408 wiper problems

[Sterly]

The windscreen wipers on our 408 don't work. Power is getting to the motor but I noticed the motor (Lucas 6 wire I think) was getting warm while I was checking voltages on the wires. This suggests to me that something has seized. If I try to move one of the wiper arms the other moves slightly so it seems that the spindles are probably OK. How should I proceed? Can the motor and gearbox be detached and removed from the wiper mechanism? Unfortunately I don't have a workshop manual that covers any of this.

Hope someone can help. Thanks
Mark

[dwomby]

Never done it and IIRC the motor is in a pretty inaccessible spot up under the wing. I think the motor is a Lucas DR3. It should be removable (if you can reach). There's a video here https://youtu.be/8REday6sH3Y
of how to disconnect it from the drive cable except this is on a Wolseley and is easy to get at. Good luck.

David

[Geoff Kingston]

According to the parts book the wiper motor is a later Lucas 75425A but the important first stage and shown in the link David has posted is that if you remove the cover plate you can separate the motor from the drive cable.
This should allow you to check if the cable and the wheel boxes are operating freely. The parts book lists the wheel box as a Lucas 72729A if you use a later but interchangeable motor you need to retain the drive wheel and link bar from the original as this regulates the degree of sweep of the blades.
Geoff.

[Sterly]

Thanks for the info, that gives me a starting point.

Mark

[Giles]

It's a Lucas 6W on my 408 - same as on some Rolls Royces and Bentleys.

I found this page

Tom Yang's Ferrari Restoration

and in particular the wiring diagram here

http://www.tomyang.net/cars/wiperschematic.jpg

helpful when doing mine.

[Kevin H]

Mark,
Sadly the workshop manual for the 408 (up to chassis 7200) has very little information about the windscreen wipers. See attached a photo of the section from the manual. Interesting that it says there is a thermostatic cut-out built into the motor. It reads like it was barely up to the job!

Kevin