93 Accord windscreen wiper problem

[steve747]

Hello again. I no sooner sort out the window motor problem and another one comes along. My windscreen wipers operate by themselves with the switch off and me not touching anything and I can't do anything about it because the switch is off. Anyone had this problem? Thanks.

[Martin77]

Its strange. FYI,

http://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/how-ek-windshield-wiper-fix-posessed-wipers-845731/

[steve747]

Thanks for your comment. I actually saw that site you posted. My wipers haven't come on again since I uploaded my post. I asked a local mechanic friend what it might be and he said the switch on my Accord are pretty good, more likely the relay. I tried to find it but couldn't even find the wiper motor let alone the relay. It's not inside the black fuse box under the bonnet.

[Martin77]

Do you have a service manual? Sometimes it is worth getting when I feel like my car is falling apart.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HONDA-ACCORD-1990-1993-WORKSHOP-SERVICE-REPAIR-MANUAL-/181134050819?hash=item2a2c6e4603:g:TwgAAMXQgoBRgn7 j

[steve747]

Hello. Thanks for your comment. I may just buy a manual but I don't think it will tell me why the wipers work by themselves which they did on 3 occasions today. I ended up pulling the fuse. Still doesn't fix it though

[Richard B]

Join a forum named Hondahookup (http://www.hondahookup.com/). They have some excellent manuals available for free download.

[steve747]

Thanks for the tip Richard. I'll join that forum. In the meantime I located the relay under the fuse box in the engine bay and the wiper relay is underneath it. Part number 058700-1081. It's got a gray paste on the terminals and I assume it's some sort of non conductive paste. I cleaned the stuff off as it was also going between the terminals which may have created a way for the wipers to run by themselves. If not then this is going to be a difficult as I don't know if the relay is faulty and it can only be troubleshooted when they work by themselves and that's usually when I'm driving.

[Martin77]

What you said make a lot of sense. The paste may contain some moisure which may bridge the terminals on the relay.
Have a look, there could be a similar relay which you could swap and this way you could work out of the relay is faulty. Sometimes you can open the relay and spray electrical cleaner (probably alcohol) to clean the parts inside.

You mentioned above that your wipers still turns on when you pulled out the fuse. Is this what you are saying? This is strange.

[steve747]

I cleaned the paste between the terminals and managed to take the relay cover off and it was nice and shiny as if from the factory. This could be a difficult fix to troubleshoot because as they operate by themselves when I'm driving. No, they didn't work when I took the fuse out

[steve747]

Wow. Everything is going wrong at once with this car. Today when I was driving the speedo was on zero then a green flashing light came on with the letter "s", it's under the temp gauge, shortly after that the orange check light came on, then the speedo went back to normal. I don't know if this is all related to the wipers working by themselves. I stopped the engine then back on again and the lights on the dash went out. Anyone have any ideas?

[Martin77]

You probably seen this,
https://www.ericthecarguy.com/kunena/8-Service-and-Repair-Questions-Answered-Here/1676-1991-honda-accord-s-light-flashing

[Shaddow]

Since your having so many electrical faults I'm starting to wonder if you have something other than what you are looking for.
Our of curisosity have you tested your alternator's power?
Have you check every earth point on the car is still attached and clean?
Is the battery in good condition?

I've seen, mind you on commodores, when both the battery and alternator fail together, windows not work properly, abs faults flash up and turn itself off, gearbox (electronic gearbox so talking Ecotec and above models here) fail to lock gears and other generally Weird shit. All fixed with a new battery and alternator.

Honda's aren't known for alternators that last for ever. Actually in the last ten years most cars made are having alternators fail at less kms then older cars. I would assume with out looking to deeply its a combination of tighter engine bays with excessive heat and higher loads required of the alternators to run the ever mounting pile of electronics that have been added to the cars.
Or simply quality has dropped. I actually thinks its the former as I use modern alternators on most of my older project cars and they never miss a beat. Mind you thats taking a 80+ amp alternator and retro fitting it to a car that at max load needs 35 amp.

[Richard B]

+1 for checking and cleaning all earth leads. In some old cars I installed a battery cable from the negative pole on the battery directly to the starter motor and everything (not just the starter) started working slightly better.

