Wiper Switch Question

[szyzygy]

Morning ya'll

my wiper switch only works when I pull it down, and then I get exactly 3 wipes. It feels that the switch has some other "notches" I can feel when I move the arm up and down, but the other locations don't do anything.
And if I push on the arm, I assume that's supposed to squirt the washer fluid. I'm replacing that pump, I'm not surprised that doesn't work.

Would one of you be so kind as to let me know what my wiper switch settings are supposed to be so I know what they're supposed to be doing?

If they aren't doing what they're supposed to, is this something I can fix myself by bending the contacts or something (similar to how my high beams used to always come on on the other switch)?

Thanks

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by szyzygy

Would one of you be so kind as to let me know what my wiper switch settings are supposed to be so I know what they're supposed to be doing?

Pull the wiper arm towards the wheel to squirt washer fluid, arm at 3 o'clock is off, 3 positions upwards (anti-clockwise) with increasing speeds; slow, medium fast. Fast is somewhere between 1 and 2 o'clock.

If they aren't doing what they're supposed to, is this something I can fix myself by bending the contacts or something (similar to how my high beams used to always come on on the other switch)?

You may be able to clean up & bend/adjust the electrical contacts. However, this won't do anything to fix the mechanical part of the switch - the plastic detents - which can get worn and sloppy, so you might want to assess that before wasting any time on the contacts.

My tub had at least 230,000+ miles when I bought it. I replaced the indicator stalk after it developed a habit of switching from low to main beam every time the left indicator cancelled.

Immediately after I fitted the replacement and felt the crisp, positive, action of a new stalk in comparison to what was there before, I ordered a replacement for the wiper, even though this was in much better shape (sometimes didn't park unless you "jiggled" the stalk or ran the wipers another sweep).

Been very happy with both ever since

[pavegeno]

My 88 has a rheostat knob on the instrument panel between the clock and the speedometer. This is the wiper delay. It works only when the washer stalk is in the off position. A huge range of delay...one of the best delay controls of any car I have driven.

[JAR0023]

Definately worth a shot to correct yourself before you spend big money on the wiper switch. I just did this last week. I just picked up my new to me car in CA. Hadn't seen rain in years. Doubt the wipers were uses all that much if ever in that time. The intermitant rheostat worked so in my mind the motor and relay were good it was just the switch that needed cleaning. I also found that by pushing forward and wiggling on the stalk I could get the wipers going for at least a little while.

Remove steering wheel and cover. Careful with the cover. There is a good article in tech section on this part. Once cover is off you can see the wiper switch plainly. Inside the switch are two sets of contacts for park and washer functions. Basically two sets of fingers that are pushed together at the correct time. I was very careful not to bend these. The main contacts for the three wiper speeds are the side of the switch closest to the column. There are a couple of long contacts and three round contacts. Mine were corroded over with lots of dust and what appeared like varnish.

Anyway I first sprayed with electrical contact cleaner. I held a towel behihnd the switch to keep from getting cleaner on the rest of the car. Then I went to q-tips and finally ended up scraping the contact surfaces with a small screwdriver followed by more q-tips loaded with electrical contact cleaner. Once all the contacts were clean my wipers function 100%. It took maybe half hour start to finish.

Here's a shot of the switch from the top. You can see the contacts on the left inside the switch and also the 'fingers' that create the park and wash functions.



Here's a view from the bottom. You can better see the contacts that need to be cleaned.


One more shot showing the park and wash contacts.



-J

[szyzygy]

Awesome, thanks for the advice and pics. I can feel the various settings when I move the arm up counterclockwise, so I think the plastic bits work ok. hopefully it's just the metal contacts that are dirty.
I don't use them often here in socal, but I want everything to work properly on my car, down to the last detail.

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by pavegeno

My 88 has a rheostat knob on the instrument panel between the clock and the speedometer. This is the wiper delay. It works only when the washer stalk is in the off position. A huge range of delay...one of the best delay controls of any car I have driven.

Before I got my 911 I had occasionally mentioned to my wife that this sort of control should be implemented on cars. Now whenever it rains and I'm in the SC she gets to hear about how awesome it is.

[szyzygy]

Originally Posted by pavegeno

My 88 has a rheostat knob on the instrument panel between the clock and the speedometer. This is the wiper delay. It works only when the washer stalk is in the off position. A huge range of delay...one of the best delay controls of any car I have driven.

hold on, I have that knob. I thought it was for the rear wiper. I'll check that out. Now where is my rear wiper control

I'm hesitant to try switches in my car. Afraid one will open the sunroof and then won't be able to close it!

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by pavegeno

My 88 has a rheostat knob on the instrument panel between the clock and the speedometer. This is the wiper delay. It works only when the washer stalk is in the off position. A huge range of delay...one of the best delay controls of any car I have driven.

A huge range? The one in my '84 is a joke! The longest interval is about 5 seconds, and the interval can be adjusted smaller (faster) from there. Is there something wrong with mine?

[stripes]

I just ran into this issue on an '81 911 SC (wipers wouldn't park & intermittent didn't work).

Cleaning the contacts didn't help. The solution for me was a similar fix to the common combo (turn signal / bright lights) switch problem.

Simply, the #2 & 3 metal blades weren't making contact when the wipers were in the Off position. I bent the #3 blade forward a bit with some small long needle nose pliers and that fixed it.

[rallen911]

pavegeno!!!

You really saved my bacon! I just removed my steering wheel and all the gauges in the dash to install LED lighting and send the speedo out for repair, and when I put it back together, the windshield wipers wouldn't stop running!

I thought that I had caused some sort of problem with all my monkeying around with the gauges, but your post made me think it was this knob you mentioned. It was.

You inadvertently saved me several hours of trying to figure out what was going on!

Thanks again!

[pavegeno]

No problem! Just saw the previous post about the length of the wiper delay. Mine is anywhere from a few seconds to about 30 secs or longer.

I'll confirm a little later as my 911 is on the Atlantic on its way to Stuttgart after passing through the Panama Canal after leaving Hawaii.

That's right, next time I drive my baby, it will be in Stuttgart!

[JeffWeb]

Had the same "wipers won't park and intermittent doesn't work" issue on my '84. I could push the wiper switch arm forward a bit and then intermittent would work. When the switch is off the copper contacts #2 and #3 are supposed to be pushed together by the lever pointed to by the red arrow in the pic below enabling 12v to the intermittent switch. The simple fix is to push contact #3 up a bit so the lever slides over it and pushes it into contact with #2 when the switch is in the off position.

[JCGMS]

This worked for me. Thank you!

Originally Posted by stripes

I just ran into this issue on an '81 911 SC (wipers wouldn't park & intermittent didn't work).

Cleaning the contacts didn't help. The solution for me was a similar fix to the common combo (turn signal / bright lights) switch problem.

Simply, the #2 & 3 metal blades weren't making contact when the wipers were in the Off position. I bent the #3 blade forward a bit with some small long needle nose pliers and that fixed it.

[Hendrik]

Stripes, thank you for your advice! This worked for me too. On Thursday 1 july i have to go to the technical inspection (Belgium) for the first time. Keep fingers crossed...