The rear windshield wiper of my '76 245 wagon is bust somewhere along the line, with the most likely problem residing with the switch itself; I've confirmed the motor to work, as well as replacing all of the tailgate wiring. When I first got it last year and had it inspected in my home state of Massachusetts, it passed inspection on all fronts. However, this year, it failed with one of the citations being the failure of the rear windshield wiper. When I went to a mechanic to verify that another supposed point of failure- the tie rod ends- were fully compliant, he suggested that I just remove the blade and leave the nub or remove the nub entirely and just put in a delete plug for the time being until I get around to fixing it. Which would be more advisable? I've never felt any loss from not having a rear wiper, but I also would rather not fail inspection again. Should I just remove the blade, or the whole thing entirely? Any feedback is most appreciated! Thanks!

You state that the problem is probably in the switch. On the '76 that should be a rocker in the center "console". Easy enough to yank and test -- and test the wiring by jumping the harness plug. I may have one if that's the problem but I'd suspect the wiring through the hinge as more likely--a common 245 fault. Where did you apply power to test the motor itself? There's a connector plug in the headliner above each corner. -- Dave

I tested the motor with it out of the car by just applying voltage to it. I replaced the wiring harnesses. My next step would probably be putting the motor back in and then to test it the way you've suggested, jumping the switch connection and seeing if it turns on. The switch is the same one that triggers the washer pump, which functions as intended except for the wiper, hence the initial suspect being the motor.