Hello All,

My saga continues. My windshield wiper cover will not close. I am trying to trace the problem and have the following observations. The door used to open and close. Now, it just stays open. The door override switch does nothing. The wipers will not come on with the switch. They will operate with the override switch. The black wire in the pic is not connected and I .can't determine where it should go. It comes from the engine wiring harness. In the other pic is a wire attached to the base of the coil that is not connected as well. Any ideas where it should go? i have Docs rtebuild but am still lost.

Thanks andy

 

Hi Andy,
On my 71 that black ground wire has a plastic connector on the end that plugs into a little single 'prong' that is screwed to the metal cover of the wiper motor. You can just see the hex head screw in your picture right at the lower left of the plastic cover that mounts that 'prong'. I can't quite see what's plugged into that prong in your picture and I'm not sure how different your 69 might be from my 71. Did that wire get pulled out of the plastic connector I can just see there?
Where does the other wire you asked about go?
Regards,
Alan

PS Is that vacuum hose getting pinched when it runs behind the the spark-plug boot? It looks like it in the photo.

 

Mr. Alan,

I'm going out and take a few more pics of that area of the cover and will post for help. Be back in a few.

andy

 

These are close ups of the area that may help id where these wires go. The first is of the hex screw I think u were referring to Mr. Alan. The second is the top of the housing where a black wire that comes back from the passenger side area and attaches to a prong on top. I checked the vacuum hose and it is not pinched. As for the wire connected to the base of the coil, I do not have a clue as to what are where it attaches.

 

On the wipers try leaving the overide switch in the position that the wipers operate and then see if the switch on the dash will turn them on and off.

I can barely see the black wire but was wondering if maybe the car had transistor ignition.

 

Here's what happens to wipers: I turn on override switch and then turn on wiper switch and they work. When I then turn off wiper switch, they go down but continue to "bob" up and down until I turn off override switch. Vacuum door does not move at all. The following pics are additional info. The first is of a large red wire that comes out of the harness and goes to the starter. It has been soldered back together. the black wire I am trying to trace was hooked to this if my memory serves me correctly and has come unattached..

This next pic is of two devices that I believe were part of an aftermarket alarm system. The green wire was attached to cigarette lighter under console. One of the red wires went to the alternator and the other went to the horns in the front of the car, while I believe a third was hooked to the yellow wire that goes to the wiper motor.


This last pic is of the devices for the alarm. They both have FORD written on them.


I don't know if it has/had transistorized ignition. How can I tell?

 

Ok, first off, black wires are always ground and red wires are never ground. You need to take a test light and see if that red wire is being used as a ground. If it is it needs to be replaced with a black wire.

As far as the loose black wire, you need to trace it back to it's source to try and determine what it is a ground for. Once you know that you can then look on the Dr Rebuild diagram and see where it is supposed to be connected.

With respect to your wipers continuing to "bob up and down" it sounds like your wiper motor is not shutting off when the wipers come to the rest position at the base of the windshield. There is a vacuum switch at the base of the passenger side wiper arm that signals the wiper door that the wipers are all the way down and it is safe to shut the door. The wiper arm pushes a button on top of the switch when it is all the way down.

You need to check it for functionality. It has three hoses connected to it. One is a short vent hose and has no stripe, one has a red stripe and runs to the override switch inside the car and the last one has a white stripe and runs to the wiper relay. Each port on the switch should also have a corresponding paint dot to match the color of the stripe on the hose attached to it.

The wiper override switch is supposed to stop the wipers while they are on the windshield so you can change the blades or do any other maintenance to them. Under normal operations, you do not turn the wiper override switch on.

The pull down switch on the right side of the wiper override switch is used to manually open the wiper door. Make sure it is not pulled down.

cc

 

I agree with CC above except on the bobbing and if I'm picturing what its doing correctly I would lean towards the parking switch inside the wiper motor.

On your wiring issues.......you have a bunch and will most likely run into more. Normally I would say since your harness has been butchered you just need to bite the bullet and replace it but since you have the DocRebuild diagram you have what you need to rebuild your existing harness if thats what you want to do.
( In your case with so much altering of the original wiring posting pics is not going to cut it,you need to tell us if these wires have voltage on them and at what times-key on key off.)

 

All,

Thanks for your replies. Should I go ahead and replace this harness with a new one as Mr. Roger mentioned above? I can see several worn areas in some of the wires that concern me. However, with some of the wires such as the black one not attached, I'm afraid I will be lost trying to install the new one. What's your opinion?

And I value your opinions highly.'

andy

 

Give Willcox a call. They can tell you if each connector on the new harness is marked as to where it goes or if there is a diagram included for that purpose.

cc

 

Hi Andy,
You mention a new harness. This might be a good idea for 2 reasons... you'd get rid of this modified harness you have AND the engine harness is the one that has taken the most abuse over the years since it's been living int the very hot, oily environment of the engine compartment.
It may not help all your troubles but would give you a better baseline to trouble shoot from.
Regards,
Alan

 

I believe this is Andys black wire,it is the ammeter wire and suppose to be attached to the 2 - 10 reds via a fusible link. Andy the other end of the ammeter loop wire is on the horn relay...the wire that has the other orange 20 gauge fusible link in the bottom picture.

 

You can get a wiring diagram here.

http://www.nrjvette.com/johdotukset/?c=d;o=d

 

I believe the wire is the one Mr. Roger says it is. I'm waiting on a new harness as lots of the wires have bare areas etc. Thanks for all the help as usual. I'll get this done and move on to the next project.

andy

 

New wiring harness is a great idea. Your lucky that car has not burned from the issues in that harness.

Good Luck