Intermittent wiper problem

[Uncle Dim]

Gentlemen,

I have a '96. I've tried to use the instructions here to find me rear wiper problem. The description of where the relay box is located does not match what I see in my truck. Any pics or help please.

96 Rodeo V6 manual 105K
For Sale $4000

[KJK]

Originally Posted by jferreira

Hi all! I'm new to this forum, but you guys have saved me time and money. I had same issues of front and rear wiper stopping or not working at all. I bought three new relays from mouser and got the front wipers and intermittent delay working, The rear however refuses to go further than a few inches. Does anybody know which relay controls the rear wiper and their intermittent control? Does anybody have a picture or listing layout of the alarm control unit so someone like me can easily identify locations and what each item does?

Thanks again for the time and money saved so far.

The picture is on the first page of this thread. The circled relay in the picture is the front wiper delay. The relay immediately to the left of it (on the same row) is the rear wiper delay.

[threesnrolls]

I had problems with the front wipers on my 2000 rodeo ls, and just completed the replacement of the front wiper relay (ordered from Mouser) as discussed in this thread. It worked perfectly! So I wanted to share specifics of my experience in case they may help others to identify and fix their problems.

Standard disclaimer -- USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

First, here are the exact symptoms that I saw:
- when the wipers were parked (at the low resting postition), turning them to intermittent would bring them up about a third of the way, and then they would stop and not move again unless I switched to low or high speed.
- low and high speeds worked fine, except that if I turned the wipers from low or high to off or intermittent, they would simply stop at whatever position they were at. Only way to get them to the parked position was to turn them off at the perfect spot in the arc.

I read on this forum that it was probably the alarm control unit that was causing this problem, but I wanted to be sure so I got the wiring diagram for the front wiper system. This showed me that there are basically three components to the system:
1. the selector wand (multi-position switch) on the steering wheel. This actually consists of two switches and a variable resistor or some such for the intermittent interval.
2. the alarm control unit
3. the windshield wiper motor assembly, which basically includes the motor plus a switch that detects whether the wipers are parked. (at the low resting position)

I concluded that the windshield wiper system basically has 2 modes -- "run" and "park". When turned to low or high speed, the system is forced into "run" mode, and everything works fine. But for intermittent operation, and to get the wipers back to the parked position when the wipers are turned off in mid stroke, the "park" mode is heavily used. (more specifically, intermittent is basically the computer jolting the wipers out of the parked position, and then letting park mode take over to let them return to the parked position.)

It seemed like the park mode was basically broken.

With the battery disconnected and the computer disconnected (because I didn't want to accidentally fry it with the current from the continuity tester), I tested the three switches in the system using the continuity tester. They were fine, so I concluded that the computer was probably at fault. So I decided to try replacing the relay.

Next up... putting in the relay. First I had to get the computer (a.k.a. alarm control module) out. Based on advice from this forum, I removed the glove box using the two screws underneath, disconnected the wires from the alarm control module (ACM) then found the screw directly under the ACM (hidden by some wires) and removed it. This allowed me to remove the ACM without removing the box below it. With the ACM out, opening it up was easy -- the black face on the connector side is removed by unclipping the 3 clips holding it in place, and then the board slid out of the box.

Based on the picture shown in the thread, I went about removing the front wiper relay. This was definitely the hard part, as I'm not an expert solderer. (or de-solderer) I had purchased some de-soldering braid for radio shack, and found it tricky to use, but eventually got the hang of it. Specifically, I had to find the 5 soldered pins on the back of the circuit board that corresponded to the 5 pins on the relay, and carefully remove the solder for each one. I tried placing the braid on top of the pin and punching the pin through the braid, then heating the braid, but this didn't really work. In the end the best way to do it was to push the braid up against the side of the pin, hold the soldering iron against the braid, and wait for the solder to flow into the braid.

Even with the solder "removed" from all 5 pins, I still had some trouble working the relay out, but I did so very slowly and it eventually came out.

Putting the new one in was a little easier. I use a pointy object (small safety pin end) to clean out the holes a bit, and slowly worked the new relay into the hole pattern. Soldering was easy... just held the iron against one side of each pin, and touched some solder to the other side of the pin.

After that I put it all together and it worked!

Thanks to all on this thread for the great info. Saved me somewhere between 200 and 350 bucks!

