Wiper Motor

With the dash connected back up, I was able to test the wiper motor function. The good news was that it worked. The bad news was that the motor parks the wipers the wrong way and it made a hell of a noise.

Reversing the park isn't a major issue, its more of a pain as the whole thing has to come back out.

With the motor on the bench, its a case of removing the retaining cir clip, popping the motor over onto its back and undoing the securing screws. This gives access to the motor mechanism. There is a little white plastic bit that has to be taken out and put in the spare hole 180 deg opposite where it is currently fixed. Swap it over, grease it all up and refit in reverse order.

Note White Plastic 'Stop' in opposite position

Greased and ready to go

Before fitting back into the car, I greased the whole length of the spiral gear wire to try and eliminate and noise and i made sure the bends in the bundy pipe are as smooth as possible.

I also double checked the wiring of the wiper stalk and noticed there were a couple of wires incorrectly connected. This probably explains why when I did the original test that the slow speed didn't work. There is also some confusion over the wire for the horn and the washer which I need to clarify with GD.

Wiper Motor and Spindles

Fitting the wiper motor and spindles was another job I have been putting off for what seems like forever.

I just couldn't get my head around how the whole set up works so left it until now when its a case of it has to be sorted.

Looking at the build notes and a couple of blogs there appeared to be a number of things to consider and get right.


1. Position of the spindle holes and the angle at which they are drilled.

I put some masking tape on the scuttle and marked the positions described on the build notes and drilled a pilot hole. I then held the black plastic spacer onto the scuttle and drilled through, progressively using bigger drills at the same angle as the spacer until I reached maximum width. I then used a sanding drum on the dremel to create the elliptical shape required for the spindle to pass through.

Spindle position is 5mm from screen rubber and 415 from screen support struts

Had an assistant hold the rubber spindle in place whilst I drilled at the correct angle

Finished elliptical hole

2. Fitting the wiper motor to the dash support bar and making electrical connections.

First attempt at fitting the wiper motor to the dash support bar went horribly wrong. There was a massive gap under the base of the motor. Looking on the blogs, it appears that there is something fitted between the motor and the support bar. Reading the build notes confirmed this and a hunt around my box of bits revealed a piece of rubber that looks like a pedal cover. This is used to secure the motor and minimise any vibration. Once in place the motor was a snug fit.

Again, due to the corrupt build CD, I couldn't open the document showing the electrical connections to the wiper motor. I got GD to send this through and connections were straightforward. I just need to check now if the motor 'parks' the correct side for RHD car before final fitting the dash and connecting the actual wiper blades.


3. Installing the bundy tube and connecting to the spindles.

Essentially the wiper mechanism works with the motor turning a length of threaded bar which runs through a carrier (bundy tube). The bundy tube has to be cut where it meets the spindles bodies and the exposed threaded bar then meshes with the gear on the wiper spindle and making it turn.

Checking out a few blogs, the sensible way of fitting the bundy tube is to bend it to the approximate shape of the dash first. Having done this, I measured the distance between the motor and the first spindle and then cut the first piece to length. I then measured the distance between the two spindle and cut the next piece to length. Finally, I cut a piece about four inches long and connected this to the right hand side of the final spindle. The threaded bar is cut leaving a three inch overhang so there are no moving part exposed behind the dash.

All in all a job I had dreaded that ended up being sorted in a morning, albeit with the electrical test still to be completed.