Intermittent wiper switch?

[tdaz250]

Hey all, is the intermittent wiper switch in these legacys plug and play? heres the deal my 91 is the one with only one setting and it looks like the newer ones have the little clicky wheel for multiple different speeds...seems like i read on someones build thread that they just switched it out but i cant find the thread agian.

Can it just be switched out and be fully functional ? What would be involved in the install? If its not that difficult i would defiantly be interested in finding one

[kimokalihi]

You can. It was my build journal. The one I got however did not work so I swapped it back. Then I got another one and I don't know if I like the way it feels when it clickw. Its not crisp, its a muddy feeling so I haven't installed it.

[Alphius]

Mine works great. You have to remove the steering wheel and the roll connector then feed some plugs through the steering column supports, but it's pretty much plug and play. Mine came from a '95 LSi sedan and it clicks very well, much better than my stock 250k mile piece.

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic. ... 47#p375347

[kimokalihi]

Lucky. My stock 185k mile switch feels awesome but no intermittent dial.

[Legacy777]

That's good to know the 95 works. I'll probably check the parts catalog and see what other models may come with these stalks.


Just looked at the parts book and interestingly, they don't show the stalk for the 94 MY. I wonder if it's integrated into the column setup. There appears there are two different stalks for the sedan, one w/o intermittant control, and one with. For the wagon there's three different part #'s, one for w/o the intermittant control, and two with.

What year did you swap the 95 stalk into?

[vrg3]

I'll throw another data point in -- I put the intermittent wiper switch from a 97 Legacy 2.5GT into my 93 SS.

[Alphius]

The stalk from the '95 LSi went into my '94 SS. Plug and play. I used the roll connector from a '98 Outback to put my '02 WRX steering wheel on and the horn/cruise were plug and play on that as well. Obviously not the airbag connector.

[dscoobydoo]

You don't have to remove the steering wheel. Just unpin the connector to remove and re-pin after threading it in.

[kimokalihi]

The stalk is replaceable separate from the rest of the multiswitch?

[Alphius]

I believe you can unscrew it from the back of the multiswitch and de-pin the wires from the connector.

[kimokalihi]

Hmm sounds like more work than replacing the whole thing.

[Alphius]

That's what I thought too.

[vrg3]

There's no depinning involved. It just plugs into the multiswitch assembly. It's a pretty easy job, and takes maybe 20 minutes.

[kimokalihi]

I feel like it's an option if you only want to replace that shaft but it still seems just as hard as replacing the whole thing. The steering wheel is easy to remove. One screw to remove the horn piece. One nut to remove the wheel. You have to drop the column either way because you can't get to the screws that hold the knee protector panel in place and that has to come off to get the harness off the column because it runs through it.

[Alphius]

Oh, I get it now Vikash, yes you can just unscrew and unplug only the switch. You don't have to touch the underdash plastics or the steering wheel to simply swap the switch.

I swapped the whole thing because it worked way better than mine and none of the lettering was worn off the turn signal/headlight switch.

[vrg3]

Right. You don't have to bother with harness connectors if all you're doing is upgrading to variable intermittent wipers. The stalk just snaps in and has contacts on the mating surface, like Alphius describes.

[mike-tracy]

^^That's how I remember it being for my Forester and Impreza (grabbed from wrx wagon and sedan respectively), but I just ran the whole wire + plug on my legacys.

94 LSI stalk into my 96 L, 95 LSI stalk onto my 91 SS. Broke the clock spring on my 96 the first time out. Then I followed the directions on the clock spring and it worked like a charm, lol (after replacing it).

[oldscoobyturbo]

i'm going to customize a 2004 column switch set and clockspring for my 93 TW
i have all the plugs and wiring
this adds variable wipe for the front and rear

[crisco]

my car came with one already - was it a standard thing in '93?

[Alphius]

I've never heard of an SS having variable intermittent wipe from the factory. Maybe a previous owner swapped yours? Or I could be wrong.

[oldscoobyturbo]

never seen it stock on an SS either
I've added it to all of mine