Nissan Pulsar Intermittent Wiper Relay Repaired
A customer of mine bought in her Nissan Pulsar with the complaint of the intermittent wipers not working and the wipers not ‘parking’ – returning to the bottom position of the windscreen.
Always start with the basics – fuses. I realised that the circuit had only one fuse to operate the system and therefore if at least some of the wipers were working (all the speeds operated OK), the fuse must be OK. After examining the system operation, I found what is called a wiper amplifier. This gives the system the ability to time the intermittent phase of the wiper system. This can be adjusted by varying the resistance via a potentiometer on the wiper stalk.
The amplifier was located behind the glovebox, which had to be removed.
Once removed, this is what it looked like.
Once again, before testing all the components, it is important to start with a thorough visual inspection. I carefully examined all the solder joints and found the fault straight away. Cold solder joints had appeared at all the relay contact points.
After examining them under my digital microscope, I could clearly see where the pins were not contacting.
It was only a matter of resoldering all the joints and then testing the unit on the vehicle. It was a simple repair that got the system up and running again. During the next rain, I received a text from a very satisfied customer, thanking me for the repair. Sometimes it is just as satisfying to receive a ‘thank you’ from a customer as it is to carry out a successful repair.
This article was prepared for you by Mark Rabone from Australia.
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Note: You can check out his previous repair article below:
https://www.jestineyong.com/3d-printer-repair/
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beh
December 26, 2015 at 5:02 pm
Hi Mark
yes the biggest electronic device around us are recent cars
and now is our turn to repair the problems with our knowledge in electronics repairing not mechanics . congratulations and keep it up.
beh
Robert Calk
December 26, 2015 at 5:03 pm
Good job, Mark. Thanks.
hongkongpom
December 26, 2015 at 5:10 pm
Great article thank you. This is a case where an intermittent device is a good think haha
Yogesh Panchal
December 26, 2015 at 6:54 pm
congratulations! for quick fix.
Albert van Bemmelen
December 26, 2015 at 6:57 pm
Nice repair Mark. The hardest part is mostly getting the parts out of cars, and putting them back in again. A friend of mine owns a second hand VW Passat from the year 1999. But because the motor block is one giant unaccessible problem whenever something doesn't work he already thinks of buying another car. He had to much problems with it already. (It drives fine but only when it works if you know what I mean...). His gaspump in the tank had to be replaced recently (why it suddenly just wouldn't start), his LPG had problems, his car motorblock had problems which at its own already cost him about 1000 Euro's (because it only can be revised, taken apart and put back together again at a Garage which is costly), and Marters also had eaten a 2 wired cable that goes into the motorblock but no clue what it was for (coming out of the Central Control Unit)... etc.etc. And it rains a lot in Holland when it does if you know what I mean.
Mark
December 27, 2015 at 11:16 am
Hey Albert,
Thanks for your reply. The motors and major components haven't really changed over 100 years, but the electronics have made life easier and interesting, but way more difficult for us technicians. We have CANBUS systems, LinBus, MOST, FlexRay and a myriad of other systems we have to communicate and deal with. I've had rats chew through CANBUS wiring, which created all sorts of fault codes through the entire system!
At the moment I am running AURTTA3019 Carry Out Advanced Diagnostic Procedures at the college where I teach part time. This is a course we are offering to technicians in industry and promises to be very interesting and detailed. We never stop learning.
Jestine's web site gives us an excellent opportunity to share what we have learned, but also to learn from others and I feel privileged to be among such skilled people. Hopefully these skills will not die out and we can pass on our knowledge to the next generation.
Albert van Bemmelen
December 28, 2015 at 12:24 am
Hi Mark, That AURTTA3019 course you are tending sounds interesting. When I read your reply I thought about the movie about the guy who really invented the screenwiper motor (also in a way a documentary of his life) but at first got no credit for it because every car manufacturer stole his invention. In the end he finally got rewarded. Was a good movie too but forgot its name.
Mark
December 28, 2015 at 5:52 pm
Hey Albert,
The name of the inventor was Robert Kearns and the movie title was 'Flash Of Genius'. He showed the Big Three (Ford, Chrysler and GM) who rejected his invention, but then copied his design. He took them to court and won. It is a good movie.
I am looking forward to offering several of our advanced diagnostic courses in the new year and hope this will develop local industry interest for other courses.
