bhillier

Hi, I have a 2002 Honda Accord (170k KMs - Canada) that is behaving strangely. A few weeks ago I was driving down the road when the washer pump began to spray fluid on my windshield - as normal, the wipers began to wipe. A quick pull and release of the wash lever stopped the spraying and the wipers parked as normal. A couple of days later it happened again. Today it happened again but the quick fix of pulling the lever did not stop the spraying. I had to pull over and shut off the car. The only way to stop the pump and the wipers is to pull the fuse for the washer pump. With the fuse out the washer doesn't work of course but also the intermittent wipers do not work.

I tried the following:
I unpluged the wire that powers the pump (right at the pump), put the fuse back in and started the car. The pump didn't pump of course and the wipers did not move. More interesting, the intermittent wipers were still not working.

I've tried all the other electric components in the car and all are working fine.

If you can help it would be so appreciated... I live in Canada and driving in the winter is brutal without washer fluid.

Thanks,
Bernie

sublime423

you might have a bad wiper switch

bhillier

Does anyone know how to troubleshoot for a bad wiper switch?

bhillier

Does anyone have instructions on how to change the wiper switch?

Honda SWITCH ASSY., WIPER

Part# 35256-S84-A01

sublime423

1. remove three screws at the bottom of the steering collum covers they are not visiable because they are deep in the holes and seporate the collum covers

2. turn the steering wheel to the left 90 degrees

3. remove the two screws that attach the wiper switch to the collum

4. slide a pocket screwdriver in to a slot between the screw locations on the out side

5. pull the wiper switch outward and disconnect the harness

6. reinstall in reverse order removed

7. presto and your welcome.

bhillier

It is the switch...

I didn't want to buy the $100 switch to find out that the problem was caused by something else. So, I took the switch off and was able to pry it open without breaking it. Inside there are a number of contacts one of which I could tell was activated by the pulling action of the washer feature. I noticed that at the contact point of the long brass bar was dark and the bar was making contact (when it makes contact the washer pump engages). When I put the screwdriver between the contacts it looked as if the two were nearly fused together. I separated the two.

Now the cause of the problem:
The brass metal bar is cracked at the connection point so that it doesn't have the same ability to spring back after the wash action pull is release. The brass bar is like a diving board when the wash mechanism pushes down on the outside (where the diver would jump) the pump engages. The crack is where the diving board connects to the pool edge.

It is working for now but I am going to pick up a new switch and install it asap.