2003 Jetta Wipers Won't Stop
Asked by pgrand Apr 24, 2012 at 09:08 AM about the 2003 Volkswagen Jetta GL 2.0 Wagon
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
All positions on the wiper stalk work fine except "off" - the wipers stay on at normal speed. I have noticed that on "intermittent" the wipers go to the bottom and then stop 3" up - waiting for the next cycle to begin.
I have changed out the stalk thinking it was a switch - but the problem remains. Any ideas?
2 Answers
In the VW jetta the relay that controls the wipers is located under the steering wheel, on the left, in the relay box. it is the biggest relay of them all. it looks twice the size of the others. I would check this relay and all of its wiring for this matter.
Auris_1078 answered 7 years ago
The relay under the steering column/fuse assembly pulls out. I took it out, carefully pulled the cover off. I found a fouled relay contact. It was very black and pitted. I very carefully removed the spring and slipped the moving contact out (the braided wire made it a very tight fit). I filed the black and pitted moving contact, and scraped the pitting off the fixed contacts with an exacto-knife. I put it back together and returned the relay to its socket. The wipers now stop and all functions are normal. A new relay would cost about $40 but I think I will use the old one as long as it lasts. There is a second relay inside the assembly that looks just like the one that failed but is shiny and clean. It would be possible to unsolder them and switch places. That might make some other function fail.