TR2/3/3A Wiper arms

[mallard]

Both of my wiper arms are the same, any body have a picture of both arms? The book shows two different part numbers RHS-114485 LHS-114488. It also shows the arms did not change after TS12568 which my car is. In Piggott's books the arms look the same in the pictures.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Mine are each the same. I do not see a reason why they would differ as they clear the vent 'as is' (TR4s require the p/s armed to be cranked to clear the vent).

They would of course be different for a LHD car vs a RHD car -- is that possibly what you saw?

Pix --

 

[mallard]

George I think you're correct about the left and right side. After looking at the Moss catalog it shows the quantity needed per car is two for either LHD or RHD with the same part number, my mistake. I see you have the blades parked on the windshield frame. When you turn them on do they stop before hitting the frame and go the other way, but park themselves on the frame? The reason I ask is because I have not figured out why my wiper motor and fuel gauge do not work. They are inter-connected with the ground so I figured I have a problem there. Thanks for the pictures it shows what I have with my wiper arms is correct.

 

[Geo Hahn]

... I see you have the blades parked on the windshield frame. When you turn them on do they stop before hitting the frame and go the other way, but park themselves on the frame?...

They reverse while still on the glass and park against the frame (still on the glass). There is enough slop in the mechanism on mine that I just pull them down below the frame after they have parked to get them completely out of the way.

Are you totally sure you have the correct wiring diagram for your car? The wiper motor wiring in particular changed dramatically somewhere along the way.

 

[mallard]

Thanks George for the information on the blades. I think I have the correct diagram, everything else works fine. I just have not spent the time needed to solve the problem.

 

[TR3driver]

It also shows the arms did not change after TS12568 which my car is.

If you look through the Lucas catalogs, though, they do show several changes. Apparently Triumph didn't feel they were worth documenting.

For the later wiper motor, the ground at the motor is only relevant to parking with the switch off. The ground at the switch is what makes the motor run. Completely opposite to the earlier motor, where the switch supplied power instead of ground.

 

[TexasKnucklehead]

I have the motor and wiring such that the switch provides the ground, or the self-park in the motor provides the ground until parked (there are 3 wires at the wiper motor: green-key switched hot, green/black-to wiper switch, and black-ground). -But as stated, there are differences between years. I don't think the early ones self parked, so power should come from the switch (green wire common to fuel gauge), assuming you have the correct wiring harness and motor.

I do not have enough slop in my mechanism to push the arms off the glass and onto the frame. I may have the wrong gear in the wiper motor, because if I rotate the blades enough to "hand park" onto the frame, the wipe will not be complete on the glass. But I don't find the blades resting on the glass to be in the way at all. Right or wrong, it works and will probably stay that way for a long time. I also have the two speed motor (slow and off). They are painfully slow. Aside from praying for no rain, I use rain-x.

I don't think Geo's car ever takes a bad picture. Even when wearing the temporary side curtains it looks good.

 

[mgedit]

Don't think mine are the same as I seem to recall trying to sort out which one went on which side. Away from home just now so can't take pictures or double check. My car is earlier than point you suggest there is a change in arms. Happy to check when I get home in a couple of weeks. Cheers, Mike

 

[mallard]

Randall is there a link to the Lucas catalog that contains the wiper arm information? This is just one of the things I need to get correct for concours judging.

Thanks Randall and TK for the wiring information on the wiper motor. I still need to put some time aside to get that corrected.

Mike doesn't your car have the wheel boxes mounted closer together? My TS# is over 3000 higher than yours. Your arms would be different than mine.

 

[Don Elliott]

My wiper arms are made by Trico. I installed them about 1965 or so. They have a bend in them so the wiper stays flat along the bottom of the glass in the parked position. This saves the wiper removing or damaging the chrome finish on the lower frame. For every-day use, I have 8" long wipers that I think are used on MG Midgets. I bought mine from Holden in UK. For car shows, I remove these and install the wipers like the original ones that only smear back and forth.

Cheers

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A

 

[Don Elliott]

Here they are in the parked position looking down from the top.

 

[TR3driver]

Like Don, I use the flexible blades, except I got mine from TRF. (Or rather I did use them and will again if I ever get the wipers installed ) As I recall, they were also used on MGAs. Although 8" refills are hard to find, it's fairly easy to cut down longer refills to fit, especially if you get the ones with plastic backing.

Here's the Lucas 400e Master Catalog. Kind of big at 45 Mb, so I recommend downloading to your hard drive. Despite the warning that Google displays, there is no virus, but you can always scan after you download it if you want. I do make minor changes from time to time, though, so it won't hurt to check back for changes. Let me know if you find any problems.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2...YWQzLWI4ZWYtYjEyM2YxODNkZGUx/view?usp=sharing

 

[mallard]

Don thanks for the idea of the flexible wiper blades, I never figured the stock ones would be worth a darn.

Randall thank you for the link I'll look it over.

 

[mgedit]

Yes, Keith believe mine are definitely different. Try not to drive in rain and I find rain-x works at least as well as the wipers anyway. Cheers, Mike