Intermittent wipers –– working intermittently

WesternRoadtripper1
Thu, 26 Oct 2023 05:18:42 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

'99 Sienna

This first occurred in late summer, after months of no rain as always happens during a California summer. When I activated the intermittent wipers (wiper delay) a variety of aberrant patterns occurred. It has repeated during the few times I drove the car on the few rainy days we’ve had since then.

Occasionally, they work exactly as designed: wipe and then pause, with the delay changing appropriately when I changed the delay time.

A couple days ago I drove to a friend’s house, less than 10 minutes, and wipers worked exactly as designed. On the way home, and then today during another nice rainy day, the delay was normal for a minute or two, then reverted to swiping continuously. On a recent longer trip, they just kept swiping continuously in low speed…which at the time was more than needed.

I found a video online that blames this problem on the relay in the wiper switch. The video gives instructions on how to pull the switch (looks easy) and replace the relay (slightly above my pay grade, but I know someone with advanced soldering skills who charges very little for projects like this). The relay sells online for $5 +/-.

The relay cited in the Youtube video was CQ1-12.

Does this sound like an accurate diagnosis and a correct solution?

Thanks!

4 posts - 3 participants