[steve747]

The dash green s light and engine check light only came on once I'm sure it was the speed sensor as the speedo was erratic as well, so I took it out and cleaned the contacts. I've driven it once since I did that and so far no warning dash lights. Only time will tell now if I fixed the problem. If it does it again then I will change the sensor. I still don't know if it's related to the wipers turning on by themselves

[Martin77]

Great job.
On the wipers, you dont have any sensors (rain) that automatically starts the wiper do you?
Its a 93 accord yeah?

What Shaddow and Richard mentioned above about the earthing wire is a good suggestion. If it is sus, replace it, its cheap enough.
On you tube, you may see video clips regarding the "big three" or the "big four", wiring upgrade. While this is a good idea, you don't need to go excessive especially if you don't have a big sound system.

[steve747]

No the wipers don't have sensors. I'm not sure if it's the earth lead you mentioned, but anything is possible. In the meantime I've pulled the wiper fuse out as a short term fix

[steve747]

Hello all. I have 2 questions here. Does anyone know where I can get a small piece of rubber tubing for my 93 Accord for the window washers. It's called a bellows and comes out next to the left bonnet hinge. I've tried wreckers with no luck. Part number 76875-sm1-004 also what is the opinion of the Honda Euro? I'm interested in maybe an 07-08 model. Which is better and more reliable? A 4 or 6 cyl.

[Martin77]

It's sad that you have given up on your a cord. I do understand though.
I think the euro (4 cylinder) looks better. Reliability is probably similar. I remember Fredoops mentioned the additional stress the 6 cylinder might cause to the automatic transmission.

Try this,
https://www.amayama.com/en/search?region=112&q=76875sm1004

[Martin77]

Sorry did you try Honda, they may be more expensive but for a small item, it's probably less hassle.

[steve747]

Thanks Martin. I haven't given up on my old accord. it's just that parts are hard to get. I've seen the washer tube on usa sites but I don't think think they will send off a $5 part. Honda told me that it's no longer available. I think I agree with you about the 4 cyl version

[Martin77]

You should try the amayama site. You may want to look if they sell the speed sensor and other things you need.

[Richard B]

Try a NZ wrecker. Accords were very popular in NZ and they tend to keep older cars running longer there. There are some Jap parts NZ wreckers online.

[steve747]

Thanks Richard. Good idea. Still my wiper problem hasn't been fixed other than removing the fuse, however my speedo started going erratic again and the green S light was flashing. I didn't have any problem on the return journey though. So I located the blue plug next to the left kick panel and I jumped the 2 wires and got 7 short flashes from the check light and 1 long flash so I gather this is code 17 which points out on the chart the speed sensor but it could be something else but maybe I am narrowing it down. Any ideas what or how to narrow it down further?

[Richard B]

Have you read this?

http://techauto.awardspace.com/vss.html

[steve747]

Thanks for the good info Richard. I took the car to a Honda mechanic and just had a chat. I'm going to buy a new speed sensor for $70 and while I'm there he will do what tests are necessary to try and find out why the wipers work by themselves.

[Richard B]

I'm just wondering if your wipers will suddenly start working properly once you change the speed sensor.

[steve747]

I guess anything is possible. The new sensor is in now but I haven't driven it since. I 100% identified the intermittent wiper relay and it's not under the dash where the Honda mechanic said it was. It's actually under the fuse box in the engine bay. I could hear it clicking when The wipers were running on intermittent mode. It still doesn't tell me why the wipers work by themselves. The mechanic said the wiper switch is quite reliable and the motor is ok so I'm back to removing the fuse

[Martin77]

Does the wiper turns on when you hit a bump (pot hole) or something. You would think the switch or the relay is in the normally "off" position, meaning you need to turn the switch on or apply "power" to activate the relay. Did you manage to find a similar relay nearby you could try? Maybe the spring mechanism on the relay is loose where it is flopping around with gentle bump.
Did you manage to get the manual for this car? Electrical drawing of the wiper system may help.

[steve747]

After installing a new speed sensor and a week later the wipers don't seem to be coming on by themselves, but I'm mystified how the wipers can be related to the speed sensor, Just hope they stay of now

[Richard B]

If you need to blame something, the laws of thermodynamics are behind everything :)