Morris Minor Owners Club

Hello all! My 1959 Minor (acquired only a couple of months ago) has an odd tendency to start its own wipers upon engine ignition. They then run on for one or two sweeps (sometimes longer) before giving up and resting again. The wipers work perfectly aside from this. Since the motor and switch work fine I imagine it will be to do with the wiring? Unless anyone else has known this sort of fault to be caused by something else?

I'm not much of a sparkie but would like to get it mended. It's not terribly important, but it just seems wrong to have the car waving her wipers at me for no good reason

Over-eager wipers. Now there's an expression you don't often hear in relation to Morris Minors.

Perhaps the park circuit is playing up, Mark the top cover position take it off and check brass contact and ring. The wipers work by earthing through the switch or this contact until it reaches the gap in the track = park position.ign is providing the positive when key on.

That's pretty strange, all I can imagine is a problem with the 'Self Park' aspect in the Wiper motor.

The Wipers are powered as soon as you turn the key on, when you operate the switch, you're actually providing the Earth to the motor.
So there must be a stray earth somehow being applied to the motor.

Great minds thinking alike Berni, we both posted the same answer

Hmm interesting, thanks all I'll have a look for rogue earths and self park issues on the weekend.

The wipers need the ignition on to self park, if you have the wipers on and switch the ignition off they will not self park properly...only doing so when you switch the ignition on ??

John ;-)

Sleeper wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 8:05 am The wipers need the ignition on to self park, if you have the wipers on and switch the ignition off they will not self park properly...only doing so when you switch the ignition on ??

John ;-)

Yes she only has wiper incontinence when ignition is on! It waved at me this morning as I pulled up to some lights

I think it will probably be that something strange has happened to the earth, as others have suggested.

Disconnect the parking earth wire and see if problem stops, you then know its the park system. You will not have the red connector!
If the issue continues then the earth wire to the switch is going to ground occasionally or the switch itself is faulty.

Hello all, I found another explanation of why this goes on - my car has trafficators and a straightforward loose wire on the trafficator switch causes a variety of electrical weirdness if jogged, including wiper action. Could also be an earth problem, too, so I will update further as I diagnose!