wiper switch, 2 or 3 speed?

[Beck]

hi all,
i have a question regarding the windscreen wiper switch.

i wish to know which switch (2 or 3 speed) i have in my 73 cuda.
it has three different positions. does this mean it's a 2 speed switch? what are the differences?

at the moment the switch is off in the straight up position, 'slow' (but still fast, and wipers stall out after a couple of cycles) to the left position,
and fast (VERY fast) to the right position. the wipers don't park when the switch is turned off, they just stop anywhere. i have checked the earth,
and it seems to be clean.

the motor seems to be a 3 speed, in that it has the motor barrel off to the side, parallel to the firewall. it has a piece broken off the back...
i'll try and post a photo tonight.

any help with these issues would be very much appreciated,
cheers,
aaron

[4Cruizn]

Please count how many posts are on the back of the switch.  I believe 6 is a 2 speed and 7 is a 3 speed. 

[Beck]

i'll try and check in my lunch break

is there an easy way to get the switch out?
or will i need to stick my hand up the back of the dash and carefully count wires?
i haven't taken any of the switch gear or gauge part of the dash apart yet...

cheers,
aaron

[72hemi]

Removing the switch bezel is the probably the easiest ways. Remove the gauge light bar then it is only like four or five screws and the entire switch panel comes out. The 2 speed switch is very large and bulky, while the 3 speed is smaller.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

I truely believe you have my setup. You have a 3-speed wiper motor, but someone put a 2-speed switch in your dash. That switch is why the wipers stop any place you turn off the switch. I'm getting a 3-speed switch to solve my problem. 



   Mike

[FY1Cuda]

If you have a two-speed switch, it will make two distinct clicks when twisting the shaft end to end. That gives you three positions: off, low, and high. The two speed switch, as 4C said, has six posts.
As MEK indicated, you clearly don't have a 2-speed motor.  I'm not sure about the 3-speed plug, but a variable- speed plug will fit onto a 2-speed switch but it won't work correctly.  See AARudy's post in the Gauges and Interiors thread.

[Beck]

the switch in the car has three distinct positions, so must be a 2 speed.
decoding my fender tag did not show that the car came with optional variable/3 speed wipers (assuming that option shows in the tag?)
so the 3 speed motor must be the odd one out.

is the wiring similar for both setups? could i get a three speed switch and solve the problems?
i'll have a close look at the linkages etc and photograph everything so i can get help in working
out what exactly is in the car, and what will need replacing etc...

cheers,
aaron

[72hemi]

Getting a 3 speed switch is the easiest way to fix the problem. The wiring is the same between the two. The other option is to replace the 3 speed wiper motor and arm assembly with that of a 2 speed.

[Beck]

here's some photos of what's on the car:

[Beck]

you can see how the plate on the wiper motor is broken, and i'm guessing there is a cam or something missing from the visible shaft?

does the car have 3 speed/variable wiper arms?

what were the factory options for these cars? 2 speed as standard with an optional 3 speed? is there another option with variable speed?
or is that what some people call 3 speed?

and on a side note, what is the cut yellow wire at the rear of the switch panel for?

cheers,
aaron

[Scatterbrain]

The cut yellow wire, is (if its anything like mine) a small dash light.

[72hemi]

The wiper shaft looks fine to me and you have a 2 speed wiper switch with a 3 speed wiper motor, and to reiterate that cut off wire is a dash light.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

The wiper shaft looks fine to me and you have a 2 speed wiper switch with a 3 speed wiper motor, and to reiterate that cut off wire is a dash light.

     Most definitely!!

70's and maybe 71's could of had a variable speed wiper switch, that is NOTHING like a 3-speed switch. The prongs were different, so they couldn't inter-change. I think the 3-speed switch was a 72-74 thing? 

  Mike

[Beck]

so i could get a 72-74 3 speed switch and that should solve all the wiper issues?

thats what i was hoping to hear..  ha ha

does it look like the wiper motor is missing anything under that broken section?
it looks to me like there may have been a cam or something to shut off the motor once it's parked...



cheers guys!

[FY1Cuda]

There is a little cam in there that swings out when the motor goes in reverse to park the wipers. When it does, it pushes on that little brass strip and disconnects it from that soldered point.  I would look into getting a rebuilt wiper motor.  You can get that style for about $50.  That bolt head on the "can" holds one of the windings on and is not original, so there might be other issues with your motor. And as Mike said, you need a 3-speed or variable switch to run that motor.  You'll have to figure out what kind of under-dash harness plug you have so you can plug it in to another switch.  I don't know how the  plugs compare between 3-speed and variable, but I do know that a variable plug will mate with a 2-speed switch leaving one post uncovered and a plug hole going nowhere.