Windshield wipers and washer came on themselves and wont shut off! (1 Viewer)

[DesertLC09]

Hello,

Yesterday, I was sitting in traffic doing nothing when all of a sudden the wipers come on and the nozzle starts spraying water on the windshield. I tried to move the stalk up and down to turn it off but nothing worked, tried pulling in, pushing it out, wiggling it, still on.
I turned off the car, disconnected the battery, turn the car back on and still the same issue. In the end I had to pull the fuse for both the wipers and the washer. Of course this worked.
When I got home I pulled out the wiper control stalk, disconnected it completely, put the fuses back in and the wipers didn't come on but the washer spray still came on.
This is very weird, anyone had similar experience or has any guesses?

(some maybe usefull information is I had a minor fender bender on the left headlight about a month ago, three days ago I had the car cleaned inside)

help! Thank you!

It's an 09 v8 petrol.

 

[Ratchey]

When I wrecked my ES 350, the hit was at the passenger healdlight. My wipers came on and would just randomly start going. The hit had damaged the main wiring harness behind the headlamp. Don't know if yours is a similar issue.
Otherwise, I wonder if they spilled some liquid somewhere that is shorting out the wiper connection inside.

 

[DesertLC09]

When I wrecked my ES 350, the hit was at the passenger healdlight. My wipers came on and would just randomly start going. The hit had damaged the main wiring harness behind the headlamp. Don't know if yours is a similar issue.
Otherwise, I wonder if they spilled some liquid somewhere that is shorting out the wiper connection inside.

You are 100% right. I opened the hood, removed the main battery behind the left headlight and I found the wiring harness damaged badly. It was squished between the metal body and the headlight. I am not sure if this is a DIY project or a big pain. My initial plan is to cut the damaged wires and solder new pieces of wire in their place.

 

[DesertLC09]

Here is a picture of the damaged harness

 

[grinchy]

Do a bit of research first on how you want to rebuild that harness. There are purpose made bits for this kind of wire harness rework that make the whole thing more reliable and durable. One or two wires fine for what you propose, 15 or 20 Is a big challenge.

 

[DesertLC09]

Do a bit of research first on how you want to rebuild that harness. There are purpose made bits for this kind of wire harness rework that make the whole thing more reliable and durable. One or two wires fine for what you propose, 15 or 20 Is a big challenge.

It seems like there are about 2-4 wires damaged. I can't be 100% sure unless I pull the headlight and the battery out for a more clear look. If you can share with me the purpose built bits for this job I would appreciate it. My plan is to just cut the damaged bits and solder a new wire in place and use heat shrink tube on individual wires and wrap the whole thing with electrical tape, then cover the harness with wire plastic loom protector.

 

[grinchy]

It's not something I've done (I solder and shrink typically), but I saw a vid somewhere where they were repairing one of these 20 tiny wire harnesses and had some fancy splicing butt connectors that allowed for the join, had some length to them, and also were very trim, so they could fit into the small space. Probably for 3 or 4 you can just splice and extend.

 

[Ratchey]

It seems like there are about 2-4 wires damaged. I can't be 100% sure unless I pull the headlight and the battery out for a more clear look. If you can share with me the purpose built bits for this job I would appreciate it. My plan is to just cut the damaged bits and solder a new wire in place and use heat shrink tube on individual wires and wrap the whole thing with electrical tape, then cover the harness with wire plastic loom protector.

Let's put it this way, Lexus would not allow them to repair the harness and required replacing the whole thing at a cost of over $6000. They totaled the car because of that. (along with the $13K in damage to the front corner)
I guess the repairs are difficult because of the sensors that send different voltage levels through the wire. If the repair isn't perfect it may affect the outputs from the sensors and create other issues. Just FYI stuff...

 

[DesertLC09]

Let's put it this way, Lexus would not allow them to repair the harness and required replacing the whole thing at a cost of over $6000. They totaled the car because of that. (along with the $13K in damage to the front corner)
I guess the repairs are difficult because of the sensors that send different voltage levels through the wire. If the repair isn't perfect it may affect the outputs from the sensors and create other issues. Just FYI stuff...

Thanks for the input, but don't let anyone tell you that they aren't just wires. They probably don't repair it for liability or some other legal reason.

 

[Ratchey]

Thanks for the input, but don't let anyone tell you that they aren't just wires. They probably don't repair it for liability or some other legal reason.

I understand, but each wire has a set resistance that is balanced with that sensor. If you don't correctly repair the wire, you can change the resistance of it.

I am not saying don't repair it. Just info on what I went through.

 

[CharlieS]

I understand, but each wire has a set resistance that is balanced with that sensor. If you don't correctly repair the wire, you can change the resistance of it.

I am not saying don't repair it. Just info on what I went through.

I could be wrong, but I find this very hard to believe. Personally, unless I had easy access to an inexpensive replacement harness, I'd try the repair. Worst case you are no worse off and still need to replace the harness. Best case you fixed it for the cost of your time, some wire and some soldering.

 

[DesertLC09]

Update: Only one wire was completely severed, so I spliced a new piece of wire for it. The others were only damaged so I soldered them back together. Heat shrink + electrical tape + electrical wire protector and a new loom protector and everything is working fine and I think I did a solid job and I shouldn't need to think about the problem again.