Those Wonderful 101 Wipers Jack Chesley

All right, I know I saw this thing somewhere! %*#?$! Oh, hi. The wiper on my '65 spider veloce didn't know when to stop, so I decided to try to fix the wiper motor parking switch. That way I won't have to turn it off at ^Ajust^n the right time. Naturally, I first looked for help in the indices for the Alfa Owner, all of them, but could not find more than a part number for the switch (Lucas #743080) which my contact at Motorhead, who handles British cars, said wasn't in his Lucas book! Then I went ahead and pulled the wiper motor out of the car anyway. It's easy if you've already taken the lighter housing, switches and cables, and the radio out of the dash and slide the glove box left out of the way. (don't forget to take off the wiper arms, too)

The motor comes apart easily by removing the wires and two long screws in the end. I even found both brushes which popped out of their arms and fell on the floor when it came apart. I didn't see anything that looked like it might be a parking switch. The end cap has a porous bronze bushing which I filled with electric motor oil and heated to re-saturate it, then I cleaned the armature with electronic tuner cleaner and put everything back together.

Next I looked at the other end where the cable is attached and took off the cover plate there. Inside I found part of a corroded brass disc that used to be the parking switch. Unfortunately, there was no clue as to the original shape. A light dawned: I have a 'spare' motor (also not working) in a box in the basement. I dug it out, opened it up, and found... another corroded brass disc! This one, however, was mostly there and the original shape and size was obviously about a 2" circle with a wedge cut out of it:

I ^athink^n I've seen that shape somewhere in reading 30 years of Alfa Owners, 25 years of Alfantics, several years of Giuliettalettas or 4 years of collected newsletters from other chapters (or somewhere else?). It bugs me that I can't find it. Anyone want to volunteer to index the chapter's Alfantics collection?

Anyway, I made two new brass pieces from some brass cabinet knob plates I found at Hechingers (they were thicker than the original pieces so I beveled the edges of the gap). Then I drilled out the rivets on both the old ones (I might as well have a WORKING spare, eh?) and installed the new pieces with 2-56 machine screws and nuts from Radio Shack which I filed flush and staked so they wouldn't vibrate loose. The fiber insulator under the plate had a groove worn in it, so I flipped it over and re-used it. A piece of Teflon or Nylon sheet would probably work better and last forever. I cleaned out the old grease on the gears and cable and re-greased them.

Finally, I put everything back together, and ... it didn't work at all! Now I remember: someone, somewhere, mentioned RUNNING a motor, briefly, as you tightened things up, to make sure everything lines up. Just the ticket. I attached the wires BEFORE installing it in the car, carefully screwed on the cable housing nut, crossed my fingers and turned it on. The wipers flopped merrily back and forth before parking perfectly. Now I'm all set to go out in the rain... once I put the dashboard, front suspension, brakes, exhaust and electrical system back together. Sigh!

If you find that your brushes are almost worn out (or maybe you couldn't find them after you dropped them), you might try Mr. Buell at Buell's Carb, Ignition & Speedo Service in D.C. (291-4700). He had at least one set (Lucas #743171 with the pivot arms rather than the bare brushes (#729367)) in stock when I talked to him. He didn't have the parking switch, nor did he know anyone who did. The brushes only protrude about 3/16" from the holder when new and wear slowly, so yours may be fine. The ones in my spare motor only had 1/32" left, so they needed replacing. Since my schedule made it hard to get in to the shop to buy new brushes, I took an old set of Bosch starter brushes and cut them to size (of course I save used-up starter brushes, doesn't everyone?). A strip of sandpaper wrapped around the commutator (grit side out) and some careful sanding will give you the proper contour for the contact end of the brush. It is important to use a copper-colored material (like a starter motor brush), rather than a black carbon brush, because of the current draw of the motor.

Who knows, maybe somewhere you'll find a new motor (#75213) or even a self parking switch (#?), but don't hold your breath. If you do find one, put it in the attic, then make a new piece and fix the old motor yourself. It's much more satisfying. Besides, it will give you something to talk about when people ask about this mysterious car that hasn't been seen running for years.

Darn, I wish I could remember where I saw that shape before!

Capital page

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1996