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MG TD TF 1500 - Wiper Motor catastrophe

Well, it's hard to call something a catastrophe that didn't really work well brand new, can you?
Anyway, I took the wiper motor to the workshop to degrease and clean and regrease it as she was working poorly and intermittently... and I dropped it.
The fiberboard "circuit board" that held the brushes around the armature broke in three places.
No problem. I'll get some circuit board material from Radio Shack. I've already ordered miniature copper circuit board rivets to reassemble the bits, and I've traced the three pieces and made a copy in plastic. I've ground off the copper rivets holding the brush bits etc and will reattach.
It's going to be a pain in the derriere, but I WILL get it working again.
Just so that when I'm in the next rainstorm, I'll still see NOTHING... but the wipers will waggle around pretending to do their job...
:)
Geoffrey M Baker

I have driven and will continue to drive, my TF in all kinds of weather.

The wipers work. Buy hey, even in the heaviest of rains (like on the way to GOF 94 last October), RAINEX made my day. I don't recall the last time I actually needed the wipers.

But I admire your fortitude and skills. Well done!

Gord Clark
Rockburn, Qué.
Gordon A Clark

It lives again... my homemade armature bridge worked!

http://1drv.ms/1mNtefq
Geoffrey M Baker

Impressive video, Geoffrey. Now the RAINEX will work even better!
David Werblow

But why does the motor start when you OPEN the switch?
Lew Palmer

Because it is miswired of course.... Now I have to figure out why :)
Geoffrey M Baker

Chances are you have the switch wired in parallel to the coils rather than in series as it should be. Thus with the switch closed, it is shorting the power rather than flowing through the windings.
Lew Palmer

I figured it out; one side had two copper connections, top and bottom, but they were electrically separated. I had just driven a rivet through, connecting them. Result: when the switch was engaged, the motor was shorting. When you disengaged the switch, the motor would turn.
I ground off the rivet and replaced it with a tiny bolt, which I insulated using shrinkwrap, and now it works correctly.
Motor fully reassembled and tested; now I just need to grease the gears and set the gears properly to engage the wipers.
Geoffrey M Baker

This thread was discussed between 05/05/2014 and 11/05/2014

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