Windshield Wipers WON'T shut off!

[MalibuHacon]

I've got some decent news for once! but of course some bad 🙂 - I finally made a proper switch that shuts of the wipers, they won't park by them-self, I just flick the switch once more whilst in Delay and they will park, I then quickly flick the switch. works good, next thing to do to is to make this temporally solution descent so i'm wondering how to get the switch wires from the engine bay into the dash... Is there a good entry point through the firewall for this?

The switch is hooked to the white wire.

- I ran your tests, i did everything except from finding out what the blue wire was, (i got some pics though) the red one that gets hot runs from the motor assembly and back in again, we tried cutting it and nothing worked apart from the delay relay clicking noise.
- The blue wire is part of a plug
- The motor clicks alot while it circulates, also in hi and low. Delay only works when switch is stationary in delay.

Now for the bad/awkward news: As my dad and I usually do after success we took the car out for a spin (quite literally) on the icy roads 🙂 and we were very happy about everything working fine, so we went to the local American car club for the first time to say hi, upon getting there I shut of the engine, but then thought, "I just want to check my exhaust to see if it smokes" so I turned my key and it wouldn't start.... this was after 20 minutes of driving.
After an awkward first encounter with the american guys I got help and got it going with jumper cables, we checked the Alternator to see if it was magnetic.. it was thankfully..
(I've got a brand new battery, and car has been sitting for 2-3 weeks during wiper problem)
And after this i tested my horn, it did no longer work 🙁 a new problem for my list haha

- Thanks for the help everyone, glad I was able to make a temporary solution!!

Edit: Does anyone know the names/voltage/amps etc for the interior gauge lights, speedometer etc?
- We concluded that based on what you have explained the switch is bad and probably a relay. The wipers does also not park all the way down in on the two Wiper parking square thingies...

 

[pontiacgp]

for the parking that is most likely an adjustment....you are on page 10 so I commend you and Mark for your determination to fix these wiper. After all the posts between the two of you I assume you're exchanging Christmas gifts this year..🙂

 

[MalibuHacon]

Haha maybe. Yeah those wipers sure are a pain, and so darn time consuming 😱
And this is roughly what happens when i fix something:
When something is fixed a new problem gets introduced.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Good going Hacon! Yeah, fix this and that breaks- welcome to the fun filled world of old cars! "The switch is hooked to the white wire." that means what you have done is cut power to the entire wiper motor assembly. That's OK as a temporary fix but they will stop wherever they are, as you found out. You still need to figure out why the thing acted up in the first place but now you have time to investigate at your leisure. If you follow the wiper harness back to the firewall, where the purple, grey and white wires go to the bulkhead connector, right above them is a firewall grommet for the green wire- you can use that to run your cut-off wire. The speedometer cable grommet is handy too. Just use a bit of that plastic tubing to protect against chafe. Now, here's my bad news, both my 1980 Chevy and 1983 Pontiac manuals show a different wiper motor than what you have. Way back on page 3 Onehit said that you have what looks like an aftermarket unit. He may be right, or at least it's a unit from another model. It has the round motor, but it also has that extra connector with the blue and white wire, as well as that red wire, and why is it getting hot? That is confusing the hell out of me and is probably why normal diagnostics are not fixing this. So, what to do? Best bet would be to find a correct replacement motor that is meant to be there. But if the dash switch is indeed bad, then a new motor is wasted money. Or, figure out how to make your motor work with the 1980 Chevy wiring. Or, get a replacement standard non-delay wiper motor and switch which are more available and not so expensive. You have options. So I am posting the picture of the dash switch test and connection, the middle tab #2 is the 2 white wires 12 volts that you interrupted, #1 and #3 are the grey and purple, which are for hi/low. The green wire for the delay should be disconnected for this test. The hot-wire motor picture requires taking the (correct) wiper off the car and opening it up, but just in case you get to that extreme point, I included it.( I actually think it will work on the car too) So, here ya go---

 

[MalibuHacon]

Thank you, I'll look for the firewall opening and get this sorted out 🙂 Great instructions

 

[Bonnewagon]

"The motor clicks a lot while it circulates, also in hi and low." That is probably the old washer pump cycling. Why did you replace it? Did it stay on, or not work?

 

[MalibuHacon]

The old pump did not work.. I'l take the old one out of the assembly soon enough 🙂 ..

I got a lead on an original switch, I've got pics of it.. I'm a bit afraid that if I spend the 50 dollar he asks for it something else will get broken ha ha.. or that the switch might not be the problem after all.. either way I'll buy that switch (it looks the exact same) if its still for sale after I get my drivers license in December along with doors from the previous owner.

But i have a few fairly big concerns that might be serious, My engine didn't turn over all the way today, it just made a big bang sound, than i tried again and it started normally. could this be my battery being drained from all the sitting lately? and starting it up only to immediately shutting it off after driving it in and out of the garage? (it has happened a few times before)
another concern is that car drags to one side of the road a little bit, steering wheel is off to the left and will straighten out slowly and then car will drag to the side..
last concerns is when reversing to the right it sounds and feels as if one of the front wheels is about to fall off or is loose (i jacked the car up and felt on both front tires, and they seemed good apart from a nail in one of them)
And its leaks water all over the darn place on the passenger mat and through the top of the windshield glue.. (window was recently out to weld Roof Pillars)

These concerns is what keeps me from doing those little things, buying new glass-struts etc, not having problems with paying for genuine things.. because i'm afraid that these things will quickly escalate and turn into difficult and costly repairs :/ I haven't even started driving my car. only driven it a few times since i got it..

Edit: Am I just paranoid or are these serious problems, or just random things that i shouldn't have to worry about?
- I'll still fix them if I can of course.

I can upload the pics of the switch tomorrow..

 

[pontiacgp]

That bang could be caused by a weak battery but I would check the nose of the starter to make sure it isn't cracked

 

[Bonnewagon]

One of the best things you can invest in is a good battery charger. I like the NOCO Genius G3500. It has a brain that senses what state the battery is in, has a battery repair mode, and switches to a maintenance trickle charge once the battery is at 100% so you can leave it plugged in all the time. It is also weather resistant, but not submersible. You can usually get it for around $50 or so. It sounds like your car needs a wheel alignment, that would cause the wandering. I think you have a handfull with that car but you are young and have lots of time to learn.

 

[MalibuHacon]

I just recently replaced my battery though.. hmm but i bought at the cheapest car related store that has a bad reputation. it cost a 100 for the battery its 62ah. I took the car for a long drive today everything was good, we went to the store to buy compressed air since i'm gluing my window chrome stripping (to get water away). When we got out to the car to drive home it hesitated to start, we were sure it wouldn't start, it was as if the starter went on and off kind of hesitating, not a constant flow of starter motor power. It started up nicely this morning though...

we checked the battery when we got home, it was around 12V with the engine running with ligts, radio and heater on,
i gave it some gas, with the driving lights off it charged slowly up to 14.3, 13.5 without giving it gas.

we then tried with the lights on, while idling 12.3 with the same amount of throttle as with the lights off it charged to 13.3 after a short while...
Could my alternator be bad? or is possibly the brand new battery bad? if it is i'll get a new one for free from the shop.
Thank you for the tip.