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MG TD TF 1500 - Wiper Mootor questions

My '53 TD wiper motor is not working (one of a few things I need to sort out on this new purchase)

One thing to note, the TD has been converted to 12v, but is still positive ground.

It does have power to the terminals of the motor. Can someone verify which terminal is +12v and which is ground? It has been re-wired with speaker wire, so who knows....

Also, is there a difference between a 6v model and a 12v model? How can I identify? I have to wonder if changing the car to 12v burned out the motor.

I saw Moss has a replacement motor (pretty pricey though). Does anyone carry rebuild parts for these?

Thanks again for all your help.

...Bill

(well, tried to edit the misspelling in the title, doesn't let me do that)
Bill G

Bill, all mg "T" series cars came from the factory with 12v positive ground. Your car was never a 6 volt car. The wiper motor is not polarity dependant. The voltage required for the motor should be stamped on the sheet metal back plate (not the top cover). I suggest cleaning the switch points under the top cover. They are often dirty and, unless clean, will prevent the motor from running.
I have a bunch of wiper motors and parts.
Cheers, Hugh
H.D. Pite

Thanks Hugh. Not sure why I thought it was 6v originally, thanks for educating me. You can tell I am still learning. I'll check the contacts. Good to know you're a good source if I need parts!

Thanks, Bill
Bill G

bill, if you get to the point where you determine there is a short in the windings and it is NOT in the first few turns, you can rewind them yourself. regards, tom
tom peterson

Bill, is the motor mounted on the windscreen, or is free and sitting the bench? Since they are not polatity sensitive it doesn't matter which wire connects to which terminal. But note that the wiper motor is not grounded to the power circuit unless it has an internal short. It's much easier to troubleshoot if it's on the bench. As Hugh pointed out, the switch contacts under the cover are a pain. With the cover off you can see how the switch lever closes the contacts by allowing them to close by themselves. See if your motor runs with the switch contacts closed. Bud
Bud Krueger

Bill, there's a series of Lucas Tech Topics that you can download, including some good info on wiper motors. Unfortunately, I can't remember where to find them. So -- I'm going to cheat and send you a link to a page on my website, http://www.ttalk.info/Lucas08_Wipers_Horns_Lighting.pdf. Hopefully, the copyright folks won't catch me. If somebody knows the Lucas link I wish you'd jump in. Bud
Bud Krueger

Tom... Have you seen any instructions on the web for rewinding? I'd be up for that if necessary.

Bud...Its still mounted. I will remove it and troubleshoot when I get a chance. Might be a few weeks before I can get back to it. The Lucas Correspondence course is excellent. There's not a lot though on the CW wiper motor although its nice to have the pictorial and to know about the shear pins! But the motor has to run for it to be those :-) Its doesn't speak of polarity (I guess because it doesn't matter).

Thanks all
Bill G

Bill, I think that you can remove the cover while the motor is mounted. There are two screws, one on either end of the cover, plus the one holding the actuator on. That would allow you to close the switch and see if the motor runs. (You'll have to forgive me, I'm a retired EE.) Bud
Bud Krueger

Bud, thats a coincidence, I also am a retired EE. Probably why British cars and Lucas doesn't scare us too much. I can't get back to work on the car for a couple weeks, its in temporary storage at my son's about 150 miles away. I need to move it to my home...soon. Just trying to get my arms around the solutions to the problems I uncovered in a visit last week.

Appreciate the guidance and help!

Bill
Bill G

Bill, i'm not a sparks guy and i did it myself last year. there is a thread in the archives about wire size and number of windings, but as an EE you will probably be able to determine the wire gauge using your mark I eyeball. i just fabricated a small fixture with a hand crank...i will add, an arm with a counting mechanism would have been nice. just take your time, count the turns and keep the wire VERY neat as you wind it..just because it is so boring i spread the job over two afternoons. regards, tom
tom peterson

Hi Bill,
the link is www.healey6.com/bulletin
It gives all the info you need for Lucas maintenance.
Ray TF 2884
Ray Lee

Thanks, Ray. I hoped that somebody would remember it. Must get that link onto Ttalk. Bud
Bud Krueger

Thank you guys, you are all a great help!

Hopefully it will be something simple like the switch.

Tom...I will search the archives (my quick view didn't find it from the title) to see if I can find the important things as you stated, wire size and number of windings, maybe even winding pattern. Did you do both the armature and the field windings?

Ray...excellent web link. THANK YOU!

Bill
Bill G

bill, it was just the field windings. i will be out of the country/offline for two weeks otherwise i would check the archives myself. good luck. regards, tom
tom peterson

Tom,

Found your referenced archive link.

http://www2.mg-cars.org.uk/cgi-bin/or17?runprog=mgbbs&access=&mode=archiveth&subject=8&subjectar=8&thread=201107251548219363

Hopefully its the switch, but if not I would rather have the field windings to replace than the armature.
Thanks...Bill
Bill G

reporting back....evidently the trailer ride for the MG out to my home fixed the wiper motor. Working fine now, just had to tighten the nut on the main wiper shaft. I'll have to keep an eye on it. It was not running before, it wasn't just the loose nut. hmmmm

I do need to put original type wiring back in as DPO used speaker wire. Any easy way to route that thru the window frame. Does the frame easily come apart? I see a couple screws at the top, so those hold on the side piece of the window frame or are there additional screws underneath?

Thanks
Bill
Bill G

reporting back....evidently the trailer ride for the MG out to my home fixed the wiper motor. Working fine now, just had to tighten the nut on the main wiper shaft. I'll have to keep an eye on it. It was not running before, it wasn't just the loose nut. hmmmm

Bill
Bill G

Bill: You pretty much have to take the entire windshield apart to change the wire. You have to take off the top and right frames. The wire is fed into those channels and you cannot fish it through.
Chris Couper

bill, if you have a wire in place could you solder the correct wire to the ends and carefully pull the wire? regards, tom
tom peterson

tom, the wire is quite firmly held in the windscreen frames. Bud
Bud Krueger

Chris - Do you know if there are directions anywhere for disassembling the window frame?

Tom, Bud...it was a great idea to pull a wire thru, but I guess that won't work.
Bill G

See http://www.dbraun99.com/mgtd15470/Windscreen%20%26%20Wiper%20Motor/Windscreen/Index.html
That's Dave Braun's site. Take a good look in the archives. There has been a lot of info on the subject.
Horst Schach's book has a section on doing it. Bud
Bud Krueger

Biggest point we can all make is take careful note of what screws came out of what holes. There are some tiny differences and if you put the wrong screw in a hole you can break your windshield. Maybe not that instant but it will happen.
Chris Couper

I'll check Dave B's pages, Thanks. I do need to get a copy of Horst Schach's book...pricey but probably worth it.
Bill G

Bill,
This might help you too - from the Total free totally T type online mag this month.

http://ttypes.org/ttt2/new-life-for-an-old-wiper-motor

Great publication.
R D Jones

This thread was discussed between 05/09/2013 and 18/09/2013

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