Finally bought a new wiper door actuator and vacuum relay. Put them on and now my wipers work in the off switch position???? To turn the wipers on, I have to have the switch in the off position, no delay etc.

The door slams down tight now though but doesn't open with the switch.

Prior to me replacing parts, I hade to pry the wiper door open and the wipers would work...intermittent too.

WTF???

 

Remove the wiper switch and turn the connector upside-down. I think you got it on backwards.

 

I'll try that but I didn't mess with the switch.

 

Jughaid...you ain't related to Bubba....but I think he mighta been in thar fust. [any resemblance to a Southern drawl is purely coincidental]

 

that was one of my first fixes on my vette I had to get the wipers working for a registration check. Definitly sounds like the same prob I had jughead.

(I still haven't bothered to tackle my vacuum problems - I still have to manually open my wiper door )

 

One question...what were the wipers doing before you replaced the actuator & relay ?

I'm asking this because if the wipers (not the door) were working in the On position, then it really is weird because the wipers operate electrically.....so I agree with 7T1vette that this might be a pre-existing electrical problem......intermittent could be a sign of an electrical fault too..........

As for the door itself, this is all vacuum, and as such, can be affected by any leaky hose or relay, or incorrectly installed hose in any part of the system (including headlights).....very difficult to diagnose over the net.....best to get a hose diagram & check that the hoses behind the dash are routed correctly.....

And you shouldn't have to pry on the door to open it manually, but you do have to pull down on the override switch (below the steering column) to get it to open manually.....

To sum up, override the door in the open position (so it doesn't open or close when the switch is thrown), then get you wipers working electrically, then deal with the vacuum operation of the door......

BTW, even though you're having this problem, I still really like your Vette....

Hope this helps

 

If they are intermittent it might be that the gauge bezel is broken at the top, as is typical, and the switch is losing ground. Mine were intermittent also but if I held the upper part of the bezel in contact with the lower they worked fine. You could put a jumper from the top broken part to the lower part and that would keep them working. Its what I did until I bought a new bezel.




Bubba checking out.

 

This was my original wiper electrical problem. I even bought a used switch because I thought mine was bad. After putting the "new" switch in I had the same problem. After studying the wiring diagram I realized the connector was turned around. After correcting this I found that the wipers would work intermittently and that leads to this:

A used bezel fixed my intermittent problem. You can also ground the wiper switch with a wire if a new bezel is out of the question.
Juggie -I still have the wiper switch if you want it. I just found it in my toolbox yesterday. It's yours, PM me.

 

Maybe I'm using modern terminology and shouldn't have. By intermittent, I meant the "delay" feature or different speeds of the wipers. I thought it stated "delay" on the switch itself.

Anyway, before I swapped in the new parts and for the last two years, the wipers worked as well as they could being 30+ yeears old. They worked as long as I propped open the wiper door.

Now, not changing anything electrical they work only in the "off" position and turn "on" when I move the switch to "off!"

I can't see how the wiring could have gotten screwed up, but nothing surprises me any more about these cars.

 

The wiring on the wiper system is "tricky" so that 12v. power and "ground" are distributed to get hi and lo speeds. The GROUND issue is probably where your difficulties reside. Get a 2-3 foot length of lamp cord wire (14-16 awg) and hook one end to a KNOWN good ground point. Then touch the other end to a metal portion of your upper gage bezel (I assume that your year Corvette has a metal bezel; if not you will have to remove the switch and touch the ground wire to the switch casing). Now turn you ignition switch to ON and try operating the wipers. If they work fine, you need to run a separate dedicated ground wire to that switch. If that doesn't fix your problem, it is most likely a bad switch.

 

I'll check it out once the weather warms.

 

The way the switch works in 1970 is this: when changing from "off" to "on", a vacuum valve opens the door. When the door is open far enough, there is a limit switch that closes and the wipers kick in.

Maybe that limit switch is somehow closed even when the switch is in the "off" position.

Another wiring mixup possibility: when you push on the switch, the windshield washer is activated...

No "delay" in 1970 - only "hi" and "lo."

Don't know if you have the assembly manual. Maybe these will help...

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/zma...cs/wiper01.jpg
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/zma...cs/wiper02.jpg
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c3/zma...cs/wiper03.jpg

 

OK...we're waiting to hear what the problem was...

 

I don't think the weather has warmed up yet.....

 

Jughead, the wiper door has to open before the wipers will turn on so that is the first thing that needs to be fixed. From there, you can troubleshoot any remaining issues.

I would check the back of the actuator to see if the rubber seal under the boot has been dislodged. The actuator rod will knock it out if it is not adjusted properly.

cc

 

Oh...Okay.

 

Weather has warmed but now its non stop rain, plus work & family keep getting in the way.