Drivers windshield wiper misses...

[asusnz]

Hello, since I've had my car (71 Mach 1 Fastback) the driver's window wiper misses a section of the front windshield each time it passes, ie. the blade doesn't contact the glass.

The wiper blade at the top and bottom touches the windshield and wipes away the water but the center part of the blade misses the windshield all together. The windshield was replaced by the previous owner. I have replaced the blades and the passenger side works as it should.

Any ideas? I'm wondering if there is a special trick...I wondered if the glass panel is out of alignment but it looks to be ok at initial inspection.

 

[74proii]

No glass is fine .Replace your wipers. not the refill, but the blade assembly. The blades lose tension over time. There are many new designs available. Bosch microedge run about the best for price and performance. They have a tri compound blade vice a slab of rubber coated in ptfe. In most cases the icon do not perform any better in a 18" blade. I get about 9 months out of them here in WA, other blades like Anco, Trico etc get eaten alive with wet weather here. For you I guess it depends in North or South island for you as South is a wetter climate. If still misses look at the wiper arm itself to make sure the previous owner did not bend it trying to replace the blades. You can gently manipulate it back to shape.

http://www.boschautoparts.com/wiperblades/pages/wiperblades.aspx

 

[droptop73]

Make sure the pivot on the wiper arm is free. If that gets sticky it will not provide enough force to take the bow out of the blade.