Front wiper "intermittent speed" no longer works

slavrenz

Member
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2001 Mazda Protege LX 2.0
So outta the blue, the "intermittent" speed on my front wipers no longer works - the wiper blades just sit there. Also, when I pull the wiper stalk back to spray fluid, the wipers do not go back and forth automatically like they use to.

The fluid still sprays, and the lo and hi settings still work. However, if I go from the "lo" setting to the "intermittent" setting mid-swipe, the wipers just stop, almost as if all power to the wiper motor cuts out on the intermittent setting.

The fuses are good, and I can't figure out what else could be wrong.

Does this sound like a bad wiper stalk?
 
Is it in the stalk itself? I know if you put in the MPV stalk you get the variable intermittent feature, so it seems to make sense that the control is in the stalk, not separate.
 
you can also use a wiper stalk from an escape up to about a 2005 i believe. At least that's what I did. If you want a stock one I could sell you mine if you're interested? Let me know.
 
you can also use a wiper stalk from an escape up to about a 2005 i believe. At least that's what I did. If you want a stock one I could sell you mine if you're interested? Let me know.

Good info- I was not aware of that!
 
Good reason to bump up to adjustable intermittent stalk now.......or get cheaper stock one from someone who has already swapped. Haven't looked but seems like the relay would be under the hood in that fuse box.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. I think I'll just take this opportunity to upgrade to a true intermittent wiper stalk.

It's weird though - I have literally never heard of this issue on any other vehicle...ever.
 
It was a huge issue on the 2nd gen RX-7s but I haven't really heard of it on newer vehicles. I pulled the wiper switch on my RX-7 and soldered on a new relay, for a protege the relay should be at the base of the stalk so swapping to the mpv/tribute/escape stalk should fix it.
 
Update: I pulled my wiper stalk and tested it via the repair manual specs, and all of the continuity stuff seems to check out.

I have been over every fuse in the car twice, and I doubt that a wiring problem would have just occurred "all of a sudden"

I'm just a little hesitant to replace the stalk if there's nothing wrong with it. Anyone got any other checks I might be able to run?
 
Update: I replaced the motor because the stalk tested good, but that wasn't it.

Ended up buying a used stalk from someone on here, and now it's working like a charm!
 
2002 - it's weird tho - the switch tested fine for continuity by the shop manual procedures.
 
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