Window Wiper Madness

[SpidersWeb]

Hey guys

Im going to go look at the wiring diagram myself to see if I can figure this out, but thought Id ask here too and see if anybody else had a similar problem.

Basically, every once and a while my wipers decide to go on. Sometimes its a single wipe, sometimes they stay on. Changing the setting on the arm does nothing. Sometimes it stops by itself, othertimes I have to completely stop, turn the car off, wait 5 seconds, and its fine again.

Ive noticed some things set it off. My interior lamps dont work, but when I flick the switches, there is a 20% chance on average, of the wipers going off. First time its just a single wipe, and second time it sticks on.

Its not so bad when Im sitting still. But it is very annoying when driving on dry days - because often the only fix is to shut the car down (key to OFF), wait 5, then key back on.

Also another one. When I use my parker lamps - my seatbelt warning lamp starts flashing on and off. Any other headlight setting, and it does not flash.

This is on the 82 by the way. Any ideas are welcome! Id like to attempt to repair it myself before paying an auto-electrician and/or priest.

[Cordzboy]

And here was me thinking my sister's car was the only one to do this. Similar symptoms, except they only ever do it for one or two wipes. It's not related to anything that I could find - I spent the best part of a day trying to diagnose what exactly caused it, and came up with nothing.

So I guess that was entirely unhelpful, but maybe it'll make you feel better that your car isn't the only one that does it :)

[Junkers]

Could it be something to do with the relays? like being set off due to variances in voltage, could always try swaping them round

[SpidersWeb]

Thanks CordzBoy :beer nice to know

Could it be something to do with the relays? like being set off due to variances in voltage, could always try swaping them round

Yeah that was my first thought also. But here is the thing. The wipers turn on and off perfectly fine. The timer works, high and low speeds work. Flick it to off and its fine. So the relays must be ok.

Pretty sure I know what it is now. Since it stays on until power is dropped - it must be an electrical device not the switch itself. Since the high speed mode increases the speed of the wipers in crazy mode - this means its the wiper power relay not the Wiper HI LO relay.

The power relay works fine from the switch. So something else must be triggering it.

Oh lookie here, there is only one other device that has a connection to the wiper power relay - the Wiper Control Unit. It engages the relays to make sure the wipers return to the standard position after you turn the switch off. If that timer malfunctioned.... well you get the idea

Ugh but THAT cant be it either. Because the wipers do return to the standard position correctly. ugh so confused. I guess it cant hurt to just replace random stufff that I knew worked on the 3 anyway. See what happens.

[ProZac]

Hope and prey its not a loom problem, and swap shit over from Mr Rattles?

[Junkers]

Does it have a rear wiper? suffering from the same problem?

[sigmaproject]

There are contacts inside the motor housing that enable the wipers to self-park when you switch them off. Otherwise if you turned them off at the top of the screen, that where they would stay. Sometime these contacts can get slightly out of position. and the wipers operate by themselves. There will be info in your workshop manual to cover self parking

[skip]

I bought some replacement wipers the other day. Do I have to rip off the blade assembly (with the metal piece that is clipped over the arm) to attach the new adapter? I know you can just pop the blade assembly out, but it doesn't seem to have any way to attach the new one.

Sorry about the thread hijack with a really simple question but I figured that this was related ;)

[avandull]

Its most likely what sigmaproject said, but something else to try, pull out the intermittent whiper control unit, which is a little blue box that looks like a big blue relay mounted behind the fuse box. In my Starion it was faulty when I bought the car and suffered similar problerms. I dont have intermittent whipers anymore, but atleast they dont come on by themselves.
Good luck
Allan

[SpidersWeb]

Thanks for the replies guys :)

Anyway the problem has stopped now. Guess what - my intermitent wipers dont work anymore either. Looks like the WCU died. So Ill swap it at some stage.

I also fixed my problem with the dome lights, and the VELNAS forgetting the time. Seems I blew the the 10A #1 fuse when installing the stereo (wire hit the frame).

Also the seatbelt lamp doesnt start flashing when I use the fog lamps anymore either. No idea how that got fixed but doesnt do it now.

I do have a new problem with the VELNAS tho, seems I must of disturbed the link to the #2 injector ground. It said I drove 5Km yesterday and used 0L of fuel. Ill fix it when I go to install amps at some stage - I dont want to pull everything apart again now Ive assembled it. Pics of the fixed centre console are gonna get chucked in Show and Go soon.

[Powerslave]

Random intermittent wiper operation is common to all mitsubishi's when there is a substantial voltage drop or increase and is by design the intermittent wiper relay / controller assembly that does it. Try putting a deadish battery in your starion and turn the ignition on. The wipers are almost guaranteed to move. The same can happen when you remove your battery while the car is running , so once you've fixed your problem with them not working at all , then I'd be looking for something that could be causing the voltage drop. While the car is running , measure the voltage on the controller and it should be 13-14 volts. If it is , and it's still playing up , then you have a bad earth. Avoid using the chassis ground when measuring these voltages , but instead use the ground / return to the controller itself. As for your velnas , sometimes (if I'm drivin like an old nanny) , 5km won't use 1 litre of fuel , so don't assume it's not working until you've done about 20 kms.

Good luck. :beer

[SpidersWeb]

Cheers PowerSlave.

Ill try the WCU from the GSR-III and see if it goes ok - it could be just worn contacts (this is probably the oldest Starion Ive ever seen, chassis code is mostly 0's). But if there is a voltage problem, I know where it is.

The old battery terminals are falling apart. I bought two new copper ones, but have not fitted them as yet. Ill do so next weekend. The new stereo isnt showing any signs of voltage problems though, but then it has a 8 awg OFC copper line feeding it now :D

You could be right regarding the VELNAS too. This car is suprisingly economical. My flatmate was under the impression my fuel guage was faulty. Most of the time I am barely over 1200rpm with the overdrive on. Very nice cruiser. I dont put the pedal down much, as Im waiting for the turbo to go pop - it makes some crazy screaming noises. Im going to get this TD05-12 rebuilt, and have that fitted + intercooler if I can get a setup cheap enough.

[JDSTAZ45]

I thought I'd bump this thread up to help anyone with wiper problems. Good info.
I managed to get my wipers working OK due to poor connections in the relays next to the battery.
Also, a good spray with WD-40 around the steering wheel with surround off and switches on the stalk presumeably helped.

The intermittent wipers still don't work properly as they don't park themselves. Investigation of the Wiper Control Unit behind the fuse box is the next step.

Oddly enough my cruise control isn't activating as well, which is the left stalk!!

Cheers :beer

[SpidersWeb]

Since we're on the topic, I notice if you quickly short 12V to earth, the wipers sometimes go. So dodgy stereo wiring can also be a cause.

[chunkhead]

I remember reading about the wiring\relays under the airbox, if damaged can cause all sorts of electrical gremlins! Check not only the relays themselves, but the wiring under the plastic as well, as they can corrode quite deep! :)