Air Wiper Problem

[Lin]

I just spent the whole day on a list of stuff.  I achieved very little except for more knowledge of what I have.  Since I bought the bus through a third party, I did not get much info from the former owner.  I have called him a couple of times with questions.  He does the best he can, but he seems not to know a lot.  The dash wiring is a mess.  I tried to deal with the weired telltale lights in the round MCI cluster.  I found that the ones that lit were actually wired to the instrument illumination lights.  They are not of much use.  I suppose somewhere down the line I may run into a mechanic that knows how to sort this out, but I think I will take out the bulbs for now.  Although my directionals work outside, the dash light does not flash on a right turn.  I thought I have that fixed until I noticed that my right turn signal was making both sides flash.  I undid that one.  The main project for the day was changing out the air switch for the left wiper.  I got one from someone that took it off a Gillig but it appeared to be close enough; one supply port and two to the motor.  Unfortunately, the wiper still did not work.  Funny thing is it did when I first got the bus.  Anyway, I am now accusing the wiper motor of failing me, but was wondering if I might be missing something.  Is there a way to reset the system or someway to jumpstart the wiper?  Buying and changing that motor does not look like fun.  If it is a lost cause, would I be better off going electric?  Are there matching electric compatibles available?  By the way, this is a 1965 MC-5a.

[Jerry Liebler]

Lin,
    Don't panic!!  Air wipers are rugged reliable and simple to rebuild.  Are you sure it's getting air?  If you can trace the lines, there could be 2 from the control to the wiper, loosen the fittings at the wiper and turn on the control.  Do you hear air gushing out of the loose fitting?  If not you'll need to find out why. If you have air re tighten the fitting and check the other lines from the wiper, one is a vent, if it's plugged the wiper won't work.   If it was working and has quit you can often do a 'temporary' repair by taking off the air inlet line and squirting a shot of air tool oil or even WD40 into the line and reassembling.
Regards
Jerry 4107 1120

[Ncbob]

And don't sweat the warning light cluster. The only light which is required is the low air pressure light and buzzer.  And that's available from your local truck parts store...along with the required placard.

As long as all the wiring (and grounds) are solid you should be able to keep stops, tails and turns working for some time. If you need castings and interiors...PM me and I'll give you some help.  I changed all my rears to LED's...great.

Do a search if you're interested in info and pics.

Oh, mine's a "5" as well.

Bob

[Calumet]

It had been suggested to me to replace air with electric wipers, but Jerry's comment made me think it might be better to keep the air wipers - what is the best practice?

[Lee Bradley]

Both are very reliable. Most of the truck manufacturer now use electric but I don't see a compling reason to change unless your's doesn't have an intermittent funcation and you want that feature. I prefer the non-rhythmic operation of air but thats just me.

[Tony LEE]

"The only light which is required is the low air pressure light and buzzer."

Lights and gauges are good to have but can be overlooked, have blown bulbs, or show incorrect readings, so it is a good idea to make sure the engine shut-down circuit is working properly and does actually shut the engine down on at least low oil pressure and high water temperature