2013 Front Windshield Wipers Not Working

I have a 2013 Prius. Excellent car. However, I've noticed over the last year that the speed of my highest setting, 1, has been slowing down at first and would take some time to "warm up" to speed. Eventually, the 1st setting decided not to be higher than setting 2.

Well, finally, yesterday the Wiper, Setting 1, Setting 2 and Setting 3 decided to not work at all with no washer fluid coming out of the Wiper setting also. The wipers decided to stay put where they failed. Thankfully when I stopped the car to clean manual the windshield, the wipers fell back down to the not directly on the windshield position where turned off.

I do have wiper fluid coming out, so the wiper fluid pump is working other than the Wiper setting. All the other settings are working as should from what I observe.

I'm guessing the lever switch or controls somewhere have decided to go bad. Any ideas?

 

Edit: The intermittent setting is what I was referring to as setting 1. This seemed to always have a consistent rate from what I recall. Then over the last few months seems to be really slow and then take a few repetitions/wipes to get to a faster rate.

Please disregard the last sentence. I was in panic mode or something when I wrote the "Eventually, the 1st setting decided not to be higher than setting 2." I feel like an idiot for not reporting MIST, OFF, INT, LO and HI.

Just came back in from troubleshooting without reading the manual.
1. Fuse is good (tested for continuity with a DMM)
2. Removed the switch and tested the contacts to pins on the wiper switch and all seemed good. Nice copper with one wiper being a silver color for the inside three contacts. Was a little black residue in the grease so cleaned that out and the slight corrosion or build up, then re-applied some grease on all.
3. Couldn't remove the PCB and am not sure to test for. Guessing is either the PCB having a bad component or maybe solder joint. Didn't notice anything that looks out of the ordinary, though I'm not certain exactly what I'm looking for.
4. Tested the continuity of all the wiper motor pins and none were continuous.
5. Tested resistance of all the wiper motor pins and have a range of values I can report later once I watch the video to see what was what. High resistance values like from 12kΩ on up into the MΩ.
6. Tested continuity of the cable connector pins seats at all five wiper switch settings and found a few values for the red and either light green or green wires. I forget off hand and will report later once I watch the video.

I made a video and will post on Youtube once I speak with a few dealerships tomorrow to see what they're thinking is likely from what I've observed.

Anyone know what the pin assignment values are supposed to be for the wiper motor and PCB connections?

 

I have a ScanTool OBDLink SX USB and I'm now thinking time to start reading into and see what that tool can do and if worth investing in the upgraded software as I recall some makes and models require. I've only used with the Dodge Ram.

I'll see what I can read into and find, though any references will be appreciated.

I found this article so far that has a great summary:
OBD-II and SAE J2534 Tools List for PC, Smartphone, Tablet; Toyota centric, July 2018 | PriusChat

Any advice from those with experience using and with a perspective of being on a pension budget?

 

For the wiper motor, consider this article: 2010 Prius Intermittent Front Wiper Problem, works when pushed | PriusChat

 

Scanned with the OBDLink SX and not much useful information for now other than no error codes and a hybrid battery life at ~64% with ~220K miles on. SEA J2534 protocol with techstream only for the wipers and other codes. Neat having ~70PID codes still.

Looks like I'm going to invest in a dedicated "Mini Vci Interface J2534 OBD2 OBDII Diagnostic Tool For Toyota Lexus USB" for the Prius since looks like they're a $20 option now days with software included.

Compared to $120 scan at the dealership. Any reason not to?

$55 for a a two day TIS subscription if for some reason.

Any insight into which version of TechStream is better (more reliable with best functionality) for the 2013 or gen3 Prius?

Any insight into which firmware version of the Mini Vci interface is more reliable with best functionality?

 

Gen2 info: Mini VCI tech stream version 7.30 | Page 2 | PriusChat
Gen3 info: Mini-VCI 1.4 vs 2.0 for 3rd gen (Techstream on the cheap) | PriusChat
Gen3 info: Techstream Key Fob Programming – Step by Step with pics | PriusChat

 

Excellent, thanks! Was thinking once I find out, I can test with a DMM what's coming out of the A35 connector to assure I'm getting the voltage from the switch to the motor.

Wasn't sure if there is a isolated/floating ground or the ground is with the chassis, so figured better read into more and ask around.

I suspect the wiper motor can be repaired if bad maybe by removing the cover and larger gear and cleaning the contacts and the outer worm drive gear cover and cleaning the brushes. Guessing can add solder to the contacts if worn down. If the brushes are worn down... that's going to be a little more challenging. Are the brushes graphite or carbon? Maybe can make from an old "D" cell battery or EDM material?

Didn't see the need to solder to build up the contacts in the switch, though do wonder if a transistor design is being used to switch or if there are relays somewhere else regarding what is the magic on the PCB. Doesn't appear to have lost the magic smoke? :-|) I'll edit the video once I test the outputs at the wiper motor I'm thinking or if those are good... once I video tearing apart and inspecting the wiper motor. Actually, I'll do some screen shots real quick and post images for now.

Any ideas regarding relays or is the switching more solid state related and/or direct current handling switch?

 

Switch_Contacts by James Analytic posted Sep 22, 2020 at 8:21 PM

Switch_PCB by James Analytic posted Sep 22, 2020 at 8:21 PM

Switch_PCB_Attachment by James Analytic posted Sep 22, 2020 at 8:21 PM

 

Didn't bother editing the other videos yet, and figure these aren't so bad to post, since working on other unrelated projects as well as researching all the maintenance PM's I want to perform when I have the wiper region on down disassembled. EGR Cooler and circuit will be cleaned most likely replacing the intake manifold gaskets also while apart. Still trying to determine if I want to use OEM or Fel-Pro or better if available. I also need to read into and then contact dealerships regarding cost effective equivalent sensor cleaning solvents compared to OEM.

 

Thanks. Glad you found a work around. The camera I used has a really sensitive mic and pics up my breathing which to me sounds like I'm having issues. Figured I'd try to mask with the electronic funk sounds.

No and the other videos I have are from when testing continuity and resistance at the wiper motor side and connector side of the connection pins. The switch appears to be working though I am not certian about the resistance values on the motor and am thinking there is an issue due to the very high 10K and higher readings. Guessing the wiper motor needs to be cleaned and rebuilt. I still need to test the connector side pin voltages (and I'm thinking current too) relative to the pin assignments, now I know what the pins are thanks to the PDF above with the car started before I disassemble the wiper motor.

Also, I'm thinking I might disassemble the switch again and add more grease since I didn't after cleaning other than lightly coating the contacts.