70 Wiper door retraction time?

[Mike F.]

I got caught in the rain the other day, turned on the wipers, wiper door opens immediately, wipers - wipe, turn off the wipers, wipers park, door closes about 15 seconds later.

Should the door close immediately after wipers park or is there suppose to be some lag time?

TIA,
Mike

[Michael G.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

That's way too long Mike. My '71 snaps shut in the blink of an eye and I believe all associated components are original.

[Jim T.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

Mile the closing action of the wiper door is controlled by the relay under the wiper door/grille. This relay is vacuum operated and if it is in good working order it will allow wiper door to close when the passenger windshield wiper is at rest pushing in the valve operation of the vacuum relay.

[Terry M.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

It might be that the contact between the passenger wiper and the valve on that side that triggers the relay that triggers the door to close was delayed. If you turn off the wipers after the window is very dry the friction between the wipers and window is high. This will reduce the sweep of the wipers (especially if the car is at idle reducing the system electrical voltage) and it could take some time for there to be sufficient contact between the wiper blade and the head of the valve to trigger the rest of the sequence.

Before trying any of the multiple adjustments involved I would suggest you attempt to determine if this is a one time occurrence or an on-going issue.

When my 1970 was a DD I found the door wanted to close prematurely due to early contact with the valve on the passenger side. The opposite of the problem you are having. To prevent the door from contacting the passenger wiper I developed the habit of pulling the manual over ride under the steering column after the wipers were on, and then closing the door manually after the need for wipers was complete. I just didn't want to play with all those adjustments. Oh, and the car passed PV many years later with no adjustments -- I surreptitiously did the same thing while going through the PV. If you know your car these things are second nature.

When I picked up my short-lived 1969 from the dealer it was raining. Of course I turned on the wipers. I had to cross railroad tracks to get home. On doing so the wiper door closed on the wipers. Brand new car. I will spare you the rest of the story, but I learned not to mess with those systems from that experience.

[Pat M.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

That's way too long Mike. My '71 snaps shut in the blink of an eye and I believe all associated components are original.

My 70 is the same way. The door closes immediately after the wipers park, and with such force it looks like it would take your finger off if it got in the way.

[Mike F.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

My 70 is the same way. The door closes immediately after the wipers park, and with such force it looks like it would take your finger off if it got in the way.

When mine gets around to closing, it slams the same way.

[Alan S.]

Re: 70 Wiper door retraction time?

Hi Mike,
Using a vacuum gauge I'd think you may be able to test whether the interlock switch in the wiper bay is slow to send the vacuum signal to the relay, or the relay is slow to send the vacuum signal to the door actuator.
I first thought it might be the seal on the 'close' side (red hose) of the actuator; but if that were the case the door might hesitate to begin closing, but even then close slowly because of the leak, not pop shut as you describe.
One last thing... when you use the wiper door over-ride switch under the steering column does it close immediately? That would indicate the actuator is o.k. too.
Regards,
Alan