[pizzaman5000]

Hello,

I have a 1997 Passport EX without intermittent wipers from the factory. I found a '97 Passport at the junkyard with intermittent wipers. What do I need to pull from the junkyard truck to install intermittent wipers on my truck? It looks like I need the lever assembly from the steering column, and then a wiper control module? Does anyone have experience with the wiper circuit?

Thanks!

 

[Mayor_West]

Windshield Wiper/Washer System - General Description

"The circuit consists of the starter switch, windshield wiper & washer switch, windshield wiper motor, windshield washer motor, and alarm & relay control unit.
When the windshield wiper & washer switch is turned on with the starter switch on, the battery voltage is applied to the wiper motor to activate the wiper.
The washer motor squirts glass cleaning fluid while the washer switch is being pushed. The alarm & relay control unit relay is used to control motion of the wiper."

Sometimes pulling the steering wheel is the fun bit of the challenge! 😜

 

[pizzaman5000]

Windshield Wiper/Washer System - General Description

"The circuit consists of the starter switch, windshield wiper & washer switch, windshield wiper motor, windshield washer motor, and alarm & relay control unit.
When the windshield wiper & washer switch is turned on with the starter switch on, the battery voltage is applied to the wiper motor to activate the wiper.
The washer motor squirts glass cleaning fluid while the washer switch is being pushed. The alarm & relay control unit relay is used to control motion of the wiper."

View attachment 120310

Sometimes pulling the steering wheel is the fun bit of the challenge! 😜

Alright, bought a steering wheel puller lol. Who woulda guessed. I haven't been able to verify the alarm and relay control unit exists on the 97. It looks like it's just on 98 and up rodeos. Does anyone have experience with the late first gen rodeo intermittent wiper setup? I'm hoping I just need to snag the coilspring and lever switch out of the junkyard vehicle but I'm betting that's not the case.

 

[Mayor_West]

After a bit more research (my apologies) it appears you have the right idea.

The Gen 1 uses a relay within the clockspring/stalk assembly that communicates directly with the relay in the wiper motor; apart from a fuse there's no 'middleman'.
Interestingly, 93-95.5 did have a relay located in the engine compartment fuse box. Though it would have the same rating/function regardless which switch was installed.

Also, it looks like there was only one motor option, so it may be a case of 'a motor is a motor is a motor' and they intalled it in all vehicles making the CS assembly the only upgrade that would need changing. Here's hoping though, right?🤪 May want to check the motor part number from your vehicle & the donor vehicle just to ward off any bad juju.
Honda used parts #8-97146-293-0 & #8-97118-073-0 (discontinued). Isuzu (obviously) uses the same.

Just in case, here's the steering wheel removal guide. It's for a Gen 2 but should be fairly close. Hope I didn't muddy up the waters more & I hope this helps. Please share what you end up finding out!

 

[pizzaman5000]

After a bit more research (my apologies) it appears you have the right idea.

The Gen 1 uses a relay within the clockspring/stalk assembly that communicates directly with the relay in the wiper motor; apart from a fuse there's no 'middleman'.
Interestingly, 93-95.5 did have a relay located in the engine compartment fuse box. Though it would have the same rating/function regardless which switch was installed.

Also, it looks like there was only one motor option, so it may be a case of 'a motor is a motor is a motor' and they intalled it in all vehicles making the CS assembly the only upgrade that would need changing. Here's hoping though, right?🤪 May want to check the motor part number from your vehicle & the donor vehicle just to ward off any bad juju.
Honda used parts #8-97146-293-0 & #8-97118-073-0 (discontinued). Isuzu (obviously) uses the same.

Just in case, here's the steering wheel removal guide. It's for a Gen 2 but should be fairly close. Hope I didn't muddy up the waters more & I hope this helps. Please share what you end up finding out!

