I can't seem to pinpoint the problem with the wipers in my 68 Chevelle convertible. As soon as I turn the key to on, the wipers come on and stay on.

I have searched this forum and found an electrical schematic and some troubleshooting tips, and here's what I've got so far:

- yellow wire has 12V only when key is on
- lt blue wire never has voltage (wiper off, low, hi)
- dark blue wire always has voltage (wiper off, low, hi)
- black wire when unplugged and probed is a good ground, but here's the strange part: if I probe the terminal where this wire plugs into the wiper motor, I get about 8V on the wiper terminal with the key on.

So it seems like there may be something in the wiper motor that is
shorting out.

I unplugged the connector from the wiper switch on the dash, and all readings were the same as above and the wipers stayed on, so I don't think it's a switch issue.

Has anyone seen anything like this, or have any advice on what I should try next?

Thanks in advance,

Jon

Most likely its the washer pump keeping the wipers on. See link.

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122477

Thanks for the reply.

I saw that thread, and I was thinking that may be my problem, but I don't hear a clicking sound and the washer is full and isn't squirting any fluid on the window (it doesn't squirt when I push the wiper switch in to try to make it squirt either).

Also, the following statement in that thread confuses me:

I also found out that if I removed the drk blue wire(ground) from the switch, then that means its a mechanical problem, but if it did stop, then it would be a ground problem. So I'm pretty sure it's in the motor. How do I check and repair this?

The dark blue wire on my Chevelle always has power when the key is on, but according to the statement above, it's supposed to be a ground wire? If it's supposed to be a ground wire, why do I have power on it?

I did remove the dark blue wire from the switch and the wipers did keep going though, so maybe this is my problem. The only thing that shuts them off is removing the connector with the black and yellow wires in it.

Maybe I'll just have to tare into the washer motor like that other guy did and see what I find. I don't really understand what they are talking about in that thread, but hopefully I will if I start ripping the thing apart.

Fun, fun!

Thanks for the reply.

I saw that thread, and I was thinking that may be my problem, but I don't hear a clicking sound and the washer is full and isn't squirting any fluid on the window (it doesn't squirt when I push the wiper switch in to try to make it squirt either).
The dark blue wire on my Chevelle always has power when the key is on, but according to the statement above, it's supposed to be a ground wire? If it's supposed to be a ground wire, why do I have power on it?


The problem is most likely a mechanical problem. With wiper/washer both are switched on the ground side. The black/yellow supplies power to the wiper/washer anytime the key is on. The other wires go the wiper switch and to ground when the wiper switch is turned on. DK blue is for the washer. LT blue and black are for low and hi speed (can't remember which one is which) Pull the cover for the washer, you will see a small lever that comes from the wiper motor. That lever must be in the home position for the wipers to stop.

I had the same problem on my 69 camaro. There's a switch/ gear in the motor housing that is supposed to stop the motor at the park spot. Mine was bent a little so the contact wasn't connecting at that point and it kept cycling through. I had an engineer friend of the famliy find it for me and I think I got a new contact from GM. This was 28 years ago so I don't know if it is Available now. But that's what it sounds like. The car had a toggle switch to cut the power to the wipers when I bought the car. That's how I ran down the problem. Hope this helps

The car had a toggle switch to cut the power to the wipers when I bought the car.That's how my Chevelle came when I bought it as well - 13 years later I am now trying to fix it...LOL!

I just came in from the garage and it is indeed a mechanical problem. In fact, I believe it is a similar problem as bigdave had - well, sort of.

I stared at the wiper motor mechanism going around and around for about an hour trying to figure out how the mechanics are supposed to work. It looks like the mechanism that goes around with the plastic gear (the one the motor engages and turns) isn't functioning correctly. I was able to mess with it and one time when the mechanism came around, the little floating metal hook looking thing swung out and correctly latched into the relay and then the motor stopped. However, when I started the windshield wipers again (with the actual switch - first time since I've owned the car!), it seemed to get bound up again and I was never able to get it to latch again.

I can't figure out for the life of me how that thing is engineered to work. If I was to take a video of it, would anyone on here be able to tell me what's going wrong with it? I'm pretty sure it's something that can be fixed, so I don't really want to spend the $100 on a whole new motor if I don't have to.

Thanks!