Tired of the intermittent setting not working? Wipers not returning to their rest position after you turn the switch off? Most likely all you need is this simple repair. Do this first before spending big bucks on a new wiper motor and/or a new switch. All you need is a solder iron.
1) Remove the dash (instrument cluster finish cover) by the 9 screws that are circled and pointed to below. Actually you probably have 2 additional screws to remove in the back beneath the instrument panel cover, closest to the gauges. My tabs are busted inside there someplace so I don’t have those screws anymore. Anyway, just remove the dash…
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2) Pull off the knob by simply pully straight out toward you. Also remove the nut that holds the switch in place.
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3) Carefully pull the dash out, allowing you access to the wiper switch. There’s a plug in the back of the switch that is easily removed.
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4) Here’s just a pic without the switch, circled is the connector.
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5) Now go over to your bench, and laying the switch on its side u should see a tiny phillips screw on the bottom. Remove this.
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6) After you get the screw out the back piece pops out at one end. Then take a small flat tip screwdriver, and carefully pry at the red arrows. In the meantime, pull holding onto the plug (highlighted in green).
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7) Now the cover should be off. As you can see there are 2 circuit boards that are jumpered together by 7 wires shown in the red rectangle. The switch is failing because the solder pads where these wires are connected to the board have failed.
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8) So take your soldering iron and flow some fresh solder along these pads.
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9) Putting the switch cover back on is the opposite of its removal.
10) Time to put switch back into the car and watch it work! Attach the connector to the back of the switch. Place the nut on the front of the switch so that it is held in place.
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11) Assemble the dash back together with the 9-11 screws, tighten up the nut to the wiper switch, and place the knob. Repair complete!
This documentation in no way replaces the Toyota MR2 Repair Manuals. The purpose of this content is only to provide supplementary information to fellow MR2 enthusiasts. Midship Runabout and its contributing authors will not be held responsible for any injury or damages that may occur as the result of practicing any of the methods or procedures described within this website. Article and photo submissions are property of the contributing author.
