well, i guess it has to happen sometime...

i was driving in the rain today and suddenly the wipers stopped working. the stopped in the position just above tucking themselves in.

is it the motor that just suddenly went bad? could it be anything else?

did ya check the fuse? does the squirter work? if you have a multi meter you can check and see if its getting power to the motor.

well, the squirter hasn't worked since i bought the car. i don't have a multimeter, but i do have a test light.

the problem is that i'm stuck away from home, away from all my tools and manuals, and there's a large rain system thats supposed to last till sunday.

last resort i'll have to bring it to the mechanic and bite the bullet just so i can finally get home http://www.nastyz28.com/ubb/frown.gif

Um, I know this is way low tech... but it's always my first move...
Do the wiggle test. Give the connectors a good jiggle, slap the motor,(be gentle), etc.. all while the wipers are turned on... Ive had the same problem, and its often dirty contacts, around and inside the motor. But a cheap parts store test light will track that problem right quick.
P.S.-make sure its not a blown fuse.

did the jiggle thing, no luck. fuse is good. there is power going to the motor. so i guess it must be the motor. i just went ahead and ordered the part, thankfully making it home during a lull in the rain. i'll be installing it tomorrow, wish me luck.

I'm having the same sort of problem with my Camaro, the wipers will not work at all. I checked the fuse, and it is fine, and also me and my b/f used a multimeter to check power going into switch and it was reading 0.04V, and I know that is not right. My b/f thinks it is a bad ground. We could not check the motor because we didn't have enough time to pull the thing apart. Is a bad ground to blame for the wipers not working?? I want to get the Camaro on the road, and I know I will not pass NJ inspection with no wipers...

i had read in some other posts that a bad ground can cause that.

i just got the fisher body book for my 71, and it goes into much detail about diagnosing the wiper system, its worth the $25 because its full of things you might find helpful for your restoration that are not fully covered in the chilton or haynes manuals - just my opinion..

[This message has been edited by RS_SS350 (edited December 27, 2002).]

turns out it was the motor, so i picked up a rebuilt one from Kragen, and to my surprise and delight it came with a new washer pump too - bonus!

alls well that ends well, thanks for your help everyone.

It turned out to be the motor on mine also, the washer motor is bad too but I didn't bother to replace it. I got a new wiper motor and now everything works great. I got mine rebuilt from Advanced Auto, it was $56. Now all I have to figure out is the horn problem.