Windsheild wiper relay

[thewheelerZ]

When we gutted the car we took our windshield washer stalk and threw it in the garbage, which may have been a dumb thing to do.  In any case, we have our wipers now rigged up with a dual speed switch on the dash for fast and slow.  The only problem is that when you turn them off, they stop wherever they are at the time as opposed to going back down to their starting point.

 

Is there any way to rig up some way of having them return to their down position when the switch is turned off and keep the switch on the dash?  Or is it a case of going to a junk yard and trying to get the stalk and parts again?  Its not a huge deal as its pretty easy to just time it so that you turn it off when they are down, but would be kind of nice to not have to worry about that.

[Team Infiniti]

 It would have to be through a relay using the park position wire coming out of wiper motor  essentially reinventing the wheel...if going  through all that trouble, one could use the time with schematic in hand to figure out how to hook the dash switch up to original stock wiring 

Edited February 27, 2017 by Team Infiniti

[mhr650]

Been there done that, but it will depend on what model car you have. In the end I only wanted one speed so I was able to set it up so it used the high speed windings for the wiper and the low speed windings to return the wipers to home. I was able to use a single relay and both the NO and NC contacts on it to accomplish this, if you wanted to have both speeds and return it would be a little more complicated.

 

http://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/wiper-wiring-1082294/#post11925910

 

For a simple thing wipers have been the source of a lot of work for me, first I had the same issue of operating the wipers with a simple switch and getting them to park correctly which I solved but it was irritating how much effort it took. Then first race out it rained and they stopped, pivot shaft was stuck to the bushing in the cowl by corrosion, the chassis had been setting in a field for who knows how long before I got it. Next time we tried to use them one of the plastic bushings on the linkage failed, 35 year old plastic. Mazda doesn't make the bushings anymore but I was able to find someone who made replacements, installed the replacements and they failed the first time we used them in a race. Now my linkage is thick walled aluminum tubing tapped for rod ends at both ends, if this fails I don't know what it will take.

Edited February 27, 2017 by mhr650

[skierman64]

KISS principle applies here.  OE switch and system works perfectly. 

[thewheelerZ]

@mhr650 Good link, thanks.  The car is a 93 Mazda 626.  Bad news is that the relay is part of the stalk itself.  Ill have to do some more digging and see if I can find something.

 

@skierman64 I agree. That whole hindsight thing is a female dog!  On our previous car were able to literally zip tie the whole stalk OEM to the dash bar and it was perfect.  This one was fairly bulky as all the relay was part of it and was all part of the steering column too.  I may just try to find a used one and see if it can be attached.

 

 

[PNWZR1]

You should have a hot wire that goes to the motor that will return it to park when the switch is turned off. After that there should be three other wires, one that controls the low speed, and the next wire feeds the high speed circuitry, and one for a ground.

[Andrew D Johnson]

1 hour ago, thewheelerZ said:

When we gutted the car we took our windshield washer stalk and threw it in the garbage, which may have been a dumb thing to do.  In any case, we have our wipers now rigged up with a dual speed switch on the dash for fast and slow.  The only problem is that when you turn them off, they stop wherever they are at the time as opposed to going back down to their starting point.

 

Is there any way to rig up some way of having them return to their down position when the switch is turned off and keep the switch on the dash?  Or is it a case of going to a junk yard and trying to get the stalk and parts again?  Its not a huge deal as its pretty easy to just time it so that you turn it off when they are down, but would be kind of nice to not have to worry about that.

 

We did the same thing as you, except we only have high speed. I just keep them aiming close to straight up.

 

I think PNWZR1 is correct though, so read what he has to say.

 

23 minutes ago, PNWZR1 said:

You should have a hot wire that goes to the motor that will return it to park when the switch is turned off. After that there should be three other wires, one that controls the low speed, and the next wire feeds the high speed circuitry, and one for a ground.

 

[mhr650]

1 hour ago, PNWZR1 said:

You should have a hot wire that goes to the motor that will return it to park when the switch is turned off. After that there should be three other wires, one that controls the low speed, and the next wire feeds the high speed circuitry, and one for a ground.

 

If his 626 is the same as my RX7 all of the switching takes place with the grounds. Of course there is a lot of time between when my antique was designed and a real modern car so Mazda may have learned better by then…