Installing electric wipers on my MC9 (formerly "What pain in the arse!")

[cody]

Craig, you've cornvinced me to just rebuild my air wipers when the time comes, the electric conversion is way to involved for a slacker like me lol.

[gumpy]

Craig, you've cornvinced me to just rebuild my air wipers when the time comes, the electric conversion is way to involved for a slacker like me lol.

Well, you know, I considered that for several months after I bought this kit. I knew they probably wouldn't fit, and I'd have to modify them some. I guess I didn't really know what to expect.
I thought it was just going to be whacking off some of the old bracket and figuring out how to attach them in the hole. Turned out to be a bit more complicated than that.

It probably sounds worse than it's really been. Part of it is that I don't have a shop, and don't have room in my garage to work, so I have to do everything on the driveway, and the last
few days have been hot and humid with rain showers here and there. That just makes the job 10 times worse than it really is. Also, part of it is the trepidation of taking a perfectly good
set of wiper motor brackets that were engineered for a different bus, and for which I paid good money, and chopping them into little pieces without knowing for sure that I'm going to
be able to reassemble them into something functional.

But I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now. Just hoping it's not the locomotive heading for me.   

I could do the next one a whole lot easier, though. If I could find a supplier for the motor and gearbox and switches, I could probably come up with a fairly simple kit or even templates
for others to use to build their own.

[cody]

My drivers side wiper works great but my passenger side is a little difficult and I think it may have some problems with being gummed up, I did pick up another air wiper from a friend up here that run coaches like BK does so I could take it apart and see what makes it tick, once I get a good idea on how it is designed to work I'll spend some time rebuilding mine, Bob Houle at superior coach, they do charters up here, said in all likelyhood a good cleaning and some new O-rings would make them happier than they've been in years, while I'm tinkering I need to putter with my windshield washers, the spouts are on the front and the washer bottle is down in the compartment under my seat but there is no tubing and no control switch on the dash, only the hole where one had been, so I'll putter with that as time allows. Lots of just plain fun to be had.

[gumpy]

My drivers side wiper works great but my passenger side is a little difficult and I think it may have some problems with being gummed up, I did pick up another air wiper from a friend up here that run coaches like BK does so I could take it apart and see what makes it tick, once I get a good idea on how it is designed to work I'll spend some time rebuilding mine, Bob Houle at superior coach, they do charters up here, said in all likelyhood a good cleaning and some new O-rings would make them happier than they've been in years, while I'm tinkering I need to putter with my windshield washers, the spouts are on the front and the washer bottle is down in the compartment under my seat but there is no tubing and no control switch on the dash, only the hole where one had been, so I'll putter with that as time allows. Lots of just plain fun to be had.

I removed my air powered washer bottle and pump yesterday and replaced it with a bottle I salvaged from a 91 Explorer. It was the washer fluid and radiator coolant in the
combined bottle. I just cut the bottle in half between the two, and next to the coolant side, so it left me with a flange on the washer bottle that I could drill and run a bolt
through. I mounted it in the compartment under the driver. The electric pump was already in the bottle. You could do something like that, and then use a momentary switch
in the hole in your dash to control it.

There is also a kit you can get to mount the sprayers on the arms.

The motors are not difficult to overhaul. I've noticed, though, that the piece where the air fittings are is plastic, and usually cracked where the brass fittings are screwed into it.
I smeared epoxied on one that was leaking through the crack, and that worked for a few years.  The main problem I found with mine was the main shaft that goes through the
bracket was gummed up. It has a snap ring on it to hold it in place and an o-ring. Pull that shaft and clean it and re-grease it.

[cody]

I really don't think its a major project in my case, just something that I haven't gotten too yet.

[busshawg]

I like the idea of a electric wash motor, the air washer pump bothers me more than the wipers, maybe beacuse that is the one that is causing me more grief. Always sprays some at around the 90 lb stage.

[John316]

On the wiper fluid, I went all electric. I used a fuel injection pump (submersible), that I dropped into the five gallon original tank. Then I installed the wet arms, and sprayers on the front of the bus. That pump soaks the front of the bus, just like I want .

I tried the little electric car washer pumps. FWIW, they didn't work for me. I even tried a total of FOUR of them (to per side). They didn't cut the cake. The fuel pump? NICE!!!

God bless,

John

[BG6]

Someday, I'm going to come meet you, Cody.  I have a feeling there's something special going on up there in the woods.   

If the road signs say "Witch Mountain 10 miles" you might want to turn back.  "Special" isn't always a Good Thing(tm).

[gumpy]

Well, I got the wiper brackets finished today. I cut another 1/8" out of the one link and it now works very well on the driver side. I also added a small support to the
brackets and they are more stable now at high speed. I didn't quite everything put back together because a wannabe brought his family over to get the grand tour as they are
in the learning phase of the disease. I think the diagnoshis is grim for them, though.

I also had to run a new 12v feed from the front bay to the front j-box. The original one was only good for 10 amps, and the wipers were showing current spikes upwards
of 7-8 amps when pushing a wiper across a dry windshield. I put a 10 ga wire in and a 15 amp breaker. Should be good. That was touch because I had to tie it into the
A/C j-box and there's a big generator sitting under it, and this ole boy is not a thin and flexible as he once was.  

I'll get it all buttoned up tomorrow and hook up the washers and see how they spray. Hopefully that will work well and I won't have to mess with any of it.

Oh, and I changed the title to be more descriptive of the thread.

[Jriddle]

Gumpy good for you
I bought two Freightliner wiper motors and did some work on the kitchen counter with some Ford switches and intermittent governor. I had luck making them work but not as good as I would have liked. I bought two air wiper motors rebuilt for hundred each. I am not sure that was a good deal but thought the head ache or pain in the arse of fitting the electric ones made it worth while. Now you post this and I now feel better about air but have not sold my electric motors YET.

John

[gumpy]

I'll put some photos up in a day or two and you can see what a mess I've ended up with and decide if it's worth the effort or not. I can tell you one thing, though. the next rain we get here, the neighbors will be calling the guys in the white coats to come drag me away because I'll be sitting out there in my driveway wiping the rain off my windshields and grinning from ear to ear!! 

[Jriddle]

Well if it is anything like here you will not have to wait long to get carried off.

John

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Craig, why wait?  get someone to stand in front with a garden hose!!!

[MikeH]

I didn't quite everything put back together because a wannabe brought his family over to get the grand tour as they are
in the learning phase of the disease. I think the diagnoshis is grim for them, though.

Gumpy, I resemble that remark. Yes, folks, it is my fault that he still doesn't have those wipers on yet. We took up most of his afternoon (see related post). And yes, I'm afraid we do have the disease, good thing there are so many bus doctors around to help us!

I guess we'll all have to wait another day for the end result on this project. 

Mike

[JackConrad]

Craig,
   We checked ours by using the "wet arm" washers to keep the windshield wet (and check washer operation at the same time).  Jack