Maybe it's me, but just once, I would like a vehicle that doesn't have electrical issues of some kind. EVERY vehicle I've had has had phawking electrical gremlins and sadly, the TL is no different.

Back in August, I had the defogger and the wipers going at the same time and noticed after a while that they both stopped working. The AC would fire up and then die. The wipers would not work. Thank Vishnu for extended warranty. The local stealership replaced the wiper module or something like that. Problem solved.

Until today...it did it again. I am super choked. I doubt the wiper module would blow again, so I am guessing that they didn't figure out the problem the first time. The stealership's service department is closed today, so I decided to take a video of what was going on:



I'm trying to eliminate variables as to what's going on - but I don't think that it's any of the following:

• Replaced interior lighting with LEDs
• Replaced reverse lights with CREEs
• Installed LED overlay door sills
• The battery won't hold a charge after about 4 days of non-use - but this was not an issue in August, when it first happened.
• Ever since I installed the CREEs, my radio gets all staticky when I put it into reverse
• My nav screen is all rasterized (see below) - I had them replace the nav unit, but it's starting to do it again.

Like I said, if it wasn't for extended warranty, I'd be going mental right now.

 

LED'S can sometime interefere with radio reception, it's normal.

As far as your navi screen, It could be an issue with a ground wire or a bad wire harness.

As far as the wiper and defroster goes I believe that there was a TSB saying that the factory mis-installed a 10amp fuse instead of a 15 amp fuse on some cars and the fuse would blow causing an issue.

 

Thanks for taking the time to review. In re: blown fuse - if the fuse was blown, the wipers wouldn't work at all, right? After awhile, they do come back to life - so I concluded that it wasn't a fuse (they wouldn't work at all if it was a fuse, right?)? Regardless, I will bring this up as a potential issue. Any chance you know the TSB#, off-hand? Otherwise, I will go hunting for it.

 

So the dealership is booked up until Thursday, which is when I will bring it in. The service rep said that it might have to do with any aftermarket mods, although I think that this is just a way for them to make me pay for it, rather than extended warranty it.

I have an aftermarket alarm (installed by previous owner) and Supercomputers' LED door sills. I tapped those myself into the door lights. I am loathe to believe that they are on the same circuit as the wipers/AC and/or the navi. I just hope that they don't do the usual dealership thing of throwing their hands up in the air and pointing to unrelated lighting and alarm mods and not honouring the warranty.

 

^^^ bro....i kinda had the same issue....

couple HVAC (driver side) lights went off....the wiper/windshield washer spray went off....memory seats went off

i was like WTF...all different circuits....made no sense....

this is what i did....

1> disconnect battery (remember radio/navi codes)
2> remove each and every fuse in the engine bay fuse box and check em and put em back....
3> remove each and every fuse in the driver footwell fuse box, check em and put em back....

there were NO blown fuse in my case....but all the electronics came back up....

weird right ?

worth a try IMO

 

Thanks for this - I will mention it to the tech when I bring it in tomorrow. I was telling my wife about how today I took the car out and the wipers were working fine. She said, "But it's not raining today." And that triggered this: TSB 08-013: 2004-05 TL: Safety Recall: Windshield Wiper Motor Does Not Work

Although it doesn't cover my model year, it exhibits the same symptoms:Since the wipers began malfunctioning both times in heavy rain, I wonder if this isn't actually the culprit?

 

^^^ i have gotten than fixed on my car as a part of TSB, dont know what was performed thow....

 

So instead of a hair pulling experience of unbridled frustration, the dealership figured it out!! It turns out that whomever reinstalled the bumper after a minor collision (which I knew about, courtesy of Carfax) didn't reattach very well a ground wire behind the front bumper - the very wire that was grounding the circuits for both the nav and the wipers. So, whenever it rained heavily and it got wet underneath, the circuit shorted. They managed to recreate the conditions when the washed my car before they brought it into the shop. The washed the car again after fixing the problem and the wipers were fine.

The only downside is that because it was related to a collision and nothing to do with a defect on the car itself, extended warranty wouldn't cover it - so it was just under two hours = $200...but the service manager I take was feeling generous and cut the bill in half!! $100 for a) Positively identifying the issue and b) Fixing it. I'll pay that $100 every time!

Thanks swoosh and csmeance for your guidance - it helped a tonne when it came to describing the possible issues to the dealership!

 

glad it worked out for ya buddy.....enjoy your wipers