1970 Cadillac Wiper Issue

[Houston747]

Hello everybody,

I was driving my 1970 Coupe Deville today and it suddenly started raining, the last time I used my windshield wipers was about three years ago and they worked okay back then. Today, I tried turning them on but they wouldn't start, the only way I was able to get them to start was to hold the "WASH" button right underneath the wiper speed selector and then they would start moving. But the issue was I had to keep holding the wash button so they would continue sweeping the rain away from the windshield, but once I take my finger of the wash button they stop working. So I was wondering if you guys have ever experienced something like this before? And could it be one of the wiper motor wires or does the whole thing need to be rebuilt. Even during the rainy drive for some reason one of the wipers completely came out of place..... let me know what you think

[Scot Minesinger]

This has not happened to my 1970 Cadillac, but the windshield wiper motor failed and I had to replace it.  Unfortunately the replacement had just a one speed instead of three) and park.  This is OK because like you they rarely are needed, and I don't do car shows that would ever check that. 

Since the wiper motor seems to operate, I would check the switch first.  You can apply battery voltage under the hood to see if they will work.  It is either lack of power, the switch, wiring, or the motor itself. 

Look at the rubber conduit that connects the door to the body between the hinges that protects the wires and make sure no wires are compromised.  Usually failure occurs at the door or body and the sheet metal cuts into a wire.

[DeVille68]

Remove the clip and look at the plastic retraction / grabbing mechanism.
Mine had crack and could not create to force to catch the arm to stop the rotation of the wipers.

I am not sure, but I think there is a very decent reproduction available for these, at least for the washer.


Best regards,
Nicolas

[chrisntam]

Unplug the wiring connections at the wiper motor and clean both the male and female connectors as best you can.  Plug it back in and see if that fixes the problem.  If not, do the same thing at the connections for the wiper switch.  Try it again.

If that doesn't fix it, look at the factory service manual for additional troubleshooting.

Best of luck with it, let us know what you find.

[cadillactim]

Could be bad switch. The contacts in the 69-70 wiper switches are riveted in place, and over the years the rivets lose their tight contact. I have repaired several of these switches.

Test the wiper motor per the shop manual. If it tests okay then you know it is likely the switch.

Tim