How to modify your A2 intermittent wiper for variable delay...

Caveat - I have only done this on my car; a 1992 diesel jetta CDN spec.

But the intermittent relay may well be a common part. Mine is marked as follows: a VW and an Audi logo;

191 955 531 UH2 12V SIEMENS 72 WV 006 MADE IN AUSTRIA

It's not that hard, really.

You have to a) remove the intermittent relay from the car b) remove the cover from the relay c) find the solder pads for the electrolytic capacitor nearest the relay base d) bridge this capacitor with both a variable resistor ("pot") and a fixed one, in series e) make a tidy installation on the relay case and on the dash

details for a) the Bentley book says the intermittent relay is in the following places:

1985 to January 1989 (VIN 1G-KW400 000) Jetta - 3rd from right on bottom row (#10) January 1989 (VIN 1G-KW400 001) through 1992 Jetta - 2nd from left on bottom row (#8) 1985 Golf and GTI - leftmost in upper row (#1) 1986 though 1989 Golf and GTI (US production) - leftmost in upper row (#1) 1989 Golf and GTI (Mexican Production) - - 3rd from right on bottom row (#10) 1990 through 1992 Golf and GTI - - 2nd from left on top row (#5) or 2nd from left on bottom row (#8)

You can determine your year and place of production from the VIN. Letters in the 10th place determine model year (FGHJKLMN where F=1985, G=1986, etcetera) Letter in the 11th place shows place of manufacture (V/W/M meaning US/GER/MEX)

details for d): I used a 2.2K fixed resistor and a 100K variable one - at minimum delay you don't want the cap to drain too quickly, so 2.2K is a reasonable low limit; and 102K is pretty close to an open circuit, so the delay at maximum is almost as much as the normal delay. A 10K pot did not give quite enough maximum delay, and I suspect a 1meg one would have most of the useful range of delay in a small part of the sweep. Try to get a linear taper pot - and audio one will work, but the response won't be, um, linear.

details for e) I soldered a pair of wires, one to each pad and brought them out of a hole in the relay case. I put a dollop of hot glue to seal them at the hole, and then terminated them with insulated spade terminals. I mounted the pot in a blank switch plate (make sure you get a pot that is physically small enough to fit through the hole when you put the plate back in the dash). The pot wires ran down beside the instrument cluster and were spade-connected to the relay.

If for some reason you want even more delay than stock, replace that cap with another larger one. Make sure you use one with at least the voltage rating on the original (25V on mine).

Reply to
jtaylor
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I have done it the following way on a 1991 A2 Golf diesel: I took the variable wiper relay from an A3 Golf TDI and put it in the A2. And I was ready...

Remco

Reply to
Remco Meeder

not sure if VW still makes it, but they had a relay with variable interment built into the relay which was used in Golf & jetta. I had one in my Fox.

Reply to
Woodchuck

snip

deleted screeds of instructions !

Yes, but where's the challenge in that, Remco? I like a bit of soldering so this way kind of appeals to me. I wonder if I could do it on the old Mk 2 Polo, if I ever get the brakes up to MoT standard again.

Reply to
Dave Hall

[snip]

Didn't know that could be done.

How do you control the amount of delay?

Reply to
jtaylor

The relay can be found at:

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You set the delay time by moving the wiper stalk from off to the intermittent position, then back to off. Wait a few seconds and then move the stalk back to intermittent and leave it there. The number of seconds between the 1st and 2nd time you select intermittent is the delay time the relay uses. You can set it up to a 30-40 second delay. The delay time can be changed by turning the wiper to off, then repeating the above procedure again. It defaults to 5 seconds or so when you first start the car.

Todd Seattle,WA '86 GTI, Red of course. (exciting racey car) 260,000 miles '87 Golf, Polar Silver. (boring work car) 527,000 miles

Reply to
racertod

Humph.

I like mine better - just turn a knob.

Reply to
jtaylor

My '00 Eurovan has this kind of relay too. I assume this mod (swap the relay) will probably work for any CEII VW.

Reply to
Matt B.

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