Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Odd- did a web search for the innovations and dates. Came up with this. No mention of the auto washer with coordinator or
short sweep fast mode. Nor the "cam and followers" on the arm towers for the panoramic curved windshield though I dont know if that is attributed to trico or one of the auto manufacturers.
http://www.tricoproducts.com/OEM/TechnologyInnovation/Innovations

I did see Jim D's wiper upgrade write up on his blog. looks good. His pre 55 has a wiper mtr with coordinator and mag-nu-matic jar but no extra port fitting on the frt cover so it seems 54 had auto washer with no short sweep option and 55 -56 has the full set up.

....so it seems 54 had auto washer with no short sweep option and 55 -56 has the full set up.

Correct.

my wiper motor looks most like the first pic HH56 posted.
I have been playing with the wipers.
I lubed all the linkage under the dash. I took the front plate off as suggested here in this thread. the motor still goes up and only returns when I turn the switch to the off position. I doing this with the wiper blades removed for less resistance.
I will go play some more.
thanks

BTW, my car does not have a washer jar

One other thing you can do is run the motor and watch as it stops. Push the little rectangular bar a bit more in the same direction. It could be the motor is tired or worn at the critical spot and just can't make it far enough to reverse the valve. It is also conceivable someone has greased the motor and there is a big blob of grease on one side of the paddle keeping it from moving far enough.

If it still doesn't reverse, I would take the wiper motor off and play with it with no load. Disconnect the hose and cable, then Just two screws and it lifts off the cable parts. That way you can manually turn the little rectangular bar on the motor and watch or listen for the valve to change. If rotating so the blades would rise, you should be able to hear a snap when the paddle gets almost to the max rotation. After the snap, reverse the motion and turn the paddle back toward park to hear another snap as it gets near the bottom. If you don't hear anything then something is suspect. If it does snap, hook up the vacuum and hold the motor in your hand with no load and see what happens.

thanks howard,
I will check in the morning to send the motor for service.
I took the front cover off and everything looked ok. your last post showed me what you are talking about . I'm not sure the motor moving the full range.
while I was observing the movement etc and looking at the pieces one of the pieces broke. So I may as well just send it out for repair.
the piece that broke goes through the middle of the spring and attaches at the bottom. too bad.
I will make calls tomorrow and check about repair.
thanks for all your help.
check my next thread "driving my 52".
I will tell a comical story.

I have a 54 Cavalier with the Trico MAG-NU-MATIC HYDROSTATIC washer system which I have restored to full operation.

This is Trico and all vacuum operated.

Don't know what is meant about "short stroke" but . . . . .

The Coordinator starts the wiper motor when the washer pump sends water to the nozzles. The Coordinator has a little adjustable bleed valve similar to a pneumatic door closer which keeps the wiper going for a few strokes after water stops squirting which gets the windshield all clean.

This is all automatic on the 54 a quick push of the button runs the complete process.

It appears Trico made the system into the 12 volt cars and my car is a 54 Senior model and that is what it has.

It appears the Trico system became more automatic through the post war cars.

I guy who goes by WiperMan has the details on his web site and he provided me with the proper wiper motor, I restored the washer pump, and bought the Coordinator on eBay.

I don't know the progression through the years but Trico made several models.

The "Standard model", the "Instant Action model", The "Mag-Nu-Matic Hydrostatic model", and the "C-O Washer with Motor Coupler model".

I Put mine all together a couple of years ago and it works perfectly.

Jim

Quote:

The 55-6 cars have a small lever on the switch which controls a second vacuum inlet to the motor. That vacuum moves a piston affair which changes the point the reversing valve switches vacuum to the paddle. On regular mode the wipers work as usual but in the short stroke mode, the range is approx 25% less and sweep is faster. Packard promoted the feature for use in downpours.

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The......guy who goes by WiperMan...

Rob Ficken is his name. His Dad, Dave Ficken, operated a factory authorized Trico service shop and was quite involved in the hobby, owning and frequently seen driving a lovely 1954 Pacific.

Yes . These were quite the set up for 1955. Thanks for posting that " Camomatic" ad. The guide bar and slot on the arm are referenced in the manual and were to guide the arm to curve around the curved wind shield. The "short stroke-fast action" is as stated above, controlled by a small cup seal in the the small frt cover of the wiper motor. It seems svc the motor is easier and less time consuming than writing and illustrating the procedure, the first pic in post 2 is, I believe a coordinator style motor but without the "fast sweep" option as the brass post on the toggle cam looks different than mine. It needs to have the slot and larger head so as to be able to be pulled out-away from the pivot and the cam is stepped with "short stroke" cam shoulders in its front and the wider shoulder stops rearward. Here is a pic of a coordinator equipped motor with "short stroke-long stroke".

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