I went to use my wipers yesterday from my 1969 Cutlass S and it didn't want to work. I would put it in the slow position and heard a click like a solenoid kicking in but nothing happened. Went to high speed and no click or anything. I did this a few times until the wipers moved half way up, came down and are stuck now about six inches from the bottom of the window. It might be the wiper **** switch based upon my edit below but can someone confirm based upon my basic troubleshooting below...not an electrical expert so just tried basic things I know. thanks for any help or ideas.

1. Pulled all wires from the wiper motor assembly...2 prong from the top and the 2 prong and 1 prong from the bottom where the motor is

2. Put my volt meter on the 2 prong wire connectors that go into the bottom of the assembly

3. Turned my ignition key to run and saw that I got 12v on the 2 prong wire connectors that go into the bottom of the assembly even tough I haven't turned the wiper switch to on..doesn't seem right?

4. Turned the wiper **** to the slow speed and still got 12v

5. Turn the wiper **** to the high speed and now I got like .5 volts...doesn't seem right again?

6. Turned **** back to slow speed and now got 12v again

Motor never turns.

EDIT: Tested a second motor I have and it did the same thing...clicked but nothing...turned off and on a few times the washer switch and all of a sudden the test unit started to work. Worked for a few times and then stopped with the same clicking noise when I turn on the washer switch. Is there a relay somewhere causing this issue or could the issue be the switch itself...looking for ideas. Thanks again

 

Bump... anyone...just a breadcrumb

 

Go to the service manual, available free @ Wild About Cars. It has illustrated bench and on car test procedures. As to issue #3, the circuit grounds thru the switch, that's why it seems odd.

 

Read the wiper trouibleshooting section in the CSM, which details the wiper troublehooting procedure. Do you have the single speed or dual speed wipers? In any case, the wiper motor gets +12V any time the key is in the RUN position, which is why you got voltage. The switch provides the ground path. There are a set of contacts within the motor that allow it to continue to run to the park position after you turn off the switch. The wiring is not what you would think. It isn't a simple on/off switch, which is why you should follow the factory troubleshooting procedures.

 

x2 on following the troubleshooting guide in the Chassis Service Manual, however based on the above I'd have to say you have an intermittent problem in the switch. Additionally there is no relay other than the shunt and the wiper parking circuit in the motor itself.

Scott

 

We used to say it was available free at Wildaboutcars.com, but can't do that anymore.

 

Thanks guys...going under the dash and disconnecting the switch and clean all the contacts to the switch...will try a second switch out of a local donor to test as well. Also found the section in the CSM so will go that route as well if the switch swap fails. thanks guys.