Between here, thesamba and youtube I've had enough requests so here it is.

This is the end result of the conversion for anyone that hasnt seen it yet



Firstly I need to point out that this is only applicable to column mounted switch cars, so that is:
72 and later beetles, type 3 and Karmann Ghias and 73 and later Kombis or Type2 busses as the yanks like to call them.

I did some experimenting with the earlier dash mounted switch setups but VW completely re-engineered the self parking system when the change to column mounted switches happened and it's not compatible
If you have a pre 72 car you would need a later wiper motor and steering column with the stalk type switch.

If you don't want to go to that much hassle there are universal intermittent kits availble which I would assume work with earlier cars .

First thing to do is track down an intermittent relay.
From 72 or 73 Intermittent was actually an option in some markets and was standard in 79 cabrios and champagne edition VWs so there is an original intermittent relay with the all the correct connections to pretty much plug and play but as you can imagine they are virtually impossible to find 2nd hand and new ones are available but aren't cheap.
Some Porsche models from the same era ran this same relay too and I did get one from a 924 but the seller failed to notice one of the pins stayed with the fusebox when he removed it.

There's plenty of 90s model VWs in wrecking yards and although the relays had different pin locations and extra terminals, looking at wiring diagrams I was confident I could make something work.
Some of the more upper spec 90s VWs also had a programmable intermittent which used the same relay but the delay can be adjusted
One of these would be perfect seeing as my other cars already spoiled me with this feature it was frustrating not having it in the bug.

I found one of these relays in a 1999 MK 3 Polo at the wreckers, they are marked "99." on the top




VW numbered all the relays I guess for easy ID on 90s onwards cars
The relay was in the fusebox which was on the drivers side just behind the steering column (RHD car obviously)




Heres's a rough list of part numbers I've worked out as the 99 relay was superceded by the 197 relay

Variable delay:
357 955 531 "99"
3B0 955 531 "197"

These seem to be standard for Passats, Golf GL and some Polo

Fixed delay:
321 955 531 "19"
1HM 955 531C "196"
191 955 531

These were spotted in a pov spec mk3 Golf CL and a T4 transporter and have all the same terminals and look the same aside from the part numbers.
They will still do intermittent and the wash/wipe function but the delay is fixed at 6 seconds and can't be adjusted.


It is actually a fairly straight forward operation if you want leave the standard 2 speed switch alone fit a simple on/off toggle switch to turn intermittent on,
Also a push button on the dash for an electric washer if you want the wash/wipe function that these relays have to work, although I've found the vast majority of vws these days have had an electric washer with a push button fitted anyway

I'm just very anally retentive and prefer stuff to work like stock and also love a good electrical challange which is why I went the step further and made the column switch operate the intermittent and wash/wipe but I'll cover the basic setup first.

The standard later style wiper wiring with 2 speeds layout is very simple and looks like this.




The only alteration to the wiper circuit needed is the Low speed wire (Black wire marked 53) from the switch needs to cut and sent to the motor via the new intermittent relay.

Here's where things get interesting.
The input/output terminals are marked 53S and 53M, and there's alot of contention over which way they go as some factory diagrams show one way and another can show the reverse.
I wired mine with 53S to the switch and 53M to the motor which made sense given the letters and works fine but an 80s Golf wiring diagram I saw showed it the other way around

A fellow Vdubber from Norway contacted me through thesamba and has used my setup and found it works connected the same as I've have done aswell.

The relay needs a constant earth which is 31 naturally but it also needs a constant ignition circuit power source to 15 so just taking that from the original wiper fuse does the trick.
The on/off toggle switch also needs power from the igntion circuit so can be taken from that fuse too and the switch output sent to the I terminal on the relay

The wash/wipe functional is optional, it can be left unconnected but if you want it to work it just needs the same 12volt feed that goes to the washer pump connected to terminal T on the relay
When the washer is operated about half a second after the wipers will start to operate and will continue to for 3 wipes after the the washer button is released.

