Join Our Ford Truck Forum Today

Document your Ford truck project here and inspire others! Login/Register to view the site with fewer ads.

Register Log in

Windshield wipers aren't working

wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
It started this morning. Turned the switch on and it swiped twice then nothing. Tried turning them off then on and still nothing. Pushed the switch in and they started swiping really fast, then stopped. Now back to nothing... The switch handle itself turns freely round and round and doesn't stop either when I turn it left (to engage) or right (to disengage).

Any thoughts before I break out the troubleshooting manual?

I have a 1970 F100

Thanks for you help,
Steven
 
blacksnapon

blacksnapon

Moderator
Staff member
9,461
301
waynesville,mo.
Just the different "feel" of the switch makes that a good place to start.
 
wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
that is what I was thinking as well. Are these switches supposed to make the wiper turn faster when you push them in? Are was that just a coincidence that it did that this morning?
 
Fellro

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
7,953
361
Iowa County, Iowa
That was probably for the washer would be my guess.
 

71F-100

20
1
Stanford, Montana
pushing the switch in makes the washer squirt. There should be two clicks to the right. One for slow the second for fast. It sounds like a bad switch to me.

Check with a parts store first but here are some on E-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Wipe...rQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1980wt_758

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/66-7...arQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_500wt_975

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...rQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1215wt_713

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-...arQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_500wt_975
 
wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
You know it's bad when Autozone is charging $70 for that itty bitty switch...

Carole is gonna kill me... I might be heading to the junkyard this weekend.
 
wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
alright, verified that the piece of the switch that attaches to the know that turns the wipers on has broken off. Also, while under there, I realized that this is gonna be a little bit harder than I thought to change out... Guess I'm still used to switches and stuff having plugs to plug into the wiring harness... this had a bunch of wires coming out of it..

Any tips/shortcuts on replacing the switch...

Thanks in advance,
Steven
 
wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
Troubleshooting a wiper switch issue

Anyone have troubleshooting tips? I was able to reattach the plastic part of the switch to the metal part, then plugged back in to the harness and it still isn't working. I ordered a used switch from ebay that should be in this week.
Hopefully that will work.

BTW, checked voltage at the orange wire and I am getting 12 volts there.
 
Fellro

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
7,953
361
Iowa County, Iowa
Since it came apart, I would be amazed if all the parts stayed in. The only way I know to test the motor is to hotwire it, but you need to verify which wire to jumper to.
 
wareagle

wareagle

War Eagle
1,935
40
Hickory, NC
Fellro said:
Since it came apart, I would be amazed if all the parts stayed in. The only way I know to test the motor is to hotwire it, but you need to verify which wire to jumper to.
Click to expand...

I will wait to see if the switch I get in the mail takes care of it. If not, will proceed to the motor. BTW, where the heck is that thing located???
 
Fellro

Fellro

Moderator
Staff member
7,953
361
Iowa County, Iowa
Without looking, I'm thinking you take it out from under the dash, the linkage is under the cowl.
 

Ford Truck Articles

Recent Forum Posts

Top