How do I get the wiper switch out of the dash? Can't seem to get it to budge. I just got an intermittent wiper switch and control box for $4.95 at Pull-A-Part out of a 1985 Bronco XLT. I now have High, Low and intermittent which is variable from really fast to really slow. Completely 100% plug and play with my '72 Maverick. Works awesome! Now I just need to figgure out how to get the old wiper switch out so I can put the new one in.
You have to get the knob off first. Find the "notch" on the back side edge of the knob. Take a really small flat screwdriver and place it inside the notch in order to pry on the clip that is holding the knob on. Pull the screwdriver toward you inside the notch to release this clip. At the same time...pull on the knob. It should pop off. Once you get the knob off.....you need to unscrew the bezel. It is the part with the cross hairs on it. Try gripping it with your fingers and unscrew it. It may take a screwdriver or plyers to get it started. Be careful..as it is easy to mar the finish on the bezel. I hope this helps. It may also be explained in a Chilton's manual.
Thanks, got it off. I now have intermittent wipers and you can't tell it's not factory. Scraped my knuckles up pretty good slideing my hand in and out of the opening where the heater controls go. Hardest part was figgureing out where to tuck that black box at. Not really anywhere around the switch or heater controls big enough to put it. Finnally got it to fit neatly between the gauge cluster and heater controls.
Hopefully the scraped knuckles were worth it Jamie! That's a cool upgrade. I may have to do that one down the road.
I'd reccomend it for anyone who drives their car regularly. PM Acornridgeman on here for more details on the swap. I don't have the windshield washer stuff on my car, but apparently you have to move one wire over on the switch to get it to work. When in the junkyard, a quick way to tell if the truck/bronco has intermittent wipers is to turn the wiper switch. If it clicks 3 times and then turns freely, it's intermittent. 2 in 16 80's trucks had intermittent wipers there, so they aren't easy to find. It must have been an optional thing for those years. Another cool thing, when I pulled up in the parking lot at PAP, there was a bright blue big bumpered 2 door Maverick with darker blue flames comeing back on the front sitting there. It had a Grabber hood. I parked next to it and just as I did a woman and dude come walking out, the woman's hair was the same color as the car! They were very surprised to see another Maverick. I told them about this board, but they didn't seem to intrested. They lived in downtown Atlanta, said they had only had the car about 2 months. They got them some seat belts out of a '74 4 door in the yard.
I did this upgrade. After going through two wiper switches without the intermittent accessory, I decided there had to be a better/beefier option. The previous two Maverick standard wiper switches failed because the cast iron legs slipped from the plastic housing. Couple of things to add for anyone that reads in the future. I believe anything from a 1973 to a 1991 F-150 will carry the relay/switch you are looking for, so long as it is the XLT or higher package option. You can get them new on Ebay for $100, or in my case, $20 from a scrap yard. It should be noted, although these are plug and play, as is mentioned previously, the windshield washer fluid does not work as a direct plug-and-play. A wire has to be moved. When you go to the scrap yard, all you'll need are plier/driver set/and sometimes a screwdriver/hammer if the bezel for the pick-up is really stuck. Somewhere in the 80's, they gave the relay a bracket with screws and all for mounting. Before then, they wrapped them in a foam pad with an internal adhesive to stick to the relay to prevent rattling. I used one that had the foam. I saved myself a lot of headache by going ahead and removing the dash when I put in the new wiper switch. You can fit the relay through the climate controls, but it is a lot easier to remove the dash. There is plenty of space behind the wiper switch for the relay, too, which is great! I know these dashes are old and the Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) tend to get torn up. So, if you are doing this upgrade, now might be a good time to grab a new FPC, that AutoKrafters now has available https://www.autokrafters.com/p-2355...erick-1971-73-mercury-comet-d0dz-10k843a.aspx Additionally, there is a guy, John Grice, that makes tachometer kits for the Maverick/Comet. His Facebook page is called Maverick Comet Tachometers, and he still makes them. $78 dollars through PayPal. https://www.facebook.com/jacks.tachs At the moment, I think those are all the details I can think of that might be useful. Good luck.
