High speed wiper not working on 1972 240z

[jalexquijano]

Just noticed the high speed position on the wiper Combo switch is no longer working. Should i just dump that old and tired wiper motor or could it be something else?

Edited February 19 by jalexquijano

[Patcon]

It could be the switch or the motor

[jalexquijano]

How do i check this? I bought the switch refurbished 9 years ago and it was working perfectly in both speeds. 

[Richie G]

I had the same problem on my 71.  Check out the great info @SteveJ helped me with here

You get about half way through and the topic turns to the high speed wiper.  For me it ended up being the motor itself but i was helped work out the problem.

[jalexquijano]

On 2/18/2024 at 11:38 PM, Richie G said:

I had the same problem on my 71.  Check out the great info @SteveJ helped me with here

You get about half way through and the topic turns to the high speed wiper.  For me it ended up being the motor itself but i was helped work out the problem.

Thanks. I have a spare one. Maybe i can check with this one and fluke multimet set on ohms.

[jalexquijano]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:39 PM, Patcon said:

It could be the switch or the motor

Anyway of cleaning the combo switch with contact cleaner. I was thinking on removing it and spraying some contact cleaner on its contacts. The weird thing is that yesterday it managed to work at high speed. I really dont want to get into that Honda upgrade motor where you have to modify the wiper motor base and other things.

[Richie G]

I'm sure you can but I would first follow the instructions for continuity testing that Steve gave me in that post to make sure it's a good working switch before you attempt to take it apart and clean it. As for the Honda upgrade personally I don't think it's necessary if you take the effort to clean and refurbish the wiper arms pivots and other moving Parts on the motor. From what most people said in my research the lack of speed really isn't the motor it's the 50 years of wear and tear on all the moving parts that slow it down.

[jalexquijano]

Can i attempt this continuity test without removing the complete combo switch from the steering wheel?

[Richie G]

Yes just follow Steve's instructions disconnect the battery on the negative side take off the clamshell under the steering wheel disconnect the wires and harness running to the switch and you should be just fine I was able to test it while it's still connected pretty simple

[jalexquijano]

Well i remove the clamshell and took the combo switch out. Sprayed some deoxit d5 fader which i use on my fender, vox and marshall tube amplifiers when require some maintenance. Problem solved and now the high speed on the wipers is working. I did noticed that when i took the car to the shop for a short circuit some one unplugged Dave Irwins harness i had purchased and conected the female and male sockets directly as the car came from stock.

[Richie G]

Great work what does Dave's harness do? I'm not familiar with that.

[jalexquijano]

On 2/28/2024 at 10:12 PM, Richie G said:

Great work what does Dave's harness do? I'm not familiar with that.

Well its supossed  to bypass the original harness to power up the dashboard and parking lights it also helps save your combo switch. Anyway im still having problems with the horn as it only really works when you are accelerating and not on idle. Maybe its time to change the original relay? What is your opinion concerning this matter?