Tried to research it and have come up empty handed.
My wiper won’t stop wiping when the ignition is on. Appears to be stuck …
so would like to try to repair it or order a new one.
Anyone know where it’s located?
Thanks
passenger side relay block it’s the blue one on the top of the relay block, it’s not so much a relay but the wiper delay unit. the fuse is on the driver side (LHD)
I’ve got a wiring diagram that covers the up to the 88m but for the most part I’ve found it to be pretty accurate for my '89 XJS convertible. The only stuff it doesn’t have is the ABS wiring, (so far what I’ve discovered).
“, it’s not so much a relay but the wiper delay unit.”
It’s commonly called a “delay relay.” They were blue up until the Electrolux wiper motor/linkage was introduced in ’89 requiring a different part, which is green.
Ed Sowell
'76 XJ-S coupe, red
Thanx Ed, I appreciate the added info; I may have to look for mine some day; this will be helpful
me
Tried to research it and have come up empty handed.
My wiper won’t stop wiping when the ignition is on. Appears to be
stuck … so would like to try to repair it or order a new one.
I don’t think you have one! It’s probably your stalk switch that is
misbehaving.
– Kirbert
So there is no actual relay?
The problem is likely in the lever that is attached to the steering column?
The motor certainly works fine.
Yes there is a relay, but a special kind called a delay relay. It embodies the intermittent feature. When the stalk switch is switched to intermittent mode it closes its contacts just briefly, instead of staying on until it’s switched to a different mode. That creates a pulse to the wiper motor, starting it turning. Due to a microswitch in the wiper motor/gearbox, it continues to turn until a cam opens the microswitch, thus returning the wipers to Park. A few seconds later, perhaps 2-4 seconds later the process repeats.
The delay relay, like all relays, are pretty reliable. The stalk switch is not.
Ed Sowell
'76 XJ-S coupe, red
Yes there is a relay, but a special kind called a delay relay. It
embodies the intermittent feature. When the stalk switch is switched
to intermittent mode it closes its contacts just briefly, instead of
staying on until it´s switched to a different mode.
And, of note, the delay unit is ONLY energized in intermittent mode. Its coil
is not involved in fast, slow, or off mode.
The NC contact in the delay unit remains involved in other modes, though. If
the delay unit’s contacts jammed in the engaged position, I think the wiper
would run indefinitely. You can’t just yank the delay unit and see if the
problem goes away because its NC contact is involved in off mode. So, what
you could do is pull the delay relay and jumper terminals 31b1 and 31b2
together on the wiring harness, and see if the wipers shut off as they should.
– Kirbert
The problem is likely in the lever that is attached to the steering
column?
The stalk switch is a known troublemaker, although I dunno offhand if the
wiper running continuously is one of its known failure modes. Failure to park
is common. Note that, in “off” mode, this switch is supposed to provide 12V
to terminal 1 on the motor, and the parking microswitch is supposed to
provide 12V to terminal 5, so the current flow stops and the motor stops by
there being 12V on both terminals.
Continuous running might also be a problem in the parking microswitch
inside the motor. It’s supposed to keep the motor running in every location
other than parked, so a fault presumably could keep the motor running,
period.
– Kirbert
Since you have an '89, I assume it has an Electrolux wiper system. If so, the Park Microswitch, inside the motor/gearbox, can be tested. Here’s an excerpt on my forthcoming write-up on my retrofit project. It requires you to remove the cowl grille and wiper assembly from the car.
Please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 while doing these tests.
Figure 5
Figure 6.
Figure 13
The first test is to see if the motor itself runs in slow and fast modes. Connect the power supply ground to C and +12 to G, Figure 6. The wipers should run at slow speed. Then move the +12 jumper to F, which should run the wipers at fast. Failure of either of these test means the motor is bad. If it’s OK, move on to testing the Run/Park microswitch inside the gearbox.
Note: Because the above tests were without power to the Run/Park microswitch they will most likely not leave the wipers in the parked position. You must continue with the following tests to be sure they are properly parked for linkage reassembly.
Next we’ll test the parking microswitch. Four connector pins are used:
• G: Motor slow brush, motor pin 5 in Figure 5
• H: Microswitch Run pin, motor pin 1
• C: Microswitch Park pin and motor ground brush, motor pin 4
• B: Microswitch Common pin, motor pin 2
Now, let’s do the microswitch test. With the power supply ground still connected to C, put a jumper between B and G. Then, connect +12 to H. From Figure 5 we can see that if the microswitch is in the Run position 12+ will appear at the motor slow brush, causing the motor to turn. It will continue to turn until the cam lobe (See Figure 13) opens the microswitch, opening the circuit and causing the motor to stop. In other words, it’s parked. If this happens we know the microswitch is working. If it doesn’t, it could be that the motor was already in the park position, but this would be highly unlikely as a result of the previous tests. More likely, the microswitch is bad. To confirm, repeat the first test, running the motor in slow for a very brief time then repeat the microswitch test. If it again doesn’t run recheck your connections and try again.
If all the above tests are passed you have a good motor/gearbox, and the system will be in the park position.
Ed Sowell
'76 XJ-S (with Electrolux wipers)
www.efsowell.us
John,
Please write back when you have figured out the source of your windshield wiper problem. A friend with an XJ6 has the same problem, windshield wipers on whenever the ignition switch is on and they won’t stop wiping across the windshields. I pulled the fuse for him so that the windshield wiper blades wouldn’t damage his windshield, but of course now his wipers are no longer functional. That’s OK except when you need them in the rain.
I looked at the XJ6 wiring and my #1 suspect is the switch on the steering column, but of course as others pointed out it could be the delay relay, the parking microswitch inside the motor or possibly other failures. Since many things about the XJ-S and XJ6 are similar, I thought that what you found out might on your XJ-S be helpful to him with his XJ6.
Regards,
Paul M. Novak
1990 Series III V12 Vanden Plas
1990 XJ-S Classic Collection convertible
1987 XJ6 Vanden Plas
1984 XJ6 Vanden Plas
1969 E-Type FHC
1957 MK VIII Saloon
Ramona, CA
