Tried your magic trick on the front wiper relay after three years of no intermittent setting.

No leaks or problems down in the floor area. The relay had never been opened. All solder connections were good. I used some sandpaper and brushed all the connections I could find and then reconnected and tested. Worked like a champ. Intermittent capability returned. Put it back in the plastic enclosure...still worked like a champ. Hid it behind the footplate and screwed that thing back in ...still worked like a champ. Replaced the carpet and drove it. Nothing. Same-ol'-same-ol' no intermittent. Has not worked since.

Also sometimes have the strange sensation that the wipers want to pause or slow down about 2/3 of the way up the windshield on the up stroke. Generally this happens very infrequently at the beginning of a rainstorm (as opposed to running the washer) and then after it's been running for a few minutes, everything is smooth.

Also, sometimes the start and stop points of both wipers on the windshield seem to shift as much as and inch (in tandem). Seldom but bizarre.

I've lived with it like this for about four years, so no harm, no foul. Time to break down and get a new relay, or am I also having some mechanical problems thrown in for spice? What does the great Carnac Foster predict? Cheers.

Everything worked until you replaced floor covering. In another post someone mentioned a loose ground wire under driver side flooring. Could this be causing the problem?

RESOLDER THE DAMNED RELAY!!!

(How loud do I have to type?)

It costs $0 or less, takes 15 minutes, and risk is zero unless you grab the hot end.

Avoid bridging solder between adjacent traces.

The fact that it:

(1) worked 'til you tucked it all back says it's capable of working, and the only thing you fondled WAS the relay—not the switch, not the fuse, not the motor.

(2) sometimes it falters ("...have the strange sensation that the wipers want to pause or slow down...") suggests something is making intermittent or irregular contact.

Also, check the crimped connections where the relay socket connects to the harness. If it were mine, I'd solder the connections (and then know they were good).

Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)