Windsheild wiper conversion puzzle..

earthman · Post by **earthman** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 9:59 am

Hello,
I’m flirting with the Dark Side.. gently at first.

I’ve installed the nicer steering wheel from my 70 into the 73 square; this demanded the conversion of windshield wiper switch to the old dash mount style. Now when I cut the power to the wiper motor it blows its fuse, unless I turn it off exactly in the park position. My Bently claims that due to a change in internal wiring, wiper motors from 72 & 3 cannot be installed in older cars, and I think that installing the older car parts with the ‘new’ motor is the source of my grief.

Does anyone know where I can find an internal wiring diagram for the two different motors?? Seems my only options now are A) polluting the dash with a kill switch to place the motor out of circuit, or B) slapping the older motor into it’s place (PIA). Anyone know of a fast & easy fix, maybe swapping a wire or two?

Thanks,
Curtis

[This message has been edited by earthman (edited 12-16-2002).]

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 6:57 pm

When we did this same mod to my sons 76 bug we ran into something simular. If I remeber right we never did get it to totaly work right as we ended up loseing a speed in order to get the unit to park and not blow fuses. Something to think about, you're going to need a 71 motor then as a 70 swings in the other direction. Meaning on a 70 the wipers park on the left while on a 71 and later park on the right. I don't know if this helps.

Bob 65 Notch S

earthman · Post by **earthman** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 7:23 pm

Makes sense. I've been thinking more about the 'kill' switch, and as luck would have it, there are factory punched holes in my dash that are probably for accessories my car never had.

I'd rather look at another switch than lose a speed, the Willamette valley is fond of rain. Thanks!

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 5:36 am

Oh we're still going to fix it right, we just ran out of cash at that time. I've got another unit to install and see if it'll work, just haven't had the time(both of us to get together and fix it).Let us know how you make out.

Bob 65 Notch S

earthman · Post by **earthman** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 4:23 pm

Another unit to install??

I suppose the fact that my car is far from perfect shouldn't make me swerve too hard from slapping a SPST switch to interrupt the +12, but it'd also be nice to be able to use said switch for accessories at some point.. What is this unit of which you speak?

I'll let you all know soon how it worked out, I'm sick of having to swap fuses on the road!

Thanks,
Curtis

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 8:57 pm

The unit I was speaking about is the wiper unit. It contains the motor, transmission, shafts, and wires. Its a complete unit. This was the way I swapped in my 12 volt set up for my Notch. I used a complete wiper unit out of a 70 Squareback,along with the switch and wiring harness, very easy bolt in swap that way. Thats why I said you need to watch what you've got or what you get as there are different units and they use different switches. Take 70 for example,first year for the cap nut style wiper arms, but they park on the left making them one year only parts, and they also use a seperate switch that on the dash. Now we take 71, second year for cap nut wiper arms, but they park on the right and also use a seperate wiper switch. Then you take 72 and 73, these used a cap nut style arm that parks on the right but the nut is under a plastic cap(not exposed), but the wiper switch is now part of the steering column, not the dash. Each of these 4 years used 2 speed motors but with different switches and wiring harnesses specific to their year. So for your 73 you want to find a complete wiper unit out of a 71 (and try to get the switch too) as it will be a bolt in for your car. I hope this helps and didn't confuse you too much.

Bob 65 Notch S

earthman · Post by **earthman** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 10:34 am

Aha! Yeah, I have noticed that the wipers are completely different animals from my 70 parts car and the 73 daily driver (yay!).

Hmm, does anyone have a suggestion on where to look for the internal wiring diagrams for the 70 and 73 wiper motor? Besides just crawling underneath the dash with an afternoon and a multimeter..

earthman · Post by **earthman** » Thu Dec 19, 2002 11:10 pm

"Let us know how you make out."

Fast and easy fix. I took the hot feed to the wiper switch (which consists of 2 wires, the +12 and another wire that wanders off into the under-dash maze) and connected that to one side of the SPST toggle switch I had, ran a short run of wire from the other side of the 'kill' switch to my wiper switch +12 contact. Now, all I have to do is flip the switch to park the wipers anywhere, without blowing the fuse.. naturally, it stopped raining as soon as this was done.

Have fun, happy Holidays!

Curtis

Bobnotch · Post by **Bobnotch** » Fri Dec 20, 2002 5:13 am

Well it sounds as if you made it work ot for you. Thats the beauty of owning/working on a VW, they respond so well to a little attention. : ) Glad you got it to work out.

Bob 65 Notch S