[Longmark999]

I just called Mouser, and they no longer stock this item in singles. Does anyone have another source for these relays. Alternately, if I bite the bullet and order 175 of them, would anyone pay $10.00 (including shipping) if I wanted to sell them?

Thanks,

Mark

[marcre]

there is another relay that you can use. I believe the part number is in the FAQ's. If I remember correctly, it is made by NEC.

marc

[jclick]

I'm glad I bought my relay when they were still selling singles.

[Longmark999]

I didn't notice the substitute relay mentioned in the FAQ section. I'll do a little research and see if I can come up with it. If so, I'll post it here.

Thanks,

Mark

[marcre]

551-EQ1-22111S

551-EQ1-22111S

I believe this is the other part that will work.

[Longmark999]

Thanks Marc. I just ordered 3 of them (a little safety stock never hurts) from Mouser. Hopefully my soldering skills (which are pretty rusty) won't let me down!

Thanks again,

Mark

[marcre]

Originally Posted by Longmark999

Thanks Marc. I just ordered 3 of them (a little safety stock never hurts) from Mouser. Hopefully my soldering skills (which are pretty rusty) won't let me down!

Thanks again,

Mark

cool, I am most positive they are correct. I ordered one of each back in November and the NEC lined up perfect. I put in the other since it was the OEM. I am pretty sure many others have used the NEC though.

It had been years since I last soldered and I managed to get it. It takes patience though. Good luck with it, it isn't too hard though.

marc

[chapy354]

Just wanted to let you guys know the NEC relay works perfectly. I replaced mine a while back and the intermitten wipers work great.

1999 Rodeo LS 3.2 V6 4x2

[ArtChee]

Originally Posted by amigo-2k

www.car-parts.com

find a junked rodeo in your area and pick and pull the part.

Have found the needed ALARM MODULE at a "junk yard" with the same part number as I was given at the dealership Parts Dept. for a NEW one. However, the junk part is off a '99 Honda Passport - NOT an Isuzu Rodeo. Inasmuch as Isuzu manufactures the Passport for Honda, and they are IDENTICAL (except for the Honda insignia), may I presume that this part will work in both vehicles.

I ask because when I called the dealer parts dept. I was asked which MONTH in 1999 was the vehicle manufactured, as there are THREE different circuit boards on the '99 modules!!!!!!

ALSO... there's a good chance that this part off a junk vehicle DOES NOT WORK any better than the one on my vehicle. The salvage place cannot verify that the circuits and relays are in "working condition". If this part does NOT resolve my intermittent wiper (and rear wiper) problems can I insist that they take it back? They said they only "exchange", but very unlikely that they have very many of these particular circuit boards.

Thanks for any input here.

[rodeo4me]

Two days back i replaced rear wiper relay RY3, it worked fine but today wipers have stopped working again. When i press the rear wiper switch i can hear relay tick but no action on wipers. Are their any other relays which need to be replaced? I used nec 3100 and my alram box is red.
rodeo 99 v6

[chapy354]

Artchee, There is no way to make sure the used alarm module will work unless they will let you plug it in in the parking lot before purchasing it. Even then it may go out as soon as you leave the place. Those are the chances you take buying used parts. I don't know anything about the 3 different boards depending in what month your truck was made, but they all probably do the same thing just in different routings. I would ask to size it up at the yard. You can drive your rodeo with everything already disassembled and then all you have to do is pull your box out when you get there and plug theirs in. If it works, great. If not, then the soldering to replace your own relays is really simple. Anyone can do it. All it takes is 2 screws in the bottom of the glove box to remove it and then you can easily get to your alarm box. There are a few good listing in this post on how to do it.
Hope this helps.

1999 Rodeo LS 3.2 4X2

[chapy354]

Did you recheck the plug connections on the box? If the plug isn't seated correctly you can have inconsistant contact with the leads and the wipers won't work all the time. When I fixed mine, I thought I had done something wrong because the wipers would reset back to the start position, but the intermitten setting wasn't working. After pulling it apart and rechecking all my solder connection I realized the plug wasn't seating correctly even though it looked like it was good to go. Once I got that squared away, I haven't had any problems. I used the NEC 22111 relays, but I guess the 3100 are even closer to specs then the 22111. I also replaced all 3 relays at one time.

1999 Rodeo LS 3.2 4X2