69 wipers wont open

[Tom S.]

I am having a problem with the wipers on my 69. The door does not open. I have a new actuator and vacuum to it. That is about as far as I know how to go. Is there a short list of things I can check without replacing a lot of parts that may not need it?
Thanks in advance. this forum is great. Thanks again

Tom Stanton

[Dan M.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Tom,

I assume the wiper door opened fine prior to the replacement being installed but detials were not provided. My experience with the new actuators is they can be very stiff out of the box. If you can't move the rod by hand prior to installing you will never get it to work off manifold vacuum.

Tom you have mail with an attachment that should help troubleshoot your problem. Good Luck and let me know if you have any futher questions.

Dan
NCRS 35068

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Dan
I got your e-mail, but I am not sure you got my E-mail in return. There was no attachment that I found.

Thanks Tom

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Dan
I don't know what the problem with the wipers was. I bouht the car about 3 weeks ago and the wipers did't work. It had a new actuator on it when I bought it.

Tom

[Jim T.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Tom since you have had the car about three weeks and the wipers have never worked, perhaps the electric switch located at the bottom of the dash under the steering column is turned on. If it is turned on and the wipers are not in use, they will not work if you turn on the wiper switch in the dash above the guages. There are two pull down switches also located with the wiper override switch, one puts the headlamps up without the lights switch being used. It will also keep the headlights up if it is pulled down while the headlights are on and the headlight switch is turned off. The other pull down raises the cowl and keeps it up for quick wiper use and will keep the door open until it is turned off. The purpose of the electric override switch is to disable the wipers when on the the windshield to permit changing the wiper blades.

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Jim
Thaqnks for you response. The cowl does not open. The override valve is pulled down. The electric wiper switch is turned off I do believe. The knob is gone so I ordered a new one. But I have turned it back counter clockwise with pliers so I think it is off. Thanks again for any and all help.

Tom

[Richard D.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Tom, since I'm currently working on the wiper system on my 68, I've been following your thread here.

Have you tried to manually open the door, by disconnecting the vacuum hoses to your cannister, removing the rubber seal on the front of the cannister, and manually pushing the piston into the cannister (a long screwdriver was recommended I believe in my 68 owner's manual) to move the door into an open position?

If you have an owner's manual for the car, it should have some instructions on how to do this.

This way, you can find out if the door mechanism itself may be "binding" in some manner that's preventing it from opening.

Regards,

Rich

[Dan M.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Tom,

You should now have mail let me know if the attachment made it.

Dan

[Pat Bush]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Tom:

There are a host of things that could be wrong and the best way to troubleshoot the problem is to take several things out of the mix.....

1) As others have said, make sure the overide switch is completely to the left and the "pushies" are both in.

2) CHECK THE FUSE!

3) Disconnect your vacuum hose from the actuator (plug it with a golf tee) and manually raise the bezel into its fully open position.

4) See if your wipers work at all..... If not, could be a bad switch -or- could be a bad WW relay (RH side center console lower) -or- could be a ground or electrical problem. GET YOUR WIPERS WORKING FIRST cause the vacuum door requires the wiper switch and two relays to be functional to engage.....

5) If the wipers work with the door up, then you could have a bad vacuum relay (under the DS dash connected to the tach), a hose not connected, or possibly a bad door limiter switch.

6) If all that is OK, now you need to start testing vacuum components, the control, and the actuator itself.... You will need a vacuum pump and a little patience. Could be the vacuum control switch -- on AC car - DS firewall next to emission label. On non-AC car, under PS fender (I think - both my cars are AC).

You have to be methodical about this, but patience and a little time will usually fix the problem. Go after all the easy stuff first before you start ripping everything apart.

Hope this helps -

Pat

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Rich
No I haven't tried taking the hoses off and pushing the rod, but I will. I haveordered a owners manual as well as a wiper headlight troubleshooting manual, haven't recieved them yet.I will try your suggestion over the week end. THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE. I willkeep you informed as to what happens.

THANKS AGAIN

Tom

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Dan
I got your e-mail but it would not download. My wife tried to transfer it to her work computer which is office windows.

THANKS AGAIN

Tom

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Pat
I will try all your very good suggestions thiweekend. I have checked the overide vacuum switch, ordered a new electric, checked the fuse, but the main thing now is getting the door open so that I can check the wipers thanks for your help I will answer back the first part of the week if not before. At least I have a variety of options.

THANKS AGAIN

Tom

[Chuck R.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Isn't there a saftey switch on the fire wall to prevent the wipers from operating with the door closed?

Is this switch part of the total operation?

Chuck

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Pat
I got the door open as you suggested.Then I tried the wipers, they do not work. I tried listening and hear a click sound at the wiper motor when I turn the switch on,but nothing else happens.So then I think maybe the car has to be running because the wiper motor has electric and vacuum both going to it.So I start the engine and the wiper door closes whenI hit the wiper switch. I have some books on order including a trouble shooting guide for lights and wipers but haven't recieved it yet.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Tom Stanton

[Tom S.]

Re: 69 wipers wont open

Rich
I did as you recomended and got the door open, when I started the engine to try the wipers, after trying them with the engine offto no avail the wiper door closed as soon as I started it.I have given up for this evening maybe back at it tomorrow.

Thanks again Tom