Spitfire 1500 windscreen wiper questions?

[SpitFire6]

Hi,
 I have posted same question on another fourum, but it's down the list with no replies, so thought I would try here, before moving on.

Some questions relating to a late 1500 Spitfire:

What is the correct length of the wiper arm?
What is the correct length of wiper blade?
Running current of motor at the two speeds on a correctly functioning motor?
Correct angle of sweep (Number stamped on big round gear thing)?

I can measure my current, but, what's correct? I have been looking at adding three relays or an amplifier to increase the voltage to the motor. But this is not the question at the moment.

Anybody have the true and correct figures for the above will surely have a wonderful new year. 

Cheers,
Iain.

[Pete Lewis]

from the lucas manual all test are on wet screen

normal 12v 2 speed 14w 15w 16w motors current is 2 - 4 amps

 

if test gives excess of 4 amps remove blade/arms and re test to prove its motor or rack

 

to test rack load with blades on attach spring balance to the rack end cross head and should not exceed 6lbs to operate a sweep

 

dry racks cause a high loading , remove and grease its length.

 

as for blades  there are many adjustable arms to use different legth blades so you can mix and match away from standard

if you so desire i dont have the std arm and blade dimensions , you could call  garth to see what the shop sells but HQ is closed till january

Pete

[SpitFire6]

Hi Pete,

 Many thanks for your prompt reply and data.

 

The 4 amps maximum explains why I had a motor burn out many years ago when the wipers stuck on a dry screen and the ignition fuse did not blow.

 

I have a 100 degree wheel that I will fit tomorrow while checking the points you have mentioned. I'm hoping the installed wheel is greater than 100, as it will explain a few issues; the nearside over-shoots even though I have 12" blades. The off-side does not seem to sweep enough though.

 

I had a look at the shop offerings online and in the parts catalogue. A bit confusing as codes in book are not shown in the online checkout. Also, the online is lacking greatly on details. They do not match. Work in progress I guess.

 

Google has shown me that there are two types of arms, with widths of 5 mm and 7 mm. I guess 5 mm is early and 7 mm is later?

Google has shown me lengths of blades of 11", 12" & 13". I feel 13" is wrong and mine are 12", but 11" would fix one of my problems. But maybe the lengths are specific for the fitting widths?

 

Thanks,

Iain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pete Lewis]

httphttps://www.vintagecarparts.co.uk/categories/vintage-car-parts-windscreen-and-wipers//www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14-15-Stainless-Steel-7mm-Wiper-Blades-Triumph-Stag-2000-2-5Pi-2500-1964-1977/360510069845?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D069fd23e179b4158ae6b6d0a1ea67c36%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D221957400246

have had some excellant blades from these ebay guys , great on curved screen, on my 2000

other sizes available,

on the vitesse I upgraded to 7 mm abjustable arms so a shorter arm with a longer blade wipes more area.fromm

Vintage car parts where you can select width, drive , length to suit anything

Used

do make sure the rack tubes are clamped on the wheel boxes , and remove arms , stick a card needle

on the spline, pull the rack out, turn spline half turn so when refitting rack it runs on the unworn sector of the wheel box gear , to remove some wear /slack

a new rack can also help

as does loads of grease

 

pete

[Pete Lewis]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/14-15-Stainless-Steel-7mm-Wiper-Blades-Triumph-Stag-2000-2-5Pi-2500-1964-1977-/360510069845?hash=item53f0131c55:m:mW5PDo3E8Cmkrf6mLCXuRQg

 

Cant edit on a tablet

but blades from ebay boltonbits

arms from vintage car parts

 

pete

[SpitFire6]

Hi Pete,

 Thanks for the link to  vintagecarparts.co.uk.

 

Have ordered a pair of adjustable arms and a set of wipers.

 

Many thanks,

Iain.

[Pete Lewis]

http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/category/wiper-systems-and-parts/

if you need gears cranks etc or look at different specifications

 

 

The ebay wiper blades have been the best ive had for years

 

moving from the skinny 5 mm to the 7mm thick arm realy is a good move to load the screen

pete

[SpitFire6]

Hi Pete,

 So the change from 5mm to 7mm was an upgrade to increase rigidity.

I have just emailed vintage to cancel the 5mm units I ordered. When It's been cancelled, I will be re-ordering the 7mm ones.

 

Cheers,

Iain.

