I just installed the programmable wiper relay on my 98 GTI and noticed that
the old relay had the following part number: 1HM 955 931 C.

If anybody with a newer car is upgrading, make sure you get the 'B' part (or
an 'A' part if its left over in stock). The 'C' part is definitely
non-programmable.

Tom
98 GTI (VR6)

Hey folks-

Swapped out my wiper relay this weekend for the programmable one. It
took a while to figure out which was the correct relay to pull, but on
my '97 it was relay #196. It's on the bottom row, just above fuses 6&7,
right next to the cucaracha door chime. The programmable relay was a
little bit smaller than the factory one, but it's a perfect fit and
works fine. There was no mention in the archives of which relay was
which, so I thought I might clarify.

I'm also waiting for the weather to cool down a little bit to see
if this relay swap fixes the cold-weather wiper hesitation that's so
common in our cars. I'll keep ya posted.

Rich
'97 GTI VR6

Hello all,

SUMMARY:  Programmable intermittent wiper relay: VW #3B0 955 531
          Relay is above fuses 5 and 6 on first row, to the left of the
          "la cucaracha" relay.  Mine had a big "196" on it.

I upgraded my 98 GTI to have the programmable intermittent wiper feature,
which I sorely missed.  Thanks to the contributers whose info the in the
library.  This was a great starting point.  I have some info to add.

The library said that the part number of the programmable relay is
1HM955531A or 1HM 955 531B.  This may be correct, however, I was unable to
obtain either of these parts from the VW dealer.  They were superceded with
1HM 955 531C.  Well, the parts guy told me this was programmable, so I tried
it, and of course, it wasn't programmable.  In fact, it was identical to the
stock relay.

After much debate, the parts guy did some research and found the relay I
really needed.  It is part 3B0 955 531.  This relay is shorter than the
stock relay, maybe by half.  The prong layout is identical.  This relay ran
me about $45, which I thought was kinda expensive, but I hear that parts
prices vary from dealer to dealer.  It was a 30 second drag-and-drop
modification (once I had the correct part).

I had to dig around to find which relay was the wiper relay.  It is the
second relay (I think) on the first row, above fuses 5 and 6, to the left of
the "la cucarcha" relay.  My stock relay had a big white "196" on the end.
The new relay has a big white "197" on the end.  Once you locate the relay,
simply pop it out, and pop in the new one.  Viola, you're done.  Your
intermittent wipers now act as they should have from the VW factory.

Hope this helps other folks out there.

Cheers,
Matthew

you could have saved yourself a LOT of trouble if you'd just called Mike
Potter. $30 for the part that your dealer had a hard time finding. And the
library does say where it goes and that it's half the size of the stock
relay. 

Oh well ;)

andy, you mind updating the gti library with the following: the programmable
relay is NOT available thru your dealer, but can be purchased from Mike
Potter (www.parts4vws.com) or (714) 663-2434

that'll save a lot of the new list members heading to their dealer and
having no luck. I didn't realize till after I sent my response that Mike's
info wasn't there.