Windshield Wipers WON'T shut off!

[MalibuHacon]

Will do!

 

[Bonnewagon]

If the wiper unit wiring harness passes the test and there is no short to ground and the dash switch seems good, before tearing into the unit try this- Remove the connector at the dash switch. Find the green wire, that is for the pulse/mist. Ground it momentarily. The wiper should go through a single cycle and then park and shut off. Grounding it for a longer time should make the wipers operate as long as that wire is grounded, then ungrounding it should cause the wipers to park and shut off. If this works then the dash switch is probably bad, and lucky you, they are impossible to get.

 

[MalibuHacon]

Bonnewagon, well that sounds like fun... can you use older type of switches? 1977 chevelle? or can I rebuild the switch? I'll dig into this tomorrow, I started re-gluing some of my chrome trim pieces that had come loose today and the black autoglue took forever to stick and it got dark.. planning on figuring out the wipers in the weekend, i'll be sure to give feedback!! - Thanks

 

[Bonnewagon]

Don't panic without first running tests. It could be something simple and with the way your wiring looks it is likely fixable. Just remember that the system feeds 12 volts to the wiper motor and the dash switch is the ground for all functions. If you end up needing a switch then it must also be "negative switched" like yours is and as far as I can see "most" are (A-B-F-G models), but some are positive switched like newer models (1984 on). There would be a black, grey, pink, purple and green wire in the dash switch connector, green being the delay. Without the green it is a standard lo/hi non-delay switch. That would work, just no delay. I just checked RockAuto for negative type switches and the only 4 remaining are for a tilt steering column mounted switch with delay and it is going for $100. That's the problem with these old cars. By the way- the dash mounted delay wiper option is very rare, I hope you can save it. Here is the wiring for your system-http://www.maliburacing.com/wiring_diagrams/DelayPulseWipep-Washer.jpg

 

[MalibuHacon]

Ok, I finally figured something helpful out.. I took all the switch plugs apart and the motor assembly switch plugs out.. I found out that most of the wires did not have the correct color to what you explained, but we tested as you explained and we found 12v as you explained between what we thin were terminal 1 and 2. I also tested the green switch wire, it did indeed park when momentarily grounded and worked contiguously when grounded otherwise.

This gave me and my dad the idea to install a micro switch as he called them on the outside of the switch, this will hopefully allow the wipers to shut of and park while the micro switch is engaged, and then restart when disengaged (see pics). this option would exclude the mist option and give the Wiper switch an ugly look...
What do you think is this a descent solution? We will try to find a smaller micro switch and I will paint it black or something... would this solution hurt anything else, or is it a good way to go? - Thank you for the help everyone

 

[Bonnewagon]

Hey, great to hear those results! So that test means your motor is fine, the park function is fine, but the switch is maybe bad. Lets test the switch so take your multi-meter and check the terminals on the switch itself. See the switch harness with the black/pink/grey/purple wires? Black is ground so find which terminal is for the black wire. Test between the other terminals and the ground while moving the switch control to the various positions. In "off" there should be no continuity between the ground terminal and any other. I just tested a switch like yours and I saw a vertical row of 3 terminals and another off to the side- that one should be ground, yes?, and the green was attached to the end as if it was an afterthought. The top and bottom of the 3 were "lo" and "hi" and the middle was "wash" which only saw current when the control was pushed in. Now, if the switch is bad, and you want to interrupt the circuit, why not add a master cut off toggle switch that interrupts the black ground wire and can be hidden under the dash? That would be the same as turning the ignition key off and should cause the wipers to park and shut off. Run that past Dad and see what he thinks.

 

[MalibuHacon]

Thank you bonnewagon, my first idea was to add a switch under the dash, but we agreed that the government vehicle control system probably wouldn't allow that. I'd much rather use that solution because it would look neater because you wouldn't see it.
- The rules goes something like this: You should be able to quickly turn on your wipers, wipers must wash, wipers must park, and wiper blades should be good in the line of sight.. But it's a good idea, I'll try to make it look nice, and we'll do as you instructed, thank you 🙂

 

[Bonnewagon]

Well, I'm not one to deviate from the law, ahem, but do they look over your shoulder when you test the wipers? If they stand in front of the car, they would never see you flip a switch to shut them off. Anyway, IF the switch is bad, you may find one on ebay or even on this site. I got one on here just last year. Or you could find a non-delay switch, the harness is the same minus the green wire, but I like the delay too.

 

[MalibuHacon]

They test the vehicle while your not in it. But its a descent solution, doubt it would make any problems considering the situation.car won't be tested until a year from now anyways.

When one problem is fixed another one pops up it would seem 😛 today i found a puddle of water on the passenger doormat after a night of heavy rainfall guess I have to prioritize 🙁

Either way i'm glad we were able to figure this out, and thanks to you!

 

[Bonnewagon]

Glad to help. Stick with this site- the guys are great and love to help. Puddle-on-the-floor is VERY common, plenty of topics about that. Hang in there, you will sort it out.