Jaguar XJ-S. Manual - part 155

 
 

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There have been three distinct types of wiper motor used in the XJ-S.  In the earliest models, a Lucas wiper was used 
that incorporated a parking solenoid inside that pulled the wipers into a parking position that was beyond the regular 
wiping limit.  Later models used a different Lucas motor that had no parking solenoid but ran the motor in reverse to 
park.  Finally, around 1987 an Electrolux motor was introduced. 

Note that Jaguar made a regular practice of replacing the early solenoid-park Lucas motor with the later reversing-park 
Lucas motor.  They do not simply plug in, so Jaguar dealers were provided a “blue box” that allowed the earlier 
controls to operate the later motor. 

 

BLADES:  First, a clarification of terminology.  “Wiper blade” means the entire apparatus at the end of the wiper arm.  
The little rubber strip that actually contacts the glass is called a “refill”.  Don’t blame me, I didn’t come up with this. 

The OEM blades on the author’s ’83 were really garbage: a simple pair of levers with a spring at the pivot point.  These 
were replaced with some Anco aftermarket units which are much better, having a multiple beam arrangement to 
distribute the load over the blade edge. 

The OEM blades on the ’83 have a pin protruding from the side of the center hinge that clips into the side of the arm.  A 
perfectly workable attachment, but unfortunately largely unheard-of today.  However, it was common enough at one 
time that some aftermarket blades came with little pins that would snap into the blade and allow it to be attached to 
these arms.  This is no longer popular, but many auto parts shops still have a collection of these pins in a drawer behind 
the counter.  After all, 99% of the customers buying replacement blades didn’t need the pins and just tossed them over 
their shoulders on the way out of the store.  Once you have a pair of pins, you’re good for the life of the car; the pins 
won’t wear out, so you can use them with whatever blades you ever install in the future.  Most of the pins are steel, but 
some were stainless steel; if you’re going through a box in an auto parts store, you might opt to keep looking until you 
find a pair of the stainless ones. 

The OEM blades were both the same length, but when I was buying aftermarket Anco blades I installed a 14” blade on 
the driver’s side and a 15” blade on the passenger’s side.  The 14” blade allows the driver’s side wiper to park without 
contacting the A pillar.  Also, having wipers of different lengths reduces the tendency to chatter -- which is one reason 
why many modern cars come with two different size blades from the factory. 

The Anco blades held the edges against the windshield better and wiped better when it was raining -- but when it 
started to dry up, the wipers wouldn’t park!  The motor didn’t have enough ooomph to move them.  This led to a relay 
installation, as described on page 625, which fixed that problem. 

Reportedly the OEM wiper blade design was changed shortly after ’83. 

 

WIPER MOTOR REMOVAL:  Removing the wiper motor involves removing the entire intake grille assembly in front 
of the windshield.  It doesn’t look hard, but there may be trouble; the two fasteners closest to the windshield actually 
involve a rubber isolation mount, and trying to unscrew the nut may just rip the mount apart if you are unlucky today.  
Fortunately, it isn’t too difficult to improvise a replacement mount scheme using a small bolt, a couple nuts, and a 
rubber grommet or two.  It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to rigidly mount the grille, though; Jaguar probably used 
the rubber mount for a reason. 

 

WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR COVER:  Under the grille, Jaguar provided a cover over the wiper motor to keep the 
rain off.  If you’re wondering where your original cover went, you need to read about water leaking in through the A/C 
system on page 463.  This plastic part does not hold up in sunlight. 

Providing a new plastic cover from Jaguar over the assembly would help for a while, but then it will just break up and 
plug the drains again.  The aluminum tape suggested below is likely to be the prime protection for the motor in the long 
run.  This author didn’t even bother installing a cover and simply relied on the tape, painting it black so it would look 
OK from outside the car.  It has worked for a decade. 

 
 

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Chuck Sparks suggests that you can buy a new cover and fiberglass it before installation to render it impervious to 
sunlight.  Just coat it with resin, sprinkle on some loose fibers, and apply another coat of resin.  Trim the edges up to 
make it look pretty, then paint it. 

Jim Belkoff says, “John's Cars sells a replacement cover made out of genuine American plastic.  I think it's worth the 
nominal cost.”  John’s Cars is on page 715. 

Chuck Roach says:  “I went to my Jag dealer to pick up a new cover and the parts/service manager told me to forget it 
and just use an old one-gallon plastic bottle and cut it to fit and hold it in place with cable ties.  Worked great.  Will 
probably last as long as the original.”  I disagree; it’s likely to last a good deal longer than the original. 

Of course, you could probably fashion a cover from a thin piece of aluminum.  Or find a metal can about the right size 
and shape and cut it out to make a metal cover.  Or fashion a cover from a section of aluminum rain gutter.  Or simply 
coat the motor with a layer of mastic.  The possibilities are endless, just use your imagination. 

 

WINDSHIELD WIPER MOTOR REBUILDING:  The housing of the Lucas wiper motor is not waterproof, and it’s 
sitting right under the grille, exposed to the elements.  To protect it, Jaguar provides a plastic cover over the motor to 
keep water from falling on it.  There are also two large drains from the wiper motor compartment out through the 
engine compartment and out into the front wheel wells that should prevent any standing water from accumulating in 
this area.  Unfortunately, the cover is usually history (see above), the compartment drains are often plugged because 
that’s where the cover ended up (see page 463), and the wiper motor has ceased functioning due to water damage. 

If you have trouble with the wiper motor, it’s not too difficult to rebuild.  The ROM doesn’t include any instructions for 
overhaul, but the Haynes manual does.  Note that the instructions in the Haynes, including Fig. 10.101, don’t accurately 
reflect the Lucas reverse-park motor found in the author’s ’83; perhaps they are more representative of the earlier 
solenoid-park motor. 

Typically, a wiper motor “assembly” consists of the motor itself and the gearbox, with the gearbox integrated with one 
end cover of the motor.  The instructions in the Haynes manual talk as much about getting the gearbox apart as the 
motor, but really you can usually tear apart one without disturbing the other.  If it’s the motor itself you wish to 
disassemble, it’s a simple matter of removing two long screws.  Note that the illustration in the Haynes shows the 
housing (it’s called a “yoke” in the Haynes manual) as a single piece, while the author’s ’83 has a cylindrical case plus 
a separate end plate.  Once the housing is off, the rotor can be removed by “unscrewing” it, allowing the worm gear to 
disengage without moving the wipers. 

While apart, remove any accumulation of rust off the large cylindrical diameter of the rotor, the surface that passes very 
close to the magnets in the cylindrical can.  You can use sandpaper; it’s just iron.  Use a phosphoric acid-containing rust 
treatment on this outermost surface to stabilize it and help prevent future rust, but be careful not to get the acid on 
anything else -- the wiring, the commutator, etc.  Also clean all rust particles out of the cylindrical can, which will 
require some patience since they will stick to the permanent magnets inside so you must grab each particle to remove it. 
 Masking tape is helpful; just stick it down and peel it off and it takes away a layer of the ferrous dust. 

Clean up the brushes, which tend to jam when they’ve been wet for a while; make sure the brushes slide freely.  If the 
brushes are worn (too short), replace them; there’s no need to go looking for genuine Jaguar parts, just find any place 
that sells electric motor brushes (vacuum cleaner repair shops, starter/alternator shops, etc.) and buy some brushes that 
are a bit larger and file them down to fit.  Carbon takes only seconds to file to size, although these will require some 
care since each brush has slots down the sides.    The original brushes have brush, spring, brass guide and wire all 
bound together as one piece, but you can reassemble with separate generic pieces any way that forms a proper electrical 
connection.  Note that the “third brush” in the Lucas wiper motor is a tad unusual in that it has one half of the tip cut 
away; make a similar notch on your homemade replacement. 

If you’re not up to that sort of work, Walter Acker says, “The brush plate is available from the dealer.  It is normally a 
special order that takes time to get.”  Apparently, the same brush plate fits either the Lucas solenoid-park or the Lucas 
reverse-park motors. 

 
 

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Usually the best thing to do with the commutator, the segmented copper arrangement on the rotor that the brushes 
contact, is to leave it alone.  However, if it’s gouged, eroded, or otherwise in need of attention, the thing to do is to 
chuck it up in a lathe and file, grind, or otherwise machine the surface to clean it up, and then polish it as smooth as 
possible.  Smoothness is good for brush life. 

Use an ohmmeter to check for continuity at the commutator.  There should be some continuity between any two 
segments, so you can check them all quickly by just connecting to any one segment and then check for continuity to 
each of the others from there.  Also check that there is no continuity between a segment and the steel core of the rotor.  
If there’s any segment that lacks continuity or a short to the core, you probably won’t be able to fix it yourself; either 
contact a motor repair specialist for guidance or just buy a new wiper motor. 

Lubricate the bearings with something that won’t dry out and get gummy.  Synthetic motor oil is probably as good a 
lubricant as you will find.  However, take care not to get too generous with the lubricants at the commutator end of the 
motor; if the lubricants ooze their way onto the commutator, it’ll screw up the motor and you’ll have to come in here 
again and clean it up. 

The most difficult part about reassembling a commutator motor is holding the brushes in a retracted position while you 
slide the rotor into place.  Fortunately, on this motor the rotor goes in first and the case goes on afterward, which makes 
this task easier than on motors where it all must go together at once.  Still, the fact that there are three brushes may 
make you run out of hands; you might use small pieces of wire to hold the brushes back during assembly. 

If the long screws strip out of the threaded holes in the gearbox housing, you can install slightly longer screws and put 
nuts on the back side. 

This being a worm screw drive system, there is a setscrew and locknut on the gearbox that contacts the tip of the rotor 
shaft.  When assembling the motor, loosen the locknut and back the setscrew out a bit.  After the motor housing is 
securely bolted into place, tighten the setscrew until it snugs up, then back it off a quarter turn and tighten down the 
locknut. 

After reassembly, it wouldn’t hurt to seal the top of the motor with aluminum tape (available where air conditioning 
supplies are sold -- it’s used to seal ductwork) to help prevent water from getting in.  You also might want to cover the 
center bump on the end plate; on the author’s ’83 there’s a thrust insert behind the bearing that sticks out a hole -- it 
doesn’t move, but it’s not sealed.  Don’t cover the bottom of the motor; leave the openings uncovered on the bottom so 
that condensation drains out.  And, of course, attend to the cover and compartment drain problems so you don’t have a 
repeat of your troubles. 

The solenoid-park Lucas motor, the reverse-park Lucas motor, and the Electrolux motor differ in detail, but the same 
type of repair and renovation should work on each. 

 

WIPER MOTOR MAGNETS:  Herman Green:  “I took the motor apart and found that one of the magnets had come 
loose and had jammed the armature.  The magnets are glued in with what seems to be some kind of silicone.  Rust had 
crept under the bond and it gave up.  I marked the location of the magnets with a file and measured the distance from 
the end of the housing to the top of the magnet, so I could put them back in the correct position.  I also marked the 
magnets as to their location and orientation.  If they're put in wrong, the motor will either run backwards or lock up.  I 
then removed the magnets and cleaned them and the inside of the motor housing with a sanding flapper wheel in a drill 
motor.  I then mixed up some JB Weld and glued them back in place.  When gluing the magnets in, use a clamp of 
some sorts to snuggle them in tight.  If not, you may not be able to get the armature back in!  Once cured, I painted it 
with rustoleum to prevent further rust, and put it back together.  Works great and should last a long time.” 

The author had the same problem.  The white glue used is apparently just fine, Lucas didn’t screw up there.  The 
problem is water damage, due to the various water problems already noted -- lost motor cover, jammed compartment 
drains, etc.  Eventually the motor case rusts behind the magnets, popping the glue loose. 

Interestingly, the author’s motor still ran with one magnet loose.  The magnet is somewhat trapped between the case, 
the rotor, and the two long bolts holding the motor together.  It can slide back and forth a little, but can’t go anywhere.  

 
 

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Apparently the motor just ran with the rotor rubbing on the face of the magnet without damaging anything.  Of course, 
it didn’t run well and occasionally it didn’t want to start, which is why the overhaul was undertaken. 

If you’re as lucky and the magnets are intact, you can glue them back into place with JB Weld as Green described.  If a 
magnet is neatly broken into two or three pieces, you can still fix it -- just glue the pieces together with JB Weld.  If 
drop a magnet on the garage floor, though, it will probably shatter into hundreds of pieces; the magnets are made of 
ceramic.  In this case, you’ll be needing a new motor. 

If only one magnet came loose, just put it back in directly opposite the one that’s in there.  If both are loose, you need to 
figure out where they go.  Since the author has been in there, some specific guidelines for where the magnets go in the 
Lucas reverse-park motor are given  on page 624; if your motor is the same, use those tips.  If your motor is different, 
try the ideas below. 

Since the magnets can’t go anywhere, you should take note when taking the motor apart.  If both magnets are loose, 
immediately stop what you’re doing and mark which magnet goes in which side of the case.  Installing them backwards 
will make the motor run backwards, and that means the reverse-park system will be trying to park when it’s supposed to 
be running and run when it’s supposed to be parking and the like; things will be all screwed up. 

If you failed to note which magnet goes in which side, you might as well try the guidelines for the reverse-park 
provided on page 624; the chances of being correct are at least 50/50, perhaps better if Lucas kept the same magnet 
orientation from model to model.  If you reassemble everything and it doesn’t work right and you figure you’ve glued 
the magnets in backwards, there is one possible easy way out: remove the screws from the motor and rotate the entire 
case 180º and put the bolts back in.  If there is an alignment notch or keyway, you may need to file a new one -- but the 
author’s ’83 didn’t have any such devices, only an alignment mark.  So you will be deliberately not lining up the 
alignment mark. 

Other guidelines for magnet reinstallation: they should be equally spaced from each other within the case.  When the 
motor is assembled, they should be aligned with the pair of brushes that are directly opposite each other.  Obviously, 
the long bolts will end up between the magnets.  Axially, the magnets should be centered over the core of the rotor, so 
with some careful measuring you should be able to locate them well enough. 

If you only had to reglue one magnet, you know you really want to go ahead and knock the other one loose and reglue 
it while you’re in there.  I recommend against it.  Shove on it a bit and see if you can get it to pop loose, but if it doesn’t 
come off easily just reassemble the motor and forget about it.  It’s not all that difficult to get this motor apart and reglue 
it if it comes loose later.  But if you get forceful trying to get that magnet loose, you’re only too likely to break it -- and 
then you’ll need a new motor. 

 

WINDSHIELD WIPER PARK POSITION:  On the author’s ’83, the wipers park to the left.  Apparently some other 
cars have wipers that park to the right, but there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. 

The XJ-S wiper pivots are symmetrically located in front of the windshield, unlike any automobile on which an 
engineer thought about it for two minutes before designing it.  As a result, the tip of one wiper bumps into the 
windshield frame when parked.  Page 214 in the Haynes says to install the arms so the blades are parallel to the bottom 
edge of the screen when parked; that may work on the XJ12 but you really can’t do that on the XJ-S on the side the 
wipers park pointing towards; the bottom end of the blade hits the chrome trim and the tip hits the A pillar.  Avoiding 
these contacts requires positioning that wiper to park up high so it doesn’t hit the frame; in the “Supplement for Later 
Cars” section, the Haynes actually provides an illustration with dimensions for positioning the wipers this way.  
Unfortunately, it looks stupid and obstructs the line of sight. 

One way to improve this is to modify the wiper arm that points toward the A pillar to be shorter.  This requires carefully 
unfolding the sheet metal where