So the wiring diagram for this step looks like this:




To now use the intermittent just involves having the wiper switch in the off position and flicking on the toggle switch, it may work if the wiper switch were in low or high but I cant verify that, but the variable delay wouldnt as it needs to be turned off for the delay to be adjusted.
If a variable delay relay is fitted to adjust the delay just takes turning the toggle switch back to off, waiting the delay you want and turning it back on again.
Even if you turn the wipers off completely it will remember that delay you have set untill the car is actually turned off, then it just goes back to the standard 6 second delay.



And thats all there is too it.

Now for those people who want to setup the wiper switch for intermittent like an OEM intermittent setup first thing you will need is a intermittent compatible switch
Aus built vws just had 2speed only switches that had the wiper and washer logo on the stalk and were missing the electrical contacts inside for the intermittent function so only had 4 pins coming out of the wire cluster






I cant verify for sure but from what I can tell all replacement switches sold now are the new type with the intermittent compatible controls and have the words wash/wipe as well as the symbols and also electric washer contacts in them as well as the stock air pressure valve.
I picked up a brand new german SWF one and turn signal switch a while back




They are easily identified by the extra black wire coming off seperate to the main wire cluster which is the electric washer wire and the extra brown wire and pin marked S1in the cluster




The switch needed a few mods before it would play ball.
The first obvious one was the stop peg that's actually part of the indicator switch not the wiper switch that prevents it from going into the int position needed cutting off.







This let it now go into the int position but it took a large amount of force to do that and I felt the switch would surely break after a short period
When I opened up the switch I found inside that the step from off to int has a much steeper ramp with a small step than the one from OFF to LOW
I figure this is so that when moving the stalk from high or low down to off there's abit of resistance there so it's not too easy to go passed OFF into the INT position.
I didn't think to get a pic of it while I had it opened up showing the problem but heres an old one opened up






I got around this by cutting short the spring in the little tensioner pointy tube thingy and stretching it back to the original lenght, this took some of the fight out of it.




It still takes abit of pressure to get from off to int, more so than any other ways but doesnt feel like it would break now.

As I mentioned in the earlier post a fellow dubber from Norway has copied this setup using a stock intermittent switch and his worked fine as was


With the switch sorted it was time to make the relay talk to it.
The original intermittent relays that were fitted to beetles and kombis operate differently to the modern watercooled stuff so the wiper switch by itself cant operate a newer one directly like it would an original.
The principal is the same but the intermittent terminal on the newer ones just need a positive 12volt signal to start the timer, Where as the old air cooled ones did it in a completely opposite way
the intermittent terminal on the relay actually needed an earth signal to keep the intermittent timer turned OFF and then went open circuit when the switch was in the int position to start the timer.

So to get around this instead of using a toggle switch like my first method, a relay that has a normally closed terminal can make the change over seeing as there is earth there in all positions except int and goes open circiuit when it is in int.
Any normal relay that has the 87A terminal instead of just one or two 87 terminals can acheive this.
These relays have the normal 87 terminal which makes a circuit when the relay coil is powered up but also have the 87A terminal which does the opposite, ie it makes a circuit when theres no ground to the coil (switch in intermittent) and then breaks it when there is (switch off or in low/high)

As long as the power supply to it (terminal 30) and the positive to the coil (85 or 86, relay coils aren't polarity sensitive) are both from the ignition circuit the relay will carry out that job
The Black washer wire needs to go to terminal T on the relay for the wash/wiper function to work

Heres the diagram of how I hooked it up.





A few people may have noticed in an earlier pic I removed the stock air operated valve and fitted a microswitch to operate the washer.
This was actually just transfered over from my original 2 speed switch reason was even being brand new my switch was missing the a contact piece for the original switch that earthed it to the mounting screw
It is only a push in piece and must have fallen out somewhere along the line.
I didnt realise this at the time so fitted this up from my old switch but normally its not necessary if i had substituted the missing piece


Now for anyone bench testing this setup it will only work if the earth contact in the switch is grounded
This pic is curtesy of the bloke in Norway, You can see the metal contact that the mounting screw passes through that provides earth.

