Thursday, October 22, 2009 The Haunter's Wiper Motor

There have been several posts about using the park switch in the Valeo 15094704 wiper motor (sold by All Electronics but currently out of stock) on the haunt forums lately. Below is the document that is included with the motor from All Electronics.



One source identifies this as the motor used in several 2002-05 GM SUVs.
I don't have any of these motors but located a wiper schematic for a 2002 Envoy and thought they might be helpful if the cross-reference is accurate.

This is a diagram of the wiper motor:



This diagram shows the wiper control switch. It is interesting that the intermittent function is just a matter of varying resistance.



And here is the face of the connector that plugs into the wiper motor. Note that this would be the mirror of the motor pins as they are pictured on the sheet above that comes from All Electronics.

Sunday, November 23, 2008 Bob the Grave Popper

A quick video of Bob in action. A new wiper motor prop for this year.

Thursday, October 30, 2008 Windshield Wiper Motor

Let's take a moment and reflect on the unappreciated windshield wiper motor. Great torque, dual windings, quiet operation for under $20 - this baby is made for Halloween. The wiper motor as removed from the car has a 'park' position that gives you a clunk every revolution. It is simple to open the case of the gear assembly and take out the cam that caused the thump. I mounted mine to a 3/4" plywood base that has proven handy for installing the motor to a variety of props. It also helps electrically isolate the motor case (DC ground) from any other AC prop accessories, such as the PC power supply below.

This is the schematic for the entire wiper/washer circuit in a GM vehicle. The wiper/washer switch is not part of the wiper motor assembly but is included because it identifies the function of timer and cycle switches built into the motor assembly. The only connections that I have used for props are the Purple (+12 volt for high speed), Yellow (+12 volt for low speed) and Black (12 volt chassis ground). These wires all come from a three-pin connector on the motor itself. Note that you would connect either the Purple wire or the Yellow wire to +12 volt, depending on your desired speed, but never both.

Scary Terry - Wiper Motor

Howstuffworks - Wipers

PC Power Supply

The great companion to the wiper motor - an old PC power supply. This one provides three output voltages rated at 10 amp each - 12v (yellow wires), 5v (red wires), and 3.3v (orange wires). The great thing is that the three output voltages and the wiper motor 's dual windings in combination produce quite a range of RPMs. For instance, the 5 volt output connected to the low RPM motor wire produced the perfect speed for the Flying Crank Ghost.

I mounted a nylon terminal strip to the case of the power supply and terminated the output wires there to make it easier to use in a variety of props.