Hi All,
tonight driving my van tried to start up and the battery was totally dead! had to clutch start the poor little thing! i hooked up a new wiper motor yesterday it's a 2 speed running on a single speed switch so i set it to run at fastest speed using green brown and green wires on the back 2 pins + an earth wire running onto the chassis the wierd thing is that when the switch is in the on position the wipers are off and when it's in the off position the wipers are on... that doesn't matter so much unless it's causing the battery drain!

any ideas hints tips??... when brad tested the wiring for the wiper motor there was a dedicated 12v going down one wire (can't remember which) with the other 2 running no power (i believe)...

Its a fairly complex thing to explain and one really has to be there (especialy since the 2 speed Aust. motor and the various 2 speed UK variants are not the same. But basicaly the wiper motor will cause a huge drain on the system if its is puling a tight wiper gear or if the wiper gear box is seized or if the adjustment bolt that presses against the armature is out of adjustment (both too small a clearance and too high a clearance can cause drain). Also if the wiper isnt wired properly - ie bad earth etc. Most significantly if you by mistake wire it to the switch so that both the fast and the slow speed brush are activated at the same time it will run at the normal slow speed but will cause huge electrical drain. (this is probably not your problem here)

First test the power drain - ie measure the voltage with the engine running and all electricals off (positive probe on the solenoids + terminal and the negative probe on a decent earth on the engine for example). Then switch the wiper motor on and see how it affects the voltage. You'd want high 12s atleast at fast idle with all electrical devices off, and atleast approx. 12.4v with the wipers and the headlights on.
If fast idle is below high 12's check your alternator / alternator belt / battery and alt. connectrions. If its ok at idle but drops significantly with the wipers on and keeps droping then its the wiper motor.

Oh and as for the wiring - for the Australian 2 speed wipers as for the Uk versions with the plastic park switch, the standard 3 position headlight switch just wont do - despite what minispares UK might say - they are wrong.
For the UK motors a flick switch was never used as they switched to rocker switches before getting the 2 speed motor. A repro flick switch is now awailable for approx $US50 from minimania.

For the Australian 2 speed motor a flick switch was used for a short while (apparently shared with the MGB) this switch was basicaly the standard headlight switch but in reverse (so that off was now fast speed- the switch was actualy the same but the flat on the side of its thread was on the other side to the lights switch so that it could be mounted upside down on the mini switch panel ). You can thus use the standard headlight switch to get a proper 2 speed + park operation if youre either content with having park at the bottom of the switches travel and fast speed at the top, or file a second flat side opposite the existing one on the switch's thread and mount it upside down.

Sorry, I said it was complex and I probably just made a mess out of trying to explain it. [/b]

Mike I have one of those MGB switches here- it is NOT the same as the headlamp switch.
It has 3 switched circuits, not 2.
1-2
4-6
7-8.
These correspond to the switch positions UP- MID- DOWN.

I still have to hook it up and make it work on 2 speed, the wiring diagrams are all bloody useless for this.

Barney has a headlamp switch and 2 speeds, but no park- and an auto electrician told me NO it won't work with a headlamp switch.

_________________
DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Hi Kevin,
I've been trying to nut this out as well. As you say I don't think a headlamp switch will work as it switches the circuits in a different way to what is needed.
The round bodied OZ 2 speed wiper motor (12AUW 2 speed) is a permanent magnet motor and has 12V supplied all the time. All the switching for park and the 2 speeds is done by earthing the various connections in turn via the wiper switch. The parking on these motors uses regenerative braking to stop the armature almost instantly. For this the armature is short circuited. This is the up or position 1.
The low and high (well higher than low) speeds are then selected by the other 2 switch positions. These connect the low and high speed brushes to earth in turn via the switch.
The round bodied single speed OZ wiper motor is the same but only has one set of brushes.
From what I understand the parking connections within the motor are switched via the different parts of the metal tracks on the underside of the main gear. The equivalent UK motors (14AUW?) apparently use a separate parking switch on the outside of the motor.
Non of this applies to the earlier square bodied DR3A wiper motors. These are also available in 1 or 2 speed variations. Jags are apparently a source for 2 speed versions.
For those hoping to find a wiring diagram in the OZ workshop manual (TP832 1971) the only one I have found that is correct for the single speed OZ wiper motor as fitted to late MK1.5 'S' and Mini Deluxe cars, and has the correct wire colours, is for the Mini saloon and van (Late models) on page n-24. I guess this makes sense.
The MK2 'S' and Mini K use the same connections but use different coloured wires as shown on page n-20.
If you have a late MK2 'S' (lift up door handles) then no luck here. Just guessing but I suspect the wiring colours would be the same as Clubman cars fitted with the 2 speed motor but the switch would be the Lucas toggle sw No 35927 as fited to MGB cars as mentioned by Kevin.
So to fit the 2 speed OZ wiper motor you need the 35927 switch and run an extra wire between the motor and the sw for the high speed.

Thomen
Don't know if this helps your flat battery problem but it seems as though you may have wired it up wrong or your not using the correct switch. You don't need the earth at the motor as all the connections to earth are made via the switch.
There is another earth wire at the motor but it is connected between the motor body and earth but it is nothing to do with the switching for park and the 2 speeds. The motor is rubber mounted to the body and this wire earths the motor body to the car body. Not sure why, maybe for radio interference?

Edit: I think you can use a double pole triple throw toggle switch in place of the Lucas 35927 sw but you have to jumper all the connections on one side together or use individual earths for each position. The 35927 sw is a double pole triple throw switch but the connections on one side are jumpered internally so you only need one earth connection.
Removed reference to earth in park position.

Hope this helps
RonR

wow guys thank you so very much for the detailed replies ill have a look into it taking into account what you've said and ill get back to you!!
thank you so much...

Kev I don't have access to my switch and wiper motor now (for obvious reasons) but I remember trying it and I think I did find a way of making it work. Dont wanna push this point too far though coz I can be wrong (damn I usualy am).

I have a schematic here that the PO of Barney gave me, with headlamp switch but no it didn't work with park- I do have both speeds though. I'm using 850 style self parking method- you park `em yourself.

_________________
DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.