That was the part missing from my switch but if you are bench testing this piece will need grounding otherwise intermittent will work all the time.



I think I've covered everything but shoot me a message if there's anything I left out


[size=4]A big thanks to Boble from Norway on TheSamba who drew up these diagrams for me out of stock ones.[/size]

Hi Joel

Great read as usual. I used a relay from a Mk1 Golf, it was marked 111 955 531 in my old bug.

I'm going to use the switch gear from a later Mk1 Golf in my new bug, it has 3 screws holding the units to the steering column and the programmable wiper delay.

T3 s also had a wiper relay.

Steve

Cheers Steve, That info is usefull actually

I found that T3 used the common 6 pin relays as fitted to all vws in 80s and 90s but couldnt find any concrete evidence of what mk1 Golf used

the 5 pin 111 955 531 relay is also the one that beetles and baywindow kombis used.
They are impossible to find 2nd hand in working order but I found a UK company that sells new ones but for
£100

The Porsche equivalent in 914,924,944 etc is 477 955 531A and can be found new on US ebay for around $30US.
I did get an original one of these from a 924 but it was a paperwieght.




Also another point I forgot to make is all fuse boxes after 71 have extra relay mounting provisions.
Even though the relay has Extra terminals and 1 is a 2.8mm wide pin there are a few spots that will fit it

EXCELLENT ARTICLE JOEL

LEE

V.nice article, well done

I found when I pulled apart my 74 wiper switch, that it had stock all the gear for an electric washer switch, despite being fitted with the h/w for the air pressure version. All I had to do was solder one wire onto the existing terminal to rig up the micro switch that was already there but un-used

crazy - they seemed to have dumbed down the Aussie verison (mine's a 1600 L) with the air washer, despite the wiper switch being capable.

Just soldered on the wire, rigged it thru the spare fuse, and eureka I have power washers on the wiper stalk (I bought a bottle & pump from CIP1)

cheers

Yours probably had a replacement replacement switch like that one of mine unless it's an imported bug, none of the bugs left the aus factory with that switch.
That switch I've got is an original SWF german one thats new old stock from the early 90s

The switches do get broken over 35+ years mainly from people not familiar with European cars accidently going for the indicators and forcing them and the replacements switches were all like that.


It's stupid the only original bugs that actually had factory electric washers (exluding the later mexi/braz ones) can be counted on 1 hand, they were special order cabrios in the late 70s that the electric headlight washers.

That contact for the washers on intermittent switches was just to make the relay do the wash/wipe function.
They all still used the air pressure switch

Even the last 1980 cabrios that had intermittent standard still used the air pressure washers

Guess I should add a mate in the US has just setup his like this using the toggle switch and all works well

hi Joel, I'd like to thank you for making this topic, and sharing this great info with us. Thanks to you, I have added something I always wanted on my bug. I did everything exactly like you described, and it worked like a charm!

Here's a little contribution of my own:
http://youtu.be/aa0N-FMkFjI 

No worries, I just wish I'd done it 10 years ago now I know how simple it was.

I always get jelous when I see that cool Porsche dashboard pod of yours, I'm trying to make something similar out of mine in between projects.

Hi Joel, I would just like to add my thanks for your excellent "how to".
I followed your guide today for my '72 Gt Beetle wipers, using a 99 relay, an auxillary relay and a 111-953-519G wipe/wash stalk. Absolutely brilliant. It's better than I hoped it would be.
The only issues I had, were the new wiper switch which had a prominent piece of brass on the wash part of the switch which then earthed inside the column and blew the fuse. This was just a pattern part, not NOS like you managed to get. Still cost me £60, I think about 90 AUS Dollars.
Then I dropped the 99 relay down inside the A pillar
Cheers
Paul.

Glad it worked out for you.

The original setup is very strange with how it operates.

