1959 Chevy 2-speed wiper with washer (3 prong switch) Painless wiring The wiper quit working. I figured out that the fuse panel wasn't getting power to the wiper. Painless recommended a jumper wire from keyed power to whatever bus that the wiper fuse connects to. I now have a jumper wire to keyed power and confirmed power at the fuse, wiper motor and switch. New switch. I tested the switch with a temporary jumper wire and it worked properly. Here's the weirdness. I turn the switch, wiper works... but then won't shut off unless I break the connection. If I remove the switch out of the dash, I can see tiny sparks, so it has a good ground, but the wiper speeds up. If I kill the ignition switch, and turn it back on, then the wiper goes into park. I'm sure there is a simple solution, but I don't know what it is! The jumper wire was installed in the same place every time I've tested it.
What kind of wiper motor are you using ? gm and other brands have a park micro switch that when it acts up won’t allow the wipers to park correctly . you could have sticking contacts in the switch. So is the wiring from the fuse box to the switch then to the motor good ? only things it can be is switch intermittent sticking park switch in the motor how is. The motor grounded ? Possibly a bad ground . what happens when you eliminate the switch and power up the motor then disconnect power ?
Stock, original GM wiper. The wiper motor work properly when I test it at the motor, including park function. So the motor is ok and grounded properly. It is also getting power from the fuse box. The switch is getting power from the fuse box and is grounded through it's contact with the metal dash. When I first bought the new switch (last week) I tested it and it worked, although a tad finicky, but I didn't have it mounted. When I went to mount it today, I had to file the flat spot on the threads a little to make it fit. Then I installed the jumper wire. Either it's something with the jumper wire, or the switch went bad when I filed on the threads. Neither really makes sense to me, but maybe?
The switch provides ground to different parts of the motor....it's a weird system. If you don't have the factory shop manual for the car, this is a good excuse to buy one. I have a 61 manual, I think the motor is likely the same...lmk and I can scan a page or two for you
Are we dealing with a car or a truck? The 58 car, and 58-59 trucks use the same motor. The 59 car is different.
Does the 59 supplement show the wiring for the wiper motor? and have instructions on fixing it? I have the truck manuals, but not the car manuals, for those years.
It has the wiring diagram and it is wired correctly. The instructions point to things that are not broken on mine. For example, the park pawl works, I'm getting power everywhere it's supposed to go, etc. Both the old switch and new switch are working the same. It has to be a ground issue. The sparks at the dash are the only thing new since I tested all the components separately, so that has the be the clue. But what does it mean? I added dielectric grease to all the connectors, but I didn't touch any of the grounds on the motor. The motor works (2 speeds and park) when tested separately from the switch.
I expect the switch is not working right....or it's not the correct switch. Which is pretty likely, if you had to modify stuff to make it fit. 58 motors had power through the switch, 61 motors had power to the motor itself, not through the switch (the switch just provides grounds). And I thought 59-62 motors were the same.
The old and new switches are identical. They both have a flat spot on the threads to keep it from rotating in the dash. The new one just wasn't filed quiet enough. Yes, according to the wiring diagram the switch provides ground and there is power to the motor. 58-59 are the same. It is possible that BOTH switches are bad, but that seems unlikely.
If turning the key off and back on shuts the motor off and allows it to park, the switch isn't working correctly. You are doing what the switch should be doing.
So, more weirdness. It started working properly again. I was trying to test the wiring at the switch to eliminate the switch as the problem and then tested the switch again and it worked. *shrugs* Maybe I re-polarized it or something.
Have you tried running a dedicated ground wire from the motor to the Frame and or body? Same with the switch. Different but maybe somewhat related, some of the Heavy Equipment I've run in the past, the wipers would only work when the sun was out and it wasn't raining, and a dedicated ground fixed the problem and the wipers worked like they should, regardless of weather conditions. Maybe it could work for you, eventhough it's not as designed. If it does work, you'll know what you need to do to fix it... give it a good ground.
If this is anything like my OT 70 Chevelle, the motor has constant power and the switch in the on position provides a ground that starts the wipers. Very unreliable. I replaced the the entire system with an aftermarket motor & switch and it works all the time everytime now.
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