Windshield wipers do not park; no intermittent

[altbrewer]

I finally got around to delving into this problem deeper, as my car will have to pass inspection soon. As long as I have had it ('98 Boxster), the wipers do not do intermittent and do not park. Low and high speed work fine, as long as I time it carefully when I turn them off. Washers work fine.

 

I swapped out the relay with no change. Took the wiper motor out and was able to get it to park when I was testing it. Yesterday, I replaced the stalk switch. This was only partially connected to the wiper problem as I wanted to do the OBC hack anyhow (which appears to work fine). But, the wipers still do not park or do intermittent.

 

I believe I am faced with looking for a more obscure wiring or connector problem. So does anybody have any suggestion of where to start looking or any diagnostic procedures? Any information about what voltages I should see at the relay pins when the wiper switch is in the off or intermittent position with the relay removed?

 

Thanks,

Mike

Edited February 19, 2016 by altbrewer

[Loren]

There are a number of things to look at.

Check that the connecting arm from the motor to the wiper arms has not come loose or corroded.

Likewise check each wiper arm where they connect to the splined shaft for wear and or looseness.

 

If either arm has become loose then you will likely need to re-align both so they park properly.

[altbrewer]

Loren thanks, but the problem is that the motor stops as soon as the steering column switch is put in the off position - it does not continue to the park position. When I removed the wiper motor to check its function, I did not note any corrosion or looseness in the linkage.

[KevinH90]

Have you checked the wiper relay?  It is in the kick panel in the driver foot well.  I would first try removing and re-installing it.

 

I don't like to just start swapping parts, but if that doesn't solve the problem I would buy a new relay and see if that works.  This thread seems to cover a similar problem in a 996 and replacing the relay appears to have fixed it: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/11683-wipers-wont-stop-on-carrera-2/?hl=relay

[altbrewer]

Solved the problem. Somebody prior to my time with the car had swapped the wiper relay with one of the engine fan relays. Put the wiper relay in the right spot and everything works fine. Wish I had noticed that earlier, although I had wanted to swap out the column switch anyhow for the OBC hack.