Another thing to do is add a dedicated ground to the wiper motor. The motor currently uses the bolts that hold the linkage to the car for a ground. I ran separate ground wire and noticed a great improvement on my wipers.
Winshield Wiper Speed Upgrade
I've had my '72 Spider since 1991 and the one thing that's really bugged me in all that time is the windshield wiper speed. To be exact, the two speeds: slow and slower. The only way I could get any real speed out of the system was with the foot switch.
Emboldened by Rich's posting: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/car-restoration/166645-rebuild-my-spider-74-2000-a-5.html I decided to add a pair of relays to the system. I'd already added relays to my headlights, so this wasn't too tough.
I pulled off the wipers and the scuttle to get at the wires going to the motor.
It gets a little confusing here, since the wires change color at the connector plug.
The slow speed wire is the blue one that comes from the harness and is green going to the motor. The fast speed wire is the gray wire that comes from the harness and is red going to the motor. Note that these are the factory colors.
I removed the four wires from the connector and after tying a string around them (to facilitate pulling the new wires back through the firewall), pulled them inside the car.
I used the blue and gray wires to trip a pair of relays that I mounted to an aluminum angle bracket, which I managed to squeeze behind the fusebox. I added red and green wires to the relays to power the wiper motor (I conveniently had those color wires in my stash). I used a thermal reset breaker to provide power from the battery.
Then I ran the other two original wires and my new red and green wires back through the firewall and reinstalled them in the connector to the wiper motor.
After all this, the fast setting on the console switch was as fast (or faster) that the original foot switch speed. They're even faster than they used to be on the slower speed. This doesn't change the operation of the wipers - the foot pedal still works as it should.
Apologies to Papajam: here's his wiring diagram, with only the necessary components for this application. I'll add a picture when my camera battery is recharged.
My next project will be doing the same for the heater blower motor, which should be much simpler, since there are only two wires going to it.
Michael
'72 Spider
Emboldened by Rich's posting: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/car-restoration/166645-rebuild-my-spider-74-2000-a-5.html I decided to add a pair of relays to the system. I'd already added relays to my headlights, so this wasn't too tough.
I pulled off the wipers and the scuttle to get at the wires going to the motor.
It gets a little confusing here, since the wires change color at the connector plug.
The slow speed wire is the blue one that comes from the harness and is green going to the motor. The fast speed wire is the gray wire that comes from the harness and is red going to the motor. Note that these are the factory colors.
I removed the four wires from the connector and after tying a string around them (to facilitate pulling the new wires back through the firewall), pulled them inside the car.
I used the blue and gray wires to trip a pair of relays that I mounted to an aluminum angle bracket, which I managed to squeeze behind the fusebox. I added red and green wires to the relays to power the wiper motor (I conveniently had those color wires in my stash). I used a thermal reset breaker to provide power from the battery.
Then I ran the other two original wires and my new red and green wires back through the firewall and reinstalled them in the connector to the wiper motor.
After all this, the fast setting on the console switch was as fast (or faster) that the original foot switch speed. They're even faster than they used to be on the slower speed. This doesn't change the operation of the wipers - the foot pedal still works as it should.
Apologies to Papajam: here's his wiring diagram, with only the necessary components for this application. I'll add a picture when my camera battery is recharged.
My next project will be doing the same for the heater blower motor, which should be much simpler, since there are only two wires going to it.
Michael
'72 Spider
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I have a 77 spider. It sat somewhere in the state of Washington for a long time. I acquired it from a friend who returned from Washington with the car on a trailer. I bought it for $1200 and went to work on it to get it running. It runs good now. My problem is with the windshield wiper switch. The first switch fell apart. I bought a used one from a dealer of used Alfa parts. It lasted just a few rains and it, too, fell apart. I bought a new one from IAP and I can't figure out where each of the four wires connect. On the new switch there are 8 contacts numbered 1-8 and I don't know what is what. The manual I have is no help. Any suggestions where I can get wiring diagram?
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