[Pete Lewis]

Yes there is far more load against the screen with 7mm arms.

you need blades with a 7mm bayonet to match

 

ive never found any aero type blades that despite all the twaddle in the ads that will mate with a 7mm bayonet arm and there is not a hook end arm made with a 12mm spline drive end

unless you have more luck than I have , tried hard to make up a modern set for the 2000 but

they all tend to state suitable but they are not

 

Pete

[SpitFire6]

Pete,

 I'm changing my order from 5mm arms and wipers to 7mm.

 

The www.s-v-c.co.uk website shows two different 14w Wheel boxes. Are the wheels the same diameter or is the pitch the same? Another variable?

 

Cheers,

Iain.

[Pete Lewis]

40 tooth is bigger wheel than 32 tooth so the angular rotation is less on the 40 tooth than the 32 tooth for the same crank gear , dont remember whats on a spitfire but you can mix and match crank gears and wheel boxes to achieve a .ot of variables the rack is a constant pitch

so arm rotation angles are not affected by the rack but its travel from the crank gear spigot throw and the

teeth on the w box.

many racks are well worn often the new is a cut to length univesal fits all

just done the 2000 but the hole in the rack end and crank pin were different , needed to ream it out

 

ive found the ebay blades to be the best ive tried over the years

and cheap. Theres some posts on here about poor squeegee blades

that just make wipers hopeless and expensive

 

pete

[SpitFire6]

Hi,
 The parts have been sent as just received an email;

 

 

1 (each)

213-7-12

wiper blade, bayonet fitting, curved screen - 300mm long 7mm bayonet

10.40

1 (each)

213-7-14

wiper blade, bayonet fitting, curved screen - 350mm long 7mm bayonet

13.15

2 (each)

830B-7

wiper arm chrome, spline fitting - bayonet fitting 7mm

17.50

 

I already have a 13" & 11" blade, so will be interesting, with the adjustable straight arms if i can find a good match.

Will have to get my washer working after over two years and flush all the mould out of the tubing. RainX is good but, proper sweep wipers will save me having to reapply every 3 weeks.

 

Cheers,

Iain.

[Pete Lewis]

let us know how this all pans out ...good or bad .....happy wiping

 

Pete

[68vitesse]

At Stoneleigh on one of my visits to the Triumph show I bought a pair of expensive wiper blades for my Vitesse, they where useless the edge of the rubber blade was not finished still had moulding flash.

I found that with a little modification the stainless steel part would accept Halfords refills which resulted in blades which give an excellent wipe.

 

Regards

 

Paul

[Nonokai]

Just read this old thread with great interest.  I have a Mk2 2500S ex NZ.  The wipers used to be ok, but now they don't park and they only wipe 100 deg.  I am going to have a go at adding the right thickness of washer under the circlip to fix the parking: I assume it goes under the very top circle holding the rotor arm and so pushing the whole shaft down towards the parking switch?

For the wipe my crank wheel is 100 deg which explains the wipe pattern, but I could have sworn it went further years ago.  Are larger deg crank wheels available for my S?  I will also pull out the rack to re-grease and rotate the wheel box splines.  I will consider the ebay blades, but I have a weird pantograph style arm (I should send pics) which makes it difficult to replace the blade.  I just doctor the new rubber bits and refit rather than replace all the nice new chrome bits.  So, I assumed the old (original 1978) arms and springs may be tired which will not help the wiping.  However, a new SVC arm seemed worse!  So, I've reverted for now to the original arms.  Any additional advice is most welcome.

[NonMember]

Is your "weird pantograph style arm" the same as used on Stags? It swivels the blade on the one that parks in the middle of the screen so that it turns vertical at the extreme of its sweep, thus not leaving a great triangular glob of untouched screen. Needed for the modern-style orientation (where that is the driver's side) on cars with small windscreens, like ours, rather than the vast swathe of sloping glass you get on a modern.

[rlubikey]

On 18/01/2020 at 13:35, Nonokai said:

I am going to have a go at adding the right thickness of washer under the circlip to fix the parking: I assume it goes under the very top circle holding the rotor arm and so pushing the whole shaft down towards the parking switch?

Nonokia, on a Spitfire the orientation of the wiper motor is such that the circlip is uppermost, so adding the washer *pulls* the shaft and motion wheel *upwards" on to the parking switch. You can test this before you make the change. Get a flat blade screwdriver and use it to lever the circlip upwards away from the body. Does the wiper now park correctly?

Cheers, Richard