408 wipers: do they self park?

[PEU186F]

David

Herewith a .pdf of a drawing I put together some years ago showing the diagrammatic wiring and the electrical elements which I hope will be of some help. I recommend that you run off several copies to work out what connects to what and with what polarity in each of the three different switch positions.

Please bear in mind that this is a diagrammatic drawing, I still have the idea somewhere in the back of my mind that the power is taken from the ignition switch to the motor and thence back to the wiper switch.

I have to confess that I am unable to comprehend why yours don't park as that is the default position but my guess is that somebody else has muddled the wiring in an attempt to get something to work in some fashion.

I speak incidentally as an optimist who, in my youth, helped to completely rewire a friends Lotus Elite Mk1 using a large roll of wire that had been "liberated" from the installation dept. Which resulted in the complete car being entirely wired in the same colour - pity the next owner! That's when I first learnt about Lucas's remarkable design for these self parking wipers.

Good luck - Roger

[dwomby]

Thank you so much for that, Roger. I see why you suggest printing several copies! Not the simplest looking system at first glance.

Much appreciated.

David

[Giles]

There is a wiring diagram for the Lucas 6W wiper motor used by the 408 here - Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration

And the wiper switch is shared with some Silver Shadows. Though, the Shadows have electrical rather than vacuum washers.

[Giles]

P.S. if it is not parking, there is a knurled adjuster screw which allows you to move the parking earth to the right place. I found it easier to understand if I took off the case, but there is lots of grease in there.