72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

[Edward J.]

Pat- Ive been working on my wiper door problem - its been cycling up and down when starting, I found the wiper arm switch appears to be broken the accorden shaped bootand buttton is missing on the top,my question is should I buy the repro,or im going to carlisle should I look for a original, thanks for you reply Ed.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Ed,

As I and others have found, the repros "sometimes" work and sometimes don't. I know that's not much consolation but if you're going to Carlisle you can probably buy 2 (or more) old originals for the price of 1 repro. It "is" possible to disassemble one of these, clean and lube, and make them work again. If you can't get an original one working then you can always try the repro later.

Patrick

[Edward J.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Thanks Pat, for the answer on repro switchs - ive seencposts that they havent had much sucess with them, I Guess I'll be looking for a used one, the original is broken and missing some parts, I was hoping to mabe try a repair on the switch when I took the wiper grill off.

[Jack H.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Duh, now I get it!!! The "wiper arm switch" term means GM 5638487, vacuum valve assy...

I could not for my life understand what was being referenced thinking this post was refering to an electrical component of the WSW system.

Well, I can say I've had no problems using the replacement parts offered by various catalog houses. About the only issue I've encountered is those doing the R&R task didn't understand the valve's mounting bolt holes are enlongaged allowing the assy to be 'fine tuned' in terms of its final rest position in the cowl with respect to the RH wiper arm. This dictates WHEN the wiper door's vacuum system is triggered to close the door during wiper shut-down operation....

[Paul D.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Take another look at that broken vac switch. It sounds like someone has already bypassed it. I would think you couldn't get the wiper door to close at all with the button broken off. Usually intermittant opening and closing of the door (and headlights for that matter) is caused by a leaking or defective vac relay. Chip.

[Sal C.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Go with an original. That item has to be the worst reproduction part on the market. I have seen them not even make it through the installation process without breaking. A Corvette shop close by me buys them by the dozen and ends up replacing most of them under warranty.

[Edward J.]

Re: 72 wiper arm switch- Pat H.

Thanks for the replys guys, im heading to carlisle on thursday I'll try my luck there for a nos or used one.
Paul the switch was not by-passed it appears that its been broke for awhile, the rubber boot and top button is broke. I took the switch out theres just a piece of the plunger stuck inside that shuts and open the vac. port.