HI,I think this site helped me once before. Our extended warranty has literally just ended and almost immediately two electrical problems that I'm wondering if I can work on myself. First the wipers are no longer variable (easier to spell) the variable speed setting is the same as the low setting and when they are switched off they stop whereever which is generally in line of site. Second, just today, the "back" power control on the driver's seat quit working. Fine for my
5'0" wife not so fine for 6'3" me. Am I doomed to a $2000 (probably not an exageration) Toyota dealership job?
If you know how to use a volt/ohm meter and know how to rig up a temporary
12 volt power source, you can diagnose this yourself by getting access to the factory repair manual at techinfo.toyota.com for $10/day. You will need to look at the BE (body electrical) section for the wipers and for the power seat. The manual will have tests for checking voltage and continuity at the switch connectors and motor connectors.
When you are poking around in the steering column and under the seat, DO NOT MESS WITH ANY BRIGHT YELLOW WIRES OR WIRE HARNESSES! The bright yellow wires are for the air bags, and if you deploy the air bag, not only will you need to replace a very expensive component, you may get burned or get the air bag equivalent of a rug burn. Moving a wire loom aside is not a problem as long as you do not stretch it, and definitely do not pierce the insulation or sheathing on the bright yellow harness.
For the intermittent wipers, there are 3 possible causes, in order of likelihood: 1) wiper switch, 2) wiper motor, and 3) wire harness. On some cars, the wiper and headlight switches are one piece and you have to de-energize the air bag and remove the steering wheel to swap the switch but I think yours has a separate switch than can be changed without having to mess with the air bag and steering wheel. To remove the steering column cover, there may be screws on the end of the cover that you have to turn the steering wheel 90 degrees to expose the screw heads, or the screws may also be on the bottom of the cover.
For the power seat, the possible causes, in order of likelihood: 1) power seat switch, 2) sliding seat motor, and 3) wiring harness.
Usually there is a switch inside the wiper motor that supplies power to the motor until the wipers reach the park position. If that switch does not work the wiper will stop were ever they happen to be when power is removed. Variable wipers operate by sending a short duration of power to the motor and rely on that switch in the motor to complete the one wipe cycle. So maybe the switch in the wiper motor is not making its normal contact, I had one that the grease in the motor was preventing the normal contact close action.
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