Electrical Gremlin strikes wiper switch and motor on 70 vert

[2New]

(Lonnng - sorry!)

The windshield wipers on my 70 ‘vert were working fine –were… until this last time that I turned them on and noticed that they were sort of “dragging”… then they blew #2 fuse, which is also the fuse for the brake lights and the brake warning light on the dash.

As I had had a problem some time ago where one of the contacts on the switch had grounded and blew this fuse, I proceeded to pull the switch and check the contacts, was SURE this would be the case... but not this time, this time there seems to be more “fun” involved.

With the switch out of the dash, hanging loose in the trunk, checked all terminals, made sure there were no shorts, and once again, all seemed fine -the wipers worked as they should.

However, upon mounting my switch back on the dash, the same problem reared its curious gremlin head – wiper motor seemed to work fine at first but soon began to “drag” or hesitate then the fuse blew.

Pulled and tried several times… same repeat performance each time.

Well, pulling the switch once again I resolved to do a bit of experimenting with a jumper wire.

Seems that if the switch itself is not on the dash – not grounded that is – all works fine; wipers brake lights, etc. However, once I touch the switch’s bezel with the grounded jumper the same thing happens: drag, hesitation… blown fuse!

I tried a different switch from another (working) Beetle and get the same symptoms and… a blown fuse, so apparently I guess it’s NOT the switch itself.

Experimenting a bit further I found that if I remove the brown wire (ground) that goes from terminal 31b on the switch to the wiper motor, everything works fine.

That is, I can ground the switch with the jumper (or mount it on the dash itself) and all works as it should. Has this ground wire no function in my car but to blow fuses!

Now, I know this is not the case, that there must be something wrong here. GREMLIN!!! ... of course.

My questions are:

1) Why does this wire, when disconnected, have no effect on the function of ANYTHING? Why does everything keep working as it should sans said wire?

2) Why would the motor (now) keep blowing fuses when connected per the wiring diagram when it did not before?

3) What is the purpose of this ground from terminal 31b on the switch to the motor? This as the wiper motor already has another separate ground to it that come from terminal 31 on the 4 prong Flasher relay.

Anybody here have any similar experiences with this flavor “gremlin”?

Anybody care to venture a guess on what is going on?

Comments and or suggestions would be most welcome and VERY greatly appreciated –

Thanks 2

[Cusser]

That's impossible to fix; sell that convertible to me.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[JeffDeWitt]

That's a weird one.

I wonder if there is a short to the case inside the wiper motor. If might be that with the ground wire disconnected there is still enough resistance to keep the fuse from blowing?

How much trouble is it to change the wiper motor? You might try swapping the wiper motor with the one from the other Bug and see if that clears the problem up.

[2New]

[2New]

[pafree]

lets try to kill some gremlins. 1. is the cross arm of the wiper assembly rusty causing a bind. 2. is the nuts on the bolts that hold the wiper arms too tight. 3. the aftermarket radio in my brother in law bug pushes the wires up and has caused a short on switches. 4. i wire my offroad bugs with a basic diagram and have used it to bench test wiper assemblies. good luck and go grill a gremlin. i like mine with a hot peanut sauce.

[jamesdagg]

That ground wire 31b is for the self parking circuit.

jim
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'72 FI Westy
'71 Super rear inside defrost vents no longer available

[2New]

Gremlin’s Gone!!
I’d like to thank all who took the time to read and suggest solutions. Special thanks to
pafree who took upon himself the trouble to actually draw, scan and post a diagram while being most positive and assertive as to the fact that Gremlins can be killed.

Also a special thanks to jamesdagg for posting a most comprehensive diagram that answered my question as to the two grounds present.

Now, as to how the gremlin was actually exorcised:

Sprinkling entire car with Holy Water - was discarded as I had a concern that this practice could lead to rust issues

Conducting a Midnight Séance aimed at seeking guidance and advice – was also discarded because the person who was contacted to set up the séance stated that “the spirits” were asking for a deposit $200.00 up front for the consult – he said that this was the current market price for this service, and that the spirits were being more than fair. Also said that ther would be a price break if payment were to be made in Euros.

Rubbing the Ear of a Black Cat on the afflicted parts – not advisable because of problems one might face with the ASPCA. Also, all black cats around the neighborhood were already missing their ears…. hmm?

Consulting a good Shaman for some appropriate Corn Magic...

Shaman said, "not Corn Magic, but Barley and Hops Magic..."

Now this was done. The advice/instructions given by the Shaman consulted seemed logical and easy to follow.

Basically, Shaman pointed out that I was consuming imported beer while working on the car (beer that comes in green bottles).

This, he said attracts Gremlins as these creatures are true beer lovers and thirst for quality beer. This leads to Gremlin problems.

Shaman advised to switch to cheapest domestic beer available while working on car and this would insult and drive away the Gremlins as – given this option - they prefer not to drink at all… went out and got a six of Schaffer’s to begin working on car.

Now – for the “FIX” – seriously…

Took wiper motor assembly out cleaned and lubed it – cleaned all contacts on motor.

Removed wiper switch, cleaned all contacts

Checked all wires and cleaned wire terminals

Reassembled and Voila! Seems the Gremlin was ousted or left!

Meditation.... doing this too. Right now meditating on whether it was the change of beer... or if it was the good cleaning and inspection (just maintenance really) the system received that solved the problem.

Personally… I think it was the beer.

I still owe the Shaman his fee. Guess he likes pizza or something as he's asking to be paid in "mushrooms"; seems I'm getting off cheap with him.
Guess I'll head down to Publix and get him a tub of "Garden Fresh" mushrooms. As he did not specify any particular brand, I guess these will do.

... or, cleansing / purifying by fire... this only as a last resort, of course. – fortunately will not needed

And… BTW Cusser

[Jagdpanzer]

that post was pretty funny...glad you got it fixed.

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