It sends a ground signal to the relay when the intermittent is turned off but then when you wash the windscreen sends a positive down the same wire

I chopped all that out of mine and put a microswitch in its place but mine was missing the grounding contact so wouldn't have worked anyway.

Bet you had fun fishing the relay out of the black hole.
It's amazing the crap I've found down there in some of the bugs I've owned.

Thanks a million. I have been wanting to do this to my cars for a long time but never really found it as you put it. I have a golf mk1 wiper switch

It has seen better days

the normal beetle and the golf switches, the golf already has the electrical connections for the wiper motor.


There's this buttoon I got from ebay from a mk1 also and fits onto the 1303 dash panel
It has 3 positions. Off, position two and then the last is spring loaded for the water pump.
. This could probably be an easier alternative to some 1303 owners.

Hi Joel
Yes very good article ... I have just reread and printed out some of the circuit diagrams..

It seems it never really rains hard enough to keep the wipers on... lol

so, turning them on/off is a pain..

I'll see what I can do..

cheers

LEE

Hi Lee

Hella make a variable intermittent switch, very easy to hook up as your bug would different wiring to later bugs.

Steve

There are two different types of relay. The early ones are the easiest and came from a 1977 Golf GLS. (Australian delivered). The later ones are from 1978 on (including T3s) and have an extra small pin.

I think that a 1976 Golf LS wiper switch fits straight on to a late Beetle then no modifications are required. Just wire it up like a '76 Golf.

Wow, back from the dead.

Yes the very early Golfs used the same setup but without the air washer valve but you have to watch as they swapped to the 3 screw mount in 77-78 sometime so they switches don't fit bugs.

Finding the relay is more challanging though.
New ones do exist but they aren;t cheap

Steve, I don't think the Hella one you have shown will work on a '68 Beetle. My Mitsuba one (many years old) has just failed and when I researched the Hella one, it says it is not suitable for wiper motors that reverse to park. I located some fitting instructions for the Hella and when I did the test they suggest, the results show that the Hella is unsuitable (for my wiper motor at least). JC Whitney used to sell one that worked on some VW's but it is no longer available
Cheers......Wayne

Not sure how to post the instructions, however if you copy the following into your browser it should work http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/classicgarage_2213_3146665.  I found it by Googling Hella Intermittent wiper Switch, then clicking on classic garage.
When I followed the procedure with a test lamp, I got the short on long off result. If any of you folks can nut it out, I reckon it would be a very popular option.I have managed to get my old Mitsuba one working again, however they don't appear to be available any more either. The Hella one seems to be the only choice unless you have the steering column switch like Joel has
Cheers......Wayne

No. They dont reverse the supply, they ground the motor connection, effectively creating dynamic braking. Thats a fact.

"Reverse to park' is a totally different concept as far as I'm aware. Google it. Some modern cars park the wipers below the bonnet line, out of the air flow, and to so achieve that they reverse the motor drive.

Please, avoid posting on this topic if you are speculating. Speculating + guessing + electrics = smoke leaking out.

I'm certainly no expert and have no wish to start a debate on wiper parking mechanisms.If anyone on here can find a way to make it work without letting the smoke out, that would be really cool.
Cheers.....Wayne

Hi

I found a wiring diagram for the old style relay on the samba under bug_8_72_additional

I cut out the intermittent part.

Steve

Cheers for posting that Steve.

Takashi on SBO also made up a diagram for my system in factory schematics

http://www.superbeetlesonly.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12291 

Thanks guys but will this work with a '68? I am no auto sparky but just muddle through
Cheers.........Wayne

Quote:

Originally posted by xellex hi Joel, I'd like to thank you for making this topic, and sharing this great info with us. Thanks to you, I have added something I always wanted on my bug. I did everything exactly like you described, and it worked like a charm! Here's a little contribution of my own: http://youtu.be/aa0N-FMkFjI

Quote:

Originally posted by Joel Heres's a rough list of part numbers I've worked out as the 99 relay was superceded by the 197 relay Variable delay: 357 955 531 "99" 3B0 955 531 "197"

Quote:

Originally posted by Joel