering the service. I've seen places online (I can't remember where though) where they charged over $50 to fix a wiper switch. And my fix remains nicely and neatly packed inside the casing because I repair the existing relay, instead of having a box dangling by wires outside the casing. That just looks ghetto to me.

Those of you who have the time, ability, knowledge, and patience to fix your own switches, congratualtions and more power to you. Otherwise, I'm here if you want to pay me $25 to do it.