Thanks for your interest.
Albert van Bemmelen
December 29, 2015 at 5:19 pm
You are right Mark! That was the movie I must have somewhere on
dvd and the person I was thinking about!
Paris Azis
December 26, 2015 at 7:06 pm
Hi Mark
Interesting case and repair. Is this vertically mounted I.C similar to the notorious NE 555? Did you notice its type?
Best Regards
Faisal khan
December 26, 2015 at 9:24 pm
good work nice ,
Allan
December 26, 2015 at 11:13 pm
Hi Mark,I like your systematic repair job. It makes things so much easy for others. Thanks so much for sharing.
Parasuraman S
December 27, 2015 at 12:51 am
Vow! This is another interesting area for all electronic hobbyists. But what I hate to do is crouching under to do the work! My old age as well as wearing out body parts discourage me from tasks! Right now I have an intermittent centre lock malfunction. I have taken to many mechanics in vain. I am sure I could solve this. But what to do. The mechanics do not co-operative to help me locate the fault either!
A very good informative article. All the best!
Mark
December 27, 2015 at 11:21 am
Hey Parasuraman,
Thanks for your comment. The electronics have become so complex on vehicles now that even the door handle may be an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). It may be required to communicate via a BUS systems to other nodes so that the entire system works correctly.
Yet it could be a simple as a loose connection, a poor ground circuit or broken wiring in the conduit going from the vehicle frame to the door itself. Never discount the simple things first. I have been caught out myself in the past.
Please let me know if I can help in anyway.
Anthony
December 27, 2015 at 3:54 am
Good repair Mark,
Cheers
Andre Gopee
December 28, 2015 at 2:15 pm
Nice job Mark... it just goes to show you that with electronics... it is every where. Thanks for the article.
Peter O
December 29, 2015 at 9:19 am
Mark,
Super job, you make it sound so easy.
As others have suggested it's a physical challenge often as well as an info desert. Many car manufacturers have not properly controlled the electronics build quality Or evn attempted quality designs as seen here by severe cold joints.
May I ask what brand of electronic microscope you use, or maybe you can suggest an economical purchase. I have delayed due to uncertainty about essential specs etc
Thanks
Mark
December 29, 2015 at 1:19 pm
Hey Peter,
I guess just like everyone else, you have skills in the area that you work on the most. Schematics are crucial for accurate diagnosis nowadays, but sometimes you have to go 'old school' and just test how things work, Ohms law and other common problems. It is getting harder with all the electronics and data based systems, but still working with the basics will help you to arrive at a logical result.
The electronic microscope I use is a 5MP USB based unit. Here is a link.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Kits,-Science-%26-Learning/Educational-Learning/Other-Learning-Kits/5MP-USB-2-0-Digital-Microscope-with-Professional-Stand/p/QC3199
I use this all the time, especially when looking for cold solder joints or SMD components.
Here is an example of my diagnostic methods on my YouTube Channel if you are interested.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRh7_M2OFI0
Glad you enjoyed the article.
Cheers
Humberto
January 8, 2016 at 10:26 pm
Good repair Mark, another saved device. Congrats. and keep up.
Mahmoud
January 12, 2016 at 4:19 pm
Nice work Mr.Mark and keep up thanks for your article
Craig
March 14, 2016 at 9:00 am
Thank you very much Mark, I had the exact problem described in my Pulsar, appreciate all the time and effort you take making these articles. Best regards from New Zealand.
Khairul Amri Yaacob
February 20, 2017 at 8:36 pm
SOLVE MINE TOO. great tip
Rod Turner
November 8, 2017 at 11:27 am
Fixed the intermitent wiper problem ive had for years. One dodgy solder joint works great now thanks
Luke
July 27, 2019 at 8:33 pm
Hi mark, came across this exact issue with my girlfriends 98 pulsar. Thanks a heap for pointing me in the right direction and allowing me a 10 minute fix while doing an oil change. Saved me a trip to the wreckers but just resoldering the joints. Would not have thought to look closer to find cracked solders. Quick fix and there back to normal. She’s gonna be stocked.
Heywood
October 9, 2023 at 2:56 pm
99 N15 hatch. Same fault, same fix. Relay terminal had a bad joint. Resoldered and all working now.