View attachment 120340 View attachment 120341 View attachment 120342

Holy balls, I've never gotten this level of support from a forum. This is awesome! Can you teach me how to find this information? I've been googling for days and I can't find anything that points to the clockspring communicating directly with the relay in the motor. I figured there was some relay module somewhere under the dash that the lever switch was signalling. I never thought to see if there was a relay in the motor. Thank you so much, I will pull the clockspring from the junkyard Passport and report back.

Cheers dude, thank you so much.

 

[Mayor_West]

You Betcha!

I did some looking at various part numbers, fuse & relay block details, and then a little historical research on intermittent wipers. My local library offers AllData access, which made looking up wiring diagrams handy.

Basically the switch/clockspring combo come in three variations:

w/o Intermittent Wipers; w/o Cruise Control

w/ Intermittent Wipers; w/o Cruise Control

w/ Intermittent Wipers; w/ Cruise Control
(Stanard Motor Products - eCatalog)

All the relay on the motor does is 'listen' for the power on/off instructions from the relay inside the switch combo unit. Obviously, grab the entire combo unit, not just the spring ( I did it once for an old Volvo and it was a silly mess!) Pretty slick and simple. Three springs, one motor to rule them all!

So just a bit of cross referencing from different sources....and not a lot going on this weekend.😄
Best of luck!

 

[pizzaman5000]

Thanks for the research! The hardest part so far is unplugging the wires from the coilspring and lever assembly from their plugs behind the duct work under the steering column! I hate automotive plugs! So hard to figure out how to unlatch them when you can't see them. I won't be able to get to the junkyard until the weekend so I have a few more evenings to try and get this removed.

Thanks again for your research, pretty cool that it turned out to be just the coilspring and lever assembly!

 

[pizzaman5000]

I got it out! Whoohoo! I ended up drilling out the screw holding the ducting together, I'll rivet it back together. Now I know what I need to bring with me to the junkyard. Hopefully my head bolts get in this week, maybe by next week I'll have a running Passport with intermittent wipers!

 

[Mayor_West]

😂

 

[pizzaman5000]

View attachment 120359
😂

Hahahaha I agree! My headbolts have been stuck in Kent WA for a week and the suspense is TERRIBLE

 

[Mayor_West]

Hopefully my head bolts get in this week, maybe by next week I'll have a running Passport with intermittent wipers!

Were you able to get these projects going? How'd they turn out?

 

[pizzaman5000]

Were you able to get these projects going? How'd they turn out?

I am almost done with everything, head gaskets, timing belt water pump. Ran into a couple snags, leaking trans cooler lines, fuel lines leaking onto exhaust manifold, and worst of all, my 300k toyota matrix decided to grenade its transmission so I have to borrow a vehicle for my auto parts store run. Then I lost my debit card and am waiting for the replacement in the mail before I can replace fuel lines and trans cooler lines and top up that 4L30E before driving the Passport.

All that to say, unfortunately the coilspring/lever swap did NOT grant me intermittent wipers, so there must be a relay or control module somewhere else, or the unit that I obtained from the junkyard is faulty. The rest of the wiper controls work though.

It's on the back burner for now!

 

[Mayor_West]

Holy buckets! You're living in the world of Murphy's Law. I hope you get some breathing room soon.

Sorry to hear about the switch. I can do a little digging in the meantime to see how it can be tested further. Keep this post updated and I'll continue to follow along, too!

Best of luck & to better mechanical days ahead!

 

[pizzaman5000]

Thanks! Hahaha yes it definitely put a dent in the "fun" part of all this, however the engine runs very smoothly, and replacing the rocker shafts got rid of the valvetrain clatter that had my 6VD1 sounding like a diesel. The hoses are just rotted, so I'm happy to replace them and everything is pretty accessible so the remaining work is not terrible. Perhaps the break I will get from waiting for the replacement debit card will allow me to find joy in wrenching on things again. Also, the manual transmission in the matrix is also in the celica, corolla, prism, scion and vibe, so it shouldn't be a hassle to find a junkyard replacement. And at $140 it won't break the bank either. Thanks for the support homie, it's nice to have a person to bounce these tales of woe off of! (besides everyone in earshot)

Cheers!