FE-FC Holden Discussion Forum

 ;D I know this may be an ongoing questions but I am upgrading the wipers on my FC,
Have an electric motor out of an eh from memory, need help on what needs to be done with the link between the motor and wiper arms so I can get them working , not having much luck any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Basically it won't work because the EH motor (and all other motors from EJ to Commodore) work by rotating the arms around continuously. The wiper arms on the outside of the body work in parallel.
The FE to EK models are different and work opposing each other and the drive moves the arms back and forth.
The good news is that EK has electric wipers and these are what you need to get.
The bad news is that EKs have been supplying FX's FJ's FE's FC's & FB's for years now and they are getting thin on the ground (and expensive).
If you are buying on eBay DON'T I repeat DON'T buy one without the 2 small drive arms on the back. The motor is useless without them. Don't even think "I'll just buy the motor now and pick up the arms somewhere" you won't, you'll end up buying another complete motor to get them.

Now once you have got an EK motor, this can be upgraded to 2 speed with a later motor. The EH can be used, XP Falcon can be used, Commodore can be used, even AS Telstar can be used, but unless you have the EK baseplate and 2 small drive arms, you are sunk.

Hope this has been enlightening / entertaining

You could try contacting nascohunter on this forum, he may have one.

Ken

Thanks ill start the hunt

Have a look at the top of this page, Brett,s wiper conversion, it sets out how to do a c/dore two speed changeover. I'm doing it now and it's not that hard, made my own baseplate to get the correct angle as the ek plate is a little out when you line up the mounting holes.
Regards Jim

I have been messing with old holdens for many years and thought this might help.A lot of english cars in 60,s and 70,s had similar spline on the spindles as fe fc holdens therefore a  usable mod. Some [lots] had a flexible drive cable and outer [jaguar,morris 1100'austin ect]others had cable inside steel tube ,much like fuel pipe [mini].I am running the morris wiper motor on my hotrod with early holden wiper arms.If you go down this path you may notice that some of the english cars had much sturdier wipers[arms] than the fe fc holdens and are a great option.These were very popular options back in the 60,s on fx fj and hotrods and are now an off the shelf item but quite expensive.Go to a swapmeet and talk to the english car guys.Hope this helps  .

I have a landrover one here it uses the same spline as FC

i am using and aftermarket kit and will mount it down in the pillar its fully adjustable and flexible line 200 and something dollars.

hi, if you want the " ultimate "conversion speak to andrew@ auto spiral gear.he has manufactured some using vn style motors,and can supply parts as he has jigged up for them.i have no affiliation with this business.email  autospiralgear@internode on.net        in adelaide.

What would the ultimate wiper conversion cost???
I am rapidly running out of time and still need to get wipers and demister/heater organised...
At this point I think I'd love to somehow pay the extra and just get a bolt in kit ( if they exist)
any thoughts? anybody?

Thanks,
Shannon

Hey mate I have a VS motor ($20 from gumtree if someone is wrecking) Get your self the EK mounting plate and it mounts straight up.
I am using the same switch as in BRETT F's conversion so the VT wirining I have will plug straight in.
Can send pics if needed

thanks mate, pictures are going to be a big help. I have a VN motor here from my doner car, and most of the wiring (although I don't intend to use the wiring at this stage). Just getting easily confused as to which parts from what car are needed :)

Unless you use the English system, which is brilliant by the way, you must have an EK baseplate and the 2 small drive arms. I think the Castle auto electrics kit has remanufactured base plate and drive arms.
There is an EK motor and drive arms on eBay at the moment, this would be all you need with your current motor as long as wiring and switch are similar to Brett's.

