wipers?

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Wed May 24, 2006 9:53 am

Okay this is weird. My wipers stopped working last Fall, just before I put the car up for the winter. Figured it needed a new wiper motor, they were real slow anyway, and since I don't take the car out in the rain it was no big deal to me (unless the weather changed suddenly when I was out with it, which happened once or twice!)
So Nickc came over to look at the car last weekend, and we had the hood open naturally, and it was raining just a bit, and all of a sudden the wipers started working- and now they won't turn off! I hear a "click", they swipe, I try turning the switch off, they just keep going in either position.
What do I do about this? I can't drive the thing with the wipers going across a dry windshield. Grrrr! I liked it better when they weren't working- I tried finding a connection to pull so they would stop, can't locate the right wire. They at least go off when I shut the engine down.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed May 24, 2006 12:08 pm

I would highly suspect the wiper control switch on the steering column has shorted out.

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Wed May 24, 2006 12:16 pm

It's not on the column, it's a round switch on the dash.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:06 pm

the dash switch is to merely turn it to delay, for intermittent wiping. The right side of the column has a stalk that turns the wipers on and off

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:35 pm

omg, really? Ok, now "topless moma" means i don't have a head on top of my shoulders at all! See, I said I never take it out in the rain! I only got it last summer...

Thanks, this is a HUGE help! I would have taken it to the mechanic and they would have charged me a fortune to "fix" it!

nickfury · Post by **nickfury** » Thu May 25, 2006 1:47 am

lol

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Thu May 25, 2006 5:47 am

Don't feel bad, Topless. I drove my Fiat in the hot summer for years with the heat on, not realizing the smell of burning tennis shoes wasn't normal and I still have to look in the owner's manual to figure out what the levers are for!

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Thu May 25, 2006 7:58 am

I have that problem too! With the heat levers- one of the little indicators on the bezel is missing, so I'm never sure if I have them all set in the right position. I have a manual, I'll make it a point to look and I'll let you know (yeah, yeah, I know, why haven't I looked before- I would've known about the wipers then! and I'm not even a "natural" blonde, either!)

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Fri May 26, 2006 4:02 pm

Whew - I thought there might be an alternative to the paddle switches on the column.

Good thing we gots sense of humor.

Are your wipers functioning properly now?

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Fri May 26, 2006 10:03 pm

dunno- haven't had a chance to check that yet. I'll get out there tomorrow.

Thanks peeps, for all the advice.

Mad-Machine · Post by **Mad-Machine** » Sat May 27, 2006 10:09 am

I might also suggest taking apart the linkage and greasing everything. Makes a WORLD of difference in speed.

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Sat May 27, 2006 8:50 pm

ReMARKable! That worked! And the dang lever even reads "wiper/washer"! Don't know how I never noticed that... Now, can anybody tell me if there's a similar lever for my speedo? No? Shoot!

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Sun May 28, 2006 6:49 am

It's the lever commonly known as the accelerater pedal.

Just kidding!

topless moma · Post by **topless moma** » Tue May 30, 2006 8:08 am

You guys kill me!

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Tue May 30, 2006 12:35 pm

I recently drove an hour and a half to a guys house to help him with what I was lead to believe "a wiring problem".

Lights used to work, but now they don't.

Now, I am not familiar with the '83 Pininfarina Spider, mind you. So, 70 miles away I was not able to diagnose that after a year of ownership he had yet to discover the factory light switch located on the top of the steering column. He had been accidently changing it occasionally without realizing. No wonder his lights worked sometimes, and sometimes they did not!

LOL....it ain't just girls Topless....it ain't just girls with spectacle issues.