How do you use 6V Wipers in a 12V Truck?

[W_A_Watson_II]

OK, I found the paper work from when I bought the wipers (7/2004) and looks like there is no-reference to being re-powered to 12V, so I'm guessing they are still 6V.

How do you recommend using 6V wipers in a 12V truck?

Thanks,
Will

[W_A_Watson_II]

Considering adding a Resistor to Drop Voltage

My wiper motors measure 3.8 & 4.2 Ohms, and I've found a 50W 4 Ohm Voltage Dropping Resistor.

Use one per motor, should do the truck and not overload the resistor.

Thoughts, or other ideas?
Will

[DavidGB]

Do you know what the current draw is? There are various voltage regulators etc available. You need to have some idea of your power requirements though. Just using a resistor is probably not a good idea.
DavidGB

[Gordon Maney]

The current draw question is a good one. The resistor needs to be rated capable of the expected current draw.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Thanks guys. I'll hook up the wiper to my 6V charger and see what a non-snow load draws. The particular voltage drop resistor I found is marketed for 6v wipers to run on 12V but the current is indeed a good question.

Will

[W_A_Watson_II]

My non-load amp draw is
2.0 Amps at 7.5 Volts on one motor and
2.5 Amps at 7.4 Volts on the other motor

Wiper is seems slower than I expected, but with out an arm waving, who knows.

Will

[DavidGB]

I'd be interested in what you have found to accomplish this. Here is a web page
with some other options. http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Electr...ors,15824.html
I have not examined these products closely yet. I asked about the current because some circuits are current sensitive, also using just a resistor alone leaves you open to a changing voltage as current changes (Ohm's Law.) Current will change with load etc. One other thing, most of these devices can end up producing heat and if not included, adding a heat sink may be a good idea.
If you like to build stuff from scratch, this web page describes one approach for running 6v wipers off of 12v in a Volkswagon.
http://www.vw-resource.com/6volt.html
DavidGB

[W_A_Watson_II]

David,

Thanks. The first link looks to be a 1 Ohm version of the item I was considering (4 ohm). the 2nd link was the one I missed while looking over the VW site, THANKS! I'll have to read through it and see which way I'll go.

Sure wish I knew for sure they weren't already converted to 12v, they have been re-conditioned and the motor inside looks clean and almost new.

Will

[DavidGB]

Will,
Sorry, I was just typing (slowly) to say that I had somehow not seen your #2 post when I sent off the Speedway web page with the same device on it. You can of course run a 6v motor on 12v and it will run faster (and probably not live as long as it should.) I am assuming that when you test ran it that it was still faster than a vacuum operated wiper.
DavidGB

[W_A_Watson_II]

Dave,

No problem. Yea it's faster than the vacuum units. I did a quick try at 12v and didn't see any real speed change, but with out the arm on it it's probably hard to see any difference. While I had it on 6V I tried to hold the shaft and see if I could stall it and read an amp draw, but it was more powerful than my hand/fingers, and the amps only went up to just under 3.

I picked up the wiper (kit) in July of 2004 on eBay from, oh wait, I just looked at the paper work, it looks like I got them from PowerWagonJohn! Hey I might be in luck, he indeed might have converted them to 12 V. I need to contact him. WOW, I missed that when I looked at the paper work earlier!

Will

[W_A_Watson_II]

Well, I heard back from John, and it looks like I have 6V units, so I'm still in a pickle.

[DavidGB]

Actually, you've made good progress on solving the problem, although there is one other solution that you may not have considered yet. Buy 12v wiper motors and sell the 6v ones. These are for a WDX style PW?
DavidGB

[im02crazy]

Run in series

You can run these in series which should work fine. Of course, both motors must run at the same time from a single switch. Try it out on a bench test to make sure you're ok with how they run before installing. These will wire + battery to + terminal of first motor, - wire from this motor to the next motor's + lead, then this motor's - lead to ground.

[W_A_Watson_II]

Yea, I thought about running them in series, but since they are grounded units, I'd have to isolate the unit to prevent one from getting 12V and the other 0v.

Based on my intended fair weather use of the truck, I'm leaning to going with the 50W 4 Ohm resistor so I can use them if needed.

Thanks,
Will

[Jerry Henry]

Will,I have the same problem as you, converted to 12v, and changed all the bulbs, put in new 12v gauges, but I am left with the heater and the wipers problem.
I know this sounds a bit extreme, but I am considering locating a small 6 volt battery somewhere on the truck simply to power the heater and the wipers. Obviously it would need to be charged at home, but I won't be driving long distances in the winter anyway.

What do you think of that idea? Jerry