Ken

Check this out...
http://fefcholden.org.au/forum/index.php/topic,18113.0.html

Thanks mcl1959 and NES304,

I checked out the motor on ebay and I'm bidding on it.
Brett_f's wiper conversion looks really good.
Thanks again for the push in the right direction guys.

just an update on supplier of fc wiper motor conversion kits.  correct email address is awjl.ortlepp@bigpond.com.au or phone 0408 899 723 (andrew).
spoke to him this morning, he still has kits available.
phil

A few years ago i put the two speed eh preslite motor [housing and armature] onto the ek preslight geardrive housing to make a two speed ek motor.Works a treat.Lots of jap cars in the early to mid 80s use the same small triangle bolt pattern as ek datsun bluebirds ,mitsubishi colt ,some pulsars ect. but be careful as unlike early holdens the motors park using a series of  positive  plates hence the need for the aftermarket switch .The old holden motor is turned off  because the switch is a secondary earth and the park is produced as the strikeplate in the gear runs off the end .Some of these motors such as the commadore have a very short splined shaft and can be difficult to fit so it might be worth looking at trying to enlarge the oval hole in the firewall and put the mounting plate on the inside.

HSV001,
Without getting into a heated argument you are wrong in saying the commodore motor is too difficult to fit. Using your alternative by fitting the mounting plate internally would end up becoming all too hard for some as there is far more work involved. Unless you have done my conversion you should not make such comments to people who are already struggling with comments put on here to help them (by the way these have all been positive). All comments should be constructive unless proven otherwise. These people are trying to get the best information that will allow them to continue with their dream whilst also being affordable. Whilst the easiest and simplest installation is the EK two speed set up these are becoming obsolete. Whilst the other combinations you have suggested would also work in my opinion the work i put in to finding a satisfactory switch for this combination makes this one of the best and cheapest options.  I believe previous comments by members who have or are currently fitting this combination would also agree that this is a good and cheap combination to purchase and fit.
Brett

Sorry everyone if I upset the status quo .I was not bagging anyones [great ?] ideas,and yes i have used this simple conversion .Nevertheless if I use this conversion I remove the lip around the hole in the firewall,use a thinner gasket and sometimes even remove some of the gearhousing for a closer fit.I can send in a photo showing the difference in the shaft lengths if you like.I said" can be difficult to fit" this was only meant as a heads-up eg.sound proofing ect.Sorry also for pointing out that the bolt pattern on the commadore is not exclusive.A few years ago on a red motor conversion I could not fit a commadore wiper motor behind the stovepipe of the early red .As there is 3 holes 120 degrees per rotation it was throw the pipe or change the motor.I found a Mitsubishi colt motor ,it was approx.2/3 the size and fitted perfectly as does the 1981 datsun bluebird motor I currently run on my fc,[it looks identical to the commadore,not surprising when you consider both are preslite and both vehicles were assembled in Australia].My other point was this.The aftermarket switch you so rightly mentioned is necessary because the original switch is a earth switch and is overridden by the earth plate that homes the wipers.The switch you and I use switches  the  power to the positive plates found on the drivegear inside the motor and is homed as the gear turns past these plates and similar to the earth plate no longer contacts.One last idea.[If you grind [shape] the knob you can glue it inside an original chrome outer bezel it then look better than  original but be careful, if you wash excess glue with thinners you lose the icon.In summary Brett if you need photos of any of this I can supply as I have all these parts, also have a hotrod running morris cable drive with holden wiper arms .Cheers.         

I will agree with hsv's comment about insulation clearance, there are in fact 2 different Sets of EK drive arms, one has a far bigger offset than the other.
This means that if you get an EK motor with the primary arm that does not have much offset then you will probably run into clearance issues with the internal wiper arms hitting the insulation.

I get around this by cutting the primary drive arm in half and extending its offset by about 15 mm.

As I said much earlier, there are plenty of motors which will fit the 3 bolt hole arrangement on the EK baseplate. Look for Preslite motors which have a tapered spline drive which will fit the EK drive arms. The XD Ford motor for instance will bolt up but the drive spline is different. I used Telstar motors on hundreds of conversion I made until Telstars themselves are now hard to find.

I like Brett's conversion because it uses an easily obtainable motor, the wiring is sorted and the switch is brand new.

Ken

HSV001,
Sorry if i came on too hard. The novices (no pun intended) on here are struggling with things that dont come naturally to them. This forum has and will remain far above other car forums due to the input from people who have racked their brains to find not only cheap solutions but also solutions that members  can attempt themselves without thinking this is all too hard. Your ideas are great but to some may be beyond their experience. My solution shows a simple and effective alternative to what they seek and all the leg work has been done, sourced and put together with photos so hopefully it makes for any replacement to the current vacuum system acheivable by most. Let me say i make no money for this and have never asked for any. Im not saying mine is the best alternative but it is not difficult by any means. You like all of us are entitled to your opinions but i was disappointed in the fact you said it was "difficult". On a lighter note i did spend many sleepless hours trying to rework an original switch only to locate the ideal switch on the internet after testing many others which were basically crap. Keep up the comments mate but just remember these "novices" are relying on us to guide them. We will catch up sometime and have a beer.
Brett

Brett and HSV,

To both of you (and many many others on this forum) - very well spoken.  I would not have made nearly as much progress on JOX on my own without the valuable input of people like yourselves who post stuff on this forum to help others.  You guys have been there and done that and it is fantastic that you are prepared to share your knowledge.  That is what makes this forum the best in the business - keep it up.

Cheers,
Graeme

Graeme and Brett, the value of this forum is not only to show what we have done or are doing but to suggest new ideas.As times move on parts become rare and new solutions[modifications] will be needed.The ek wiper linkage,the hr front end,5x108 cpd wheels and brakes,Torana and commadore steerings[non power],tin commadore sumps,[mod for v6]eh,lc.lj sumps for red,blue black motors ect. all these units are disappearing faster than us old buggers that used them.Forums like this one are a priceless resource and dinosaurs like me have an obligation to pass this information while we have the grey matter to do so.Cheers. 

Well said and too true...

I am aware that at times i can be prejudged as arrogant but for the most part this is just lack of patients.Could someone answer this question.All my life i have had early holdens ,mostly FE,FC,and the other afternoon,coming home ,my wipers stopped.On inspection i found the first EK drive bracket bolt had loosened ,not a real issue.Driving home without wipers i had decided i should make a spare wiper unit so started going through dozens of containers of old parts and found a mounting plate from a FE FC vacuum unit with the driveshaft still in it,some old drive brackets,not sure what they are off,and a VR commadore wiper motor.After removing the drive shaft from the FC wiper mounting plate and drilling the right holes i bolted the motor on at the correct angle removing some of the housing to allow extra clearance on the firewall. Simple so far right?Here is where we move off the grid.For decades i have watched my wipers and those of other FE FC owners slap the windshield rubber or chrome at the ends of the stroke and am wondering if this is because of the FC having a smaller windshield than the EK ie. are the drive brackets[short arms bolted to the motor]too long,giving a longer wipe?I had previously thought that it was just play in the wiper linkage, but having just restored a FC and replacing every component am now not so sure of the EK brackets .So i have copied the cranking distance and offset of the FC unit.Second question is , being that the VR motor has provision for interim wiper,can i use the switch out of a XE falcon[ZH fairlane]to actuate the interim wiper.I am guessing the HELP marked terminals are high,earth,low, park ,power would be the B terminal and the centre W obviously the washer is this correct and will it work?Has anyone tried these mods or have i fallen into the obis?

slapping wipers...

try swapping the wipers over on the offset linkage, it's likely they are connected to the wrong ends.

In my opinion, the problem with most EK conversions into FC is that the nylon fittings from the EK arms are not used and that FC drive arms tend to get very sloppy when worn. All the cars I have converted to electric (either single or 2 speed) do not have the problem you describe. FC drive arms have soft rubber inserts which are not suitable for the electric motor. This is why EK has nylon inserts.
That said, the FC screen is certainly narrower than an EK screen so a couple of mm shortened from the 2 small linkages cannot be a bad thing.

Ken

The thing is i always use the nylon bushes.

Hi all,
I will be posting 2 of the EK drive arms for sale in the other subject heading.
Contact me by P.M. if you need to
Spyro