Wiper Arm Vacuum Control Switch Adjustment
 

I have a 71 that I bought about two years ago. The wipers have never worked. I finally got all the vacuum system working correctly and bought a new wiper motor last week. It all works now with one small issue.

I moved the wiper arm vacuum switch up to a position that I thought it was supposed to contact the wipers and now the wipers don't retract quite all the way in the park position. So the door closes on them just a little. I had the switch bypassed at first and was using the manual bypass switch to open the wiper door while testing the motor and they worked perfect. I think the switch is keeping them from retracting to the correct position because I have it contacting the wrong place on the wiper arm.

I did a search and have looked at the AIM and can't seem to find much on the subject.

Anyone have a pic of where the switch sits and where exactly it contacts the wiper arm?

If you don't know what this is... it is a small vacuum switch that the wipers close when they are in the parked position. The wiper door is not allowed to close until this switch is pushed in by the parked wiper arms.

And I must add that it made me smile when it all sequenced and worked like its supposed to. It's the simple things....

Thanks.

Doug

Thank you, Alan. I knew if anyone had good pics that you would.

I have it making contact right where yours is, so thats good. I think you are correct in that it needs to be adjusted down. The wiper blades, etc all look like they are the right pieces but I will check again. Everything in the wiper area looks original only in that it doesn't look like it's ever been out, but I will check again to make sure.

Thanks again. I appreciate the great pics.

Doug

I will start with the bracket adjustment. I think the thing that makes me think the wiper arms are good is that they did work when I was keeping the wiper door open with the manual over ride. They parked nice and low and the door shut properly without hitting the arms.

Originally the switch wasn't hitting the proper place on the wiper arms so I adjusted it to make contact in the right place. After that, the wipers wouldn't park low enough. Lowering the switch should do the trick. I'll give it a shot when I get home from work tonight.

Hey, one more question... can you still buy just the wiper blade refills? Like just the rubber part? I know with all my other cars that when I go to buy wiper blades you buy the whole blade any more, not just the rubber refill. I haven't even looked to see if you can buy just the refill.

Doug

I don't know if they are originals or not. I have no reason to believe that they aren't. They don't look like any of the newer replacements. If they aren't original, they are the original style. One wiper arm still has the washer tube on it. I'm not sure of the other one does or not.

Don't get me started on the washer... Mine has the five ports but I don't think either headlight has the holes for the washers in them, so I think they have been replaced at some point.

I'm not actually going for original correct since several things on my car aren't. I would just like for them to work in case I get caught out in the rain sometime.

Doug

Please allow me to ask a few questions. Have you tested your wiper arm switch for any vacuum leaks, and if not, do you have a vacuum pump like a Mityvac?

Several scenarios come to mind for a solution for you.

Dave

Hey Dave, thanks for the reply. Yes, I have worked through all the vacuum issues and got all that working correctly... no leaks. Even holds a vacuum after the engine is off. The switch is new. I do have a Mityvac and I even bought a vacuum pump during the whole process. Vacuum relays are new as is all the vacuum hose.

I am pretty sure the only thing wrong right now is the switch is too high and keeping the wipers from parking low enough. I will adjust that tonight and report back here either tonight or tomorrow.

Doug

I guess what bothers me is the wiper door works when bypassed, but will not park fully when the switch is connected. If you connected a vacuum gauge or Mityvac to the middle hose on the switch, checked the reading, and then after reconnecting the middle hose, checking the vacuum reading on the hose leading to the top of the relay, is there a difference?

Additionally, what color is the top plunger on your new switch?

When it worked using the bypass, the switch wasn't in the correct position. It wasn't touching the wiper arm at all and was bypassed. I was just testing the actual wiper motor.

After I got the wiper motor working I decided to hook up the switch and make sure it was all working. Thats when I noticed that the switch wasn't contacting the wiper arm at all so I moved it to make sure it was.

I am pretty sure my vacuum switch looks just like then in Alan's pics above. The top plunger is white.

Wait... what happened to Alan's pics? I just went up to look and they are gone as are all of his posts.

Doug

He deleted the posts.

Okay... got them working correctly. All it took was a small adjustment on the passenger side arm right near the motor. They park nice and low now and contact the switch and the door closes.

It's actually pretty amazing to see it all work. Now I need some new wiper blades. And I'm not sure if I'm gonna tackle that pump any time soon or not.

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate it.

Doug