HOW TO: Intermittent Wiper Problem Fix. AKA TSB Fix.

[5alarm]

Originally Posted by ComradeChaos

My '03 ZTW just failed safety inspection for this problem.
It occurs when you just want to have the wiper do one 'swipe' of the windshield - works normal all other times.
Guessing its a relay issue from what I read here.

Just try the relay swap as described above. That is the quick fix!

Good luck. Your "inspector" must have been a Hard !

[Gerry05]

Originally Posted by FordCustomerService

Hi Gerry05,

The wiper motor is the same for 2000-2007 model year Focuses. Here is the link to Ford Parts to find yours.

~Natasha

thanks for your help

[FordCustomerService]

Originally Posted by Gerry05

thanks for your help

My pleasure. Have a great day!

~Natasha

[maloneski]

i just replaced the relay on mine and fixed the issue but now im getting a strange clicking noise from under the dash when it starts and stops on intermittent that it never did before the replacement. any idea what that might be? im thinking it could be a defective relay?

[mattspencer]

I had the "park" function not working for a long time on my car. Reading this, I was a little unclear what people meant by "park" so here is what mine did. If you hit the wiper lever down, it should do one cycle of the wipers up then down, and stop in the full down position. This should be one quick push down, you shouldn't have to hold it down or anything. What mine did was if you hit the lever down, it would move only as long as you were holding it down. When you let go, the wipers would stop wherever they were when you let go. Also, if you had them set to intermittent, low speed, or high speed, and you switched them out of that position to the "off" position, the wipers would stop wherever they were.

Finally, and maybe unrelated, when I drove at higher speeds (45 mph +), with the wiper set to intermittent, they would go all the way down in the cycle, then the wind would pull them up a little. Maybe an inch at 45 mph, and 3-4 inches at 75 mph. This was perhaps the most annoying part for me, since I would have to then either deal with the wipers being in my way of seeing the road, or manually push down and hold the lever until they cycled and held all the way down. Again, I don't know if this is related to my "park" function, but I will find out later today when I drive it at 65 mph and see what happens.

I did change my relay and it fixed the "park" function as described in the top paragraph. I found out that the dealership wanted $14, Autozone/Advance/O'Reily's wanted $13-15, and NAPA had one for $8.96 or about $14. There are also tons of places to go online to get them for much cheaper, and I'm sure you could get one from a junkyard (although it might be bad, or a soon to go bad original) for much cheaper. I went with the cheap NAPA one and paid $9.70 with tax. It is made in china and part number MPE AR606SB. They list it as having a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty, hopefully it lasts longer than that.

I have a sedan and did not have the rear wiper relay installed on mine. I was able to change it with only removing the small OBD door, and did it by hand without pliers. BTW, I did see how the car would function without the relay installed at all, and the "park" function did not work, and going to any of the intermittent settings did not work. Only low and high speed worked.

I hope this clears up the "park" function a little bit and helps everyone drive a little more peacefully and safer.

[mattspencer]

In response to maloneski above: i just replaced the relay on mine and fixed the issue but now im getting a strange clicking noise from under the dash when it starts and stops on intermittent that it never did before the replacement. any idea what that might be? im thinking it could be a defective relay?

The clicking sound is the relay working. You may be able to find a different relay that isn't as loud, but in my experience most relays make some sound. I know when I turn on my rear defrost I can hear that relay clicking on. Just the way it is. If you don't know, a relay is a small switch that is turned on and off by an energized magnet inside the relay unit. Think of it as an electronic part flipping on and off your light switch in your house. BTW, my replacement relay makes a clicking sound, but at least it works!

[mattspencer]

Fixing the relay, and the park function, also fixed the above mentioned upward drift of the wipers at higher speeds. It seems that the park function gives the wipers a hard stop at the bottom, and without that hard stop they just drift. You can hear the relay clicking on and off when the wiper is moving in the intermittent speeds.

[n2omike]

Originally Posted by ComradeChaos

My '03 ZTW just failed safety inspection for this problem.
It occurs when you just want to have the wiper do one 'swipe' of the windshield - works normal all other times.
Guessing its a relay issue from what I read here.

<--it may say I'm a rookie, but I've changed the alternator on it & that is some trick.

My 04 ZTW did the EXACT same thing. Everything worked, except when you pushed it down for one swipe. The wipers would stop wherever you let go. It was an intermittent problem at first, and only did it sometimes.
The wipers would also drift upwards sometimes at high speeds.
Installing the new relay fixed it!

I used an extra, extra long pair of needle nosed pliers, and swapped the relays out in maybe a minute.

Good Luck!

[quacking05focus]

Old thread I know but just to update with my experience on my 05 st - the intermittent wiper feature hasn't worked for awhile now (maybe a year...it doesn't rain much where I live). Bought a replacement wiper switch first and that didn't do the trick so I bought the relay second and that was the fix. Should have bought the relay first in hindsight but I suppose now I have a spare wiper switch/stalk should I need one in the future. Removed the two 7mm bolts to push the fuse panel back enough to get the relay out with pliers and put the new one in - done in 5 minutes!