(Almost) OEM Intermittent Wipers for the FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[cult45]

Love ya work Coolerman. I'm in for these bad boys.

 

[caladin]

At 55ish, i'm in for two, let me know, or i can pay,ahead

 

[hobbes]

Something as unobtrusive, inexpensive, and plug and play as this has the potential to be, that would give these rigs more utility (sort of) is pretty rare. Especially for how long these things have been around. I'd think there would be an international market as well. The only driver for lack of demand, assuming long term reliability and continual low cost, would be lots of guys don't drive theirs in the rain any more.

 

[Weber Sarge]

I agree with the rain issue and driving something that will rust with only light humidity - but , I do seem to end up with those odd "misting" times and really hate turning that wiper switch on-off all the time while doing 70+ on the Interstate...
Sarge

 

[Scott11cruiser]

I have been watching this thread for a while now, based on Coolerman's limited review, you can count me in for one when they become available!

Scott

 

[bikersmurf]

X1 shipped to Canada once avaliible
Keep us posted, thanks.

 

[phils40]

+1 to Australia

 

[unixman]

Just a quick update... I'm sending Coolerman another original prototype but have also changed the design slightly. In my quest for miniaturization, the module was actually too small for the wires to fit comfortably. I increased the size slightly and added a couple diodes to prevent damage from load dumps and reverse polarity. I'll send another note after Coolerman gets a chance to do some more testing.

 

[mstauffer]

Count me in for one just let me know when it is available and where to send the $.

 

[myquestoyota]

I have been chomping at the bit waiting for this to become public! I knew the response would be good. This is a much needed addition to the FJ40 and the best part is it's completely hidden with NO modes to the wiring! Plug and play.

As soon as I receive the new module I will test it on my 71. Going in for my third eye surgery Tuesday so will be out of the loop for a while.

I do have a working Mitsuba design, but there is an issue with the Mitsuba controller which can cause erratic operation under the following two circumstances.

One:As Weber Sarge pointed out if your linkage/motor is dragging, and you set the Mitsuba for a short wipe cycle, the contacts do not stay closed long enough to get the motor to move the park switch off it's park position. This results in the wipers moving part way then stopping until the next wipe cycle, which will then move them in a full swipe. I originally had this adapter harness tapped into the low speed wiper circuit, but discovered that made the problem worse. I redesigned the adapter harness to switch the high speed wiper circuit. That helped a lot, but it still occurs. The true issue is that the Mitsuba module has a fixed time that the contacts remain closed that is just too short. Also this module uses all discrete components, there is no uP controlling anything, AND it uses all aluminum caps for the timing which means timing will drift as it ages.

Two: If your park circuit contacts is not adjusted correctly, or the contacts are dirty, operation can be very erratic! I messed with mine for quite a while before figuring this out.

Once I took the wiper motor and linkage off the truck, completely took it apart, cleaned and lubed everything, dressed the brushes and cleaned the communtator, it was like night and day difference! It was so much smoother in operation and much quieter! The main culprit causing the drag was the shafts going through the windshield for the wiper arms. The old grease had "evaporated" leaving behind a sticky hardened mass that was really dragging on the wipers. Then I had to adjust the park switch until it worked correctly.

Even with all that, the Mitsuba still would sometimes do a half wipe. Here is a pic of one I modified showing the adapter harness. It picks up power and ground from the cigar lighter circuit while still allowing use of the cigar lighter. It also plugs in between the wiper switch and harness... The Mitsuba is a good cheap way to do it and even with it's faults it sort of fits in with the quirkyness of the FJ40...

View attachment 1245643

I have a working matsuba unit that Coolerman built me (the one in the picture). It works okay but my quirk is that when I turn on the key my wipers go about three or four cycles and then park, sometimes in the right spot. But it was nice this morning having the delay wipers because as Weber said it's a bit@h trying to one swipe with the factory switch. A 30 year old switch does not need this kind of abuse. Looking forward to this one when it comes out.

 

[Trollhole]

Genius

 

[Bear Lake Cruiser]

@Coolerman I am good for one to fit an 81 model. Do you need payment now? If so that is no problem, just let me know!

 

[Morse_FJ40]

I would be in for one to!!

 

[cult45]

How's this going lads? @Coolerman @Racer65 @unixman

 

[jmphilion]

I'm in for one that takes 24v.

 

[Folkert]

i'm in for a 1981 24v

 

[trainrech]

I'm in for 1.

 

[Folkert]

You guys should start a crowd fund, so we can start donating
Looking at the overwhelming interest for this thread, that shouldn't be a problem to get going...

kickstarter.com or gofundme.com ?

 

[darwink1]

Didn't read every post in the thread but if you ever come up with something I can plug in between my fj60 column and my later, non intermittent, fj40 wiper motor Ill buy it. The 60 column switch has the intermittent function but the wiper motor is a 2 speed non intermittent unit.. (you did say you liked challenges).

D

 

[Folkert]

@unixman , can you update us on the status of this cool little magic box? Thanks in advance, Folkert