Wiper self-park

A

Alok

New member
The self-parking mechanism on my starboard windshield wiper has stopped functioning. When I switch the wiper off, it stops at random (usually in the middle of the field of view) instead of finishing the swipe and stopping on the right side.

I would appreciate suggestions on how to troubleshoot and fix the problem.
 
If you have not already checked, there is a 7.5A fuse on your Blue Seas fuse panel just behind the helm station. I had the same thing happen in my port wiper a week or so ago and another Brat helped me figure it out.
 
There are 3 connections inside the wiper. One of them could be either shorted out or loose. Also you can change the degree of swipe to one of three arcs if you want more wipe area.
 
NICK-

Yep, there are three wires on most wipers and they will self park.

The way it traditionally works is this:

The motor is wired hot. That is, the + side of the circuit is always hot to one side of the motor armature brushes, and the parking circuit as well.

The motor is actuated by turning on the switch, which allows the other side of the armature brushes to ground out and run the motor (permanent magnet field motor type).

The park circuit consists of a cam, cam follower, and set of points. The points are wired to the hot wire on one side and to another ground wire (w/o a switch) on the other.

Turning off the switch still leaves the one side of the points hot, and they are grounded through the point set to the ground wire and keep the motor turning until the high spot on the cam opens the gap and the circuit is broken, stopping the motor rotation. This parks the motor and the blades.

The newer AFI (American Foreign Industries) motors may be somewhat different, I'm having trouble remembering exactly, and cannot find a direct answer on AFI's (Marinco's) website. I suggest you get your wiper motor model number and go to a West Marine or equivalent store and copy the installation directions out of a replacement motor box.

Did the factory, dealer, or ??? install your wipers?

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Thanks, Joe.

I assume mine were factory-installed as we ordered them as a factory option when we ordered the boat in '05. That makes five wiring problems with Valkyrie and I thought that I had finally found them all.

I'll check out the instruction method that you suggest.

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
matt_unique":d2eswy64 said:
If you have not already checked, there is a 7.5A fuse on your Blue Seas fuse panel just behind the helm station. I had the same thing happen in my port wiper a week or so ago and another Brat helped me figure it out.
Click to expand...

Just a follow-up: Thank you, captain Matt. It was the fuse. Took me all of 5 seconds to fix the problem once I knew where to look.

I love this site.
 
This may be related to all above. My port wiper will not shut off unless I pull the fuse behind the helm. Any thoughts?

BTW, the factory sent me a wiring diagram for a TC255. I've asked them if I could post it with no response yet. I'll send it via e-mail to those that want it. Send me an e-mail. It will probably be pretty generic as they change often but at least it's a way to start. Get out your magnifying glasses too.

Charlie
 
Charlie, sounds like the park wire is attached to the wiper wire. As Joe said the park is always hot so the wiper will run continuously.

Pull the motor (after removing the wiper arm) and flip the two wires that are not black(black should be ground). Should be a set screw on the arm, best way to get at it is to run the wiper and pull the fuse when the blade is down on the window. On mine this will put the set screw on the side as opposed to the top. May be different on the TC.

Before you reattach the arm, test to make sure the park works and throw some grease on the shaft, trust me you will be pulling the arm off a few more times to get the park position correct.
This process is just a huge pain in the rear

I hate these wipers, need em but hate the things

stevej
 
stevej":t3n82axr said:
Charlie, sounds like the park wire is attached to the wiper wire. As Joe said the park is always hot so the wiper will run continuously.

stevej
Click to expand...

I don't think so Steve. They used to work fine and I haven't changed a thing in the wiring. It may be a blown fuse in the basic wiper wire, causing it to try to park all the time :shock:

Next time on board, I'll look at that possibility.

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":4s94hjiv said:
This may be related to all above. My port wiper will not shut off unless I pull the fuse behind the helm. Any thoughts?

Charlie
Click to expand...

Simplest suggestion: Check the main switch with an ohm meter for resistance.

Does it open and close the circuit when switched, or is it stuck (broken) in the "ON" position?

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Joe, the main switch is a rocker style switch that has an indicator light in it that goes on/off as it used to. Not sure if that means it has power and sends it through but I'll check it. If you look at the wiring diagram I posted, you'll see a little device just to the left of the wiper switches (if you've got good eyes or a magnifying glass). I think that may be the circuit breaker that's in a separate panel.

The wiper won't go on and off with that main switch but when I put in the fuse in the park circuit, it comes on and won't go off. I just need to spend some time on the boat with a multimeter. Sheesh, you'd think that with three EE degrees, I'd be able to solve this one without asking for help...

Charlie
 
Mine (AFI) self park immediately some times, at other times they may run for several minutes before self parking. (I have not torn the boxes apart--but it affects both wipers--and the fuse is good --contacts clean, as is the wiring contact).
 
thataway":xr7yp9lr said:
Mine (AFI) self park immediately some times, at other times they may run for several minutes before self parking. (I have not torn the boxes apart--but it affects both wipers--and the fuse is good --contacts clean, as is the wiring contact).
Click to expand...

Hmmm...mine have not done that before but it may be worth a try. wonder why they do that?

Charlie
 
Mine does all of the above from time to time. My opinion, the AFI parking circuitry is a poor design, period, at least in 2002-03. I believe it's heat related, because if I need to leave one of the wipers on continuously for more than say 10 minutes, self-parking doesn't always work.

My newest wiper (2006?) on the center window has worked flawlessly, so maybe they made a circuit design change after '03?
 
I believe AFI has all the info on how the park works and how to wire
it on their website. You can change where it ends up however I have
failed every time I tried to change it and just bump the power to where
I want the wiper to end. Bob Heselberg Eatonville
 
Do the circuit breakers on the side panel control the power to the switches to the right/left of the helm? I think they do, look at the posted diagram, there's a little squiggly thing in front of each switch, those are probably the breakers on the panel, no?

Charlie
 
K7MXE":1rp9xix7 said:
I believe AFI has all the info on how the park works and how to wire
it on their website. You can change where it ends up however I have
failed every time I tried to change it and just bump the power to where
I want the wiper to end. Bob Heselberg Eatonville
Click to expand...

Bob, a google search for the AFI website turned up zilch. Do you have a link?

Charlie
 
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