Electric Wiper Questions

Pilotdave

Pilotdave

Well-known member
I'm playing with a 6v Heinz Model 1 wiper unit and am hoping for some advice on two things:

1. Initially the motor didn't run. The commutator slots were clogged. I gently cleaned the slots using a small screwdriver. I tested the motor with no load and with the cover removed. It runs but I see small orange sparks at both brushes as the commutator spins. Is the sparking normal? If not, how would I correct it?

2. The motor drives several gears - what type of grease would be best to lube the gears?

Thanks much.
Dave
 
Last edited:
Pilotdave said:
I'm playing with a 6v Heinz Model 1 wiper unit and am hoping for some advice on two things:

1. Initially the motor didn't run. The armature slots were clogged. I gently cleaned the slots using a small screwdriver. I tested the motor with no load and with the cover removed. It runs but I see small orange sparks at both brushes as the armature spins. Is the sparking normal? If not, how would I correct it?

2. The motor drives several gears - what type of grease would be best to lube the gears?

Thanks much.
Dave
Click to expand...

I rebuilt another brand motor! On the gear parts, I used vaseline! So far it has been working fine!
 
Thanks, guys. Vaseline I have in stock!! BTW, I've corrected my original post as I think it should have referred to the"commutator" rather than the "armature".

I've been doing a little research elsewhere online - saw that scratches on the commutator surface may cause sparking. I'm suspecting that I might have scratched it when I cleaned the slots. Will investigate and carefully buff the surface.
 
Pilotdave said:
I'm playing with a 6v Heinz Model 1 wiper unit and am hoping for some advice on two things:

1. Initially the motor didn't run. The commutator slots were clogged. I gently cleaned the slots using a small screwdriver. I tested the motor with no load and with the cover removed. It runs but I see small orange sparks at both brushes as the commutator spins. Is the sparking normal? If not, how would I correct it?

2. The motor drives several gears - what type of grease would be best to lube the gears?

Thanks much.
Dave
Click to expand...
I am glad to see you are going through the trouble of getting your electric wiper going. Not many do. The next time you are at a show look at all the model A's that should have electric wipers, and you will find few that still do. Here is a tip: I found that the ground to the windshield frame was not reliable even though it was paint free, and I use a "star" lock washer. I ran a separate ground wire down to the body, and mine has been a rock solid performer ever since. It is very nice to have a wiper that doesn't slow down or stop when accelerating or going up hill!
 
Pilotdave said:
Thanks, guys. Vaseline I have in stock!! BTW, I've corrected my original post as I think it should have referred to the"commutator" rather than the "armature".

I've been doing a little research elsewhere online - saw that scratches on the commutator surface may cause sparking. I'm suspecting that I might have scratched it when I cleaned the slots. Will investigate and carefully buff the surface.
Click to expand...

What I did on my wiper motor clean up, on the commutator, is I did not use any kind of sandpaper on the commutator, I used a clean new metal file and gently cleaned it up. Mine was level and just dirty from sitting. I then undercut the commutator insulators after cleaning the copper part, then washed everything with parts cleaner and then Alcohol. I actually made a small jig to hold the armature so I could turn it, holding the file on it. Worked perfect! Take your time!
 
pgerhardt said:
I am glad to see you are going through the trouble of getting your electric wiper going. Not many do. The next time you are at a show look at all the model A's that should have electric wipers, and you will find few that still do. Here is a tip: I found that the ground to the windshield frame was not reliable even though it was paint free, and I use a "star" lock washer. I ran a separate ground wire down to the body, and mine has been a rock solid performer ever since. It is very nice to have a wiper that doesn't slow down or stop when accelerating or going up hill!
Click to expand...

The fact that the motor is mounted with rubber insulators doesn't help much either.

Mine works pretty well but only when the windshield is closed, must be a grounding issue. But then why would you run your wiper with the windshield open :D
 
I appreciate the grounding and commutator clean-up suggestions, guys. I have been reluctant to remove the commutator but have concluded that I ought to do so. Any tips? And one question: how exactly does one "undercut the commutator insulators"? Thanks again!
 
Pilotdave said:
I appreciate the grounding and commutator clean-up suggestions, guys. I have been reluctant to remove the commutator but have concluded that I ought to do so. Any tips? And one question: how exactly does one "undercut the commutator insulators"? Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Undercutting! My motor situation was one of more cleaning between copper segments, rather than undercutting. So in my comments, I used the wrong word What I used to accomplish that was an old hack saw blade that I cut down to the right width to assure there was no copper flakes or copper shorting between each bar. Actual undercutting equipment as I remember, even small manual devices are expensive and are available for larger commutators. If you do all you can to assure no copper between commutator segments and then install all parts and brushes and the motor runs without sparks at the brushes, you should be fine.
 
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