[T3] Intermittent Wiper Delay--Success!

[Will McCreight <whmcc@attglobal.net>]

<x-flowed>My posts of a week or so ago demonstrated frustration and lack of 
success with the Hella intermittent wiper delay add-on, but later a lead 
or so in regard to a Velleman system suggested another approach (thanks 
to Michael Elliott and his '71 Transporter).

The kit was then ordered, received, soldered together, and added to 
Betty, with good, though not perfect results.  Here are the details.

The web address for the part is:
http://www.designnotes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=K2599&Category_Code=

The receipt and cost is:

Code           Name                                    Quantity     Price/Ea.         
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K2599          Velleman WINDSHIELD WIPER ROBOT KIT            1        $24.18       

The diagram of the existing circuit/switch per Michael Elliott:
http://users.adelphia.net/~elliottfamily/Wonderbus/Stock_71_Bus_Wiper.pdf

The instructions for wiring into the existing circuit/switch per Michael 
Elliott:
http://users.adelphia.net/~elliottfamily/Wonderbus/Modified_71_Bus_Wiper.pdf

Now for the experience of it:

The Velleman kit is manufactured in Belgium, and allows for three delay 
settings (5, 10, and 15 seconds).  The instructions are simple and easy 
to follow, in fact, I had to do very little instruction reading, as the 
circuit board itself is well marked.  Do pay attention to the "Watch the 
notch!" or "Attention to the polarity!" notations in the instructions if 
you are a relative novice, as I am.  The soldering/assembly went very 
easily and quickly, perhaps 15-20 minutes total.  The instruction manual 
has additional info on "installation in the car" as well as three 
schematic drawings, but I ended up following the Michael Elloitt 
instructions instead, as they are easy to follow, include an "image" of 
the rear of the existing switch which makes identification of which 
terminal is which number very straightforward, and contains only one 
error (minor), which is that the COM and +12 connections on the upper 
right "wiper delay circuit" on his diagram are in fact switched relative 
to their positions on the actual circuit board.

I bought a small enclosure box and a knob, plus some wire and connectors 
at Radio Shack, and wired it into the existing switch...the easiest was 
to get a couple of those spade connector "doublers" if that is what they 
are called, which allow you to plug in two female connectors onto a 
single male spade on the back of three of the six spades on the back of 
the existing wiper switch.  That way I could most closely "duplicate" 
Mike Elliott's diagram.

So how well does it work?  The two longest delays (10 & 15 seconds) work 
best, with the 5 second delay being darned near the same as the slower 
speed of the regular switch.  In addition, the delay is meant to be 
turned on separately...that is, if you want no delay, use the regular 
switch, and if you want delay, leave the regular switch turned off, and 
turn on the delay switch to one of its three "on" settings.  When both 
switches are on simultaneously, the relays may "chatter" and things get 
erratic.

I cannot say it is without any problems--specifically, when the wiper 
motor cycles back into "park", occasionally that somehow triggers the 
relay(s)...there are two on this circuit board...to fire again, so you 
may get a second single stroke of the wipers before the next long 
pause.  So a double wipe instead of a single...no big deal!

Tomorrow I'll button it up and decide where exactly to place the 
enclosure box with the new delay switch/circuit board.  Unfortunately, 
the box is pretty big (half again larger than the circuit board, as 
Radio Shack had boxes either too large or too small), and I don't want 
to drill the dash, so will likely hide part of the box behind the dash 
with the switch end of the box coming down below the dash and accessible 
to the hand...it is a rotary switch with 4 positions, by the way.

That is all for now.  Next project is electronic cruise control...will 
keep you posted.
--

Will McCreight
whmcc@attglobal.net
Portland, OR
(208) 661-6262 cell

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