['84 Carrera] Intermittent wipers run too fast

[Arne2]

First, those of you who don't drive in the rain can probably just move on, nothing to see for you here.

But for those of us whose cars do get wet, is the intermittent function of your wipers slow enough to be worth using?

On my car ('84 Carrera), when the intermittent knob is turned just off the click, the wipers sweep every 3-3.5 seconds. Turn the knob farther and the frequency increases. By a quarter turn, they are running constantly and further turning of the knob (obviously) does nothing. I have a brand new potentiometer (knob switch) and pulse generator (relay) in the tub o'spares that came with the car, but neither one changes anything.

I'm more used to a normal intermittent delay being around 6-7 seconds, 3 is just too short to be handy in the steady mist that often plagues our winter months here in Western Oregon.

So I'm curious - is the 3 second sweep normal for these cars? If so, has anyone come up with a way to slow them down a bit? Maybe add a resistor between the pot and the relay?

[plumb4u2]

I have only used mine a couple times and I believe 3-4 sec is what mine does at slowest position

[Amochosto]

Mine (84 Carrera) sweeps more frequently when you just switch it on and when you twist the knob further it slows down. I actually have never had a problem getting the wipers to sweep at the correct speed for my preference and I tend to like the wipers to go slower than most other drivers I see.

[Arne2]

Yours slows down the farther you turn it?? Mine doesn't, it goes faster. I wonder if the wires on my knob switch are reversed?

[mclmk8d]

Arne, mine also slows down the more you turn it. As you conjecture, your wires are most likely reversed. I have an 87.

[Arne2]

Just took my Bentley out to the garage, removed the clock and then pulled the knob switch out to compare the connections to the wiring diagram. Sure enough, the wires for terminals 15a and 15b were swapped. After I corrected that, the intermittent wipers work as they should - about 3.5 seconds between wipes just off the click, with increased delay the farther I turn the knob.

Thanks to all who replied. Pelican is great!

[Amochosto]

Awesome!

[Amochosto]

Just to follow up, I had the opportunity to drive in the rain today, I counted out 18 seconds between sweeps on the slowest delay setting.