So this is about how for the four years I've owned my 72' I've neglected something wrong with it.

For four years, I've only driven my corvette a few times a month, and definitely not in the rain. Why not? It's not because I care about the paint. It's not because I care about rust underneath. It's because for four years, since I bought my corvette, my windshield wipers have never moved. I swapped the wiper motor when I first got the her, hoping it was something as simple as that. Of course it wasn't. I gave up.

Today I finally got fed up with neglecting it and took it to an auto electrician, ready to pay the hefty fee that may be required. I was extremely excited, until he called with bad news. I'd need another new motor. No big deal right? WRONG! I told him I wanted to get the new motor and have him put it in and verify it's all working well. Go figure, there are none here in Hawaii. After finally getting my butt off the couch to get this thing working, I hit a brick wall? I was quite deflated.

I didn't even want to call him back, in hopes maybe somehow a new motor would magical appear. Then the phone rang, it was the electrician. "Don't go buy a new motor yet." ...? I was confused, had he fixed it? I was extremely excited as he told me that he had the motor running. It may seem insignificant. They're just simple windshield wipers. But for four years, I've never seen them move. It was as if I was getting the car all over again. He quoted me my price of $320 (reverse light fix also, which is a whole other story) and I was more than happy to pay that.

I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I pick her up tomorrow!

 

If it was just the wiper motor I hope it was a big problem with the reverse lights because Autozone will ship a brand new wiper motor for 60 bucks.

 

Yep. And when the $60 Dura-cr@p motor fails, you take it back and get another one....just like it. [Why would anyone put cheapo Chinese junk in their (prized) C3????]

 

Good to hear. We have to have working wipers in order to pass inspection. So lucky you for not having to worry about that. Because I know it rains a lot in the Hawaii.

 

Oh it definitely wasn't the wiper motor. I forgot exactly what he said because he was throwing a lot of information at me all at once. But the wiper motor wasn't getting power to it, and I'm pretty certain he said that the switch that let's the motor know the wiper door is open isn't receiving power either. So he bypassed that switch, and put power directly to the motor and got it working. The fix is to get power to that switch and ultimately to the motor.

The reverse lights are a whole other story. Which I'll tell you briefly about. When shifted into reverse, the lights don't come on. So I asked him to check it out. When he told me I'd need a new motor, he said I'd also need a new reverse light switch because the one in there is bad. He said he'd dig into it more while I tried to hunt down a wiper motor. He also asked me about these 2 VERY random toggle switches below my steering wheel. I had no idea what they were and neither did the previous owner when I asked.

The electrician just had to know, which is great for me. He followed one of the toggle switches to the reverse light! I was shocked, and very confused. The other he followed to the windshield washer fluid pump. Once again, very confused. The best thing we could come up with was that when the owner before the previous owner did the engine swap, they bubba'd some things.

So as it looks now, when I want to go in reverse, for my lights to work, I have to flip that toggle switch. Then when I'm done in reverse, flip it back.

What's unfortunate is that we do require our wipers to work to pass inspection here. Which is another reason why this issue needed to get fixed. My car has putted around Hickam AFB for the last year because it would be illegal outside of its gates.

 

You have to get your vacuum system operating properly. The wiper door has to open fully via the vacuum system, at which point the switch that starts the wiper motor will be energized. If you look at the top of the firewall near the wiper door canister you will see the switch and mechanism that engages it. There could be a number of things wrong. I would start with the wiper door canister. There is a rubber plug in the middle of it. Turn on the wiper switch, remove the plug and push the door open with a screwdriver. If the wiper motor starts and runs you just need to fix the canister. Probably just a loose of broken seal on the shaft.



Rick B.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I know the switch you're talking about. The electrician said that it wasn't getting power to it at all, so when the circuit was closed because the wiper door was up, there was nothing happening due to lack of power.


Good news! I got her back today. Reverse lights work as do the wipers! I'm going to be honest. My corvette is the first corvette I've ever sat in. It's the only one I've ever driven. When I went to go pick it up, I was excited to say the least. What caught me off guard was how the wipers work! I didn't expect them to work from the middle outward. Learn something new everyday.

Now I no longer have to say, "My corvette runs great, but it has a few quirks."

 

so you still have to flip a toggle manually to get the back up lights to work, and then remember to flip it back?????? for what you paid, i would think he could have fixed it properly.........am i missing something here?

 

The same reason why they buy Canadian made camaros and Mexican made Explorers. They dont want overpriced American made junk that is going to break just as quickly. One of those junk motors has been working just fine in mine for 4 years now if it ever breaks with the lifetime warranty on it I will go get another one for free. I guess Im one of those rare few that would rather spend less money on repairs so I can spend more money on gas.

 

What you've stated is correct, the reverse lights still work via the toggle switch. Yes, it is inconvenient. When I took my car there I actually didn't even plan on having that looked at. I'll most likely give him a call and see what would need to be done to have the reverse lights work again with the original switch on the transmission. I appreciate the concern, I'm just happy the car is 'legal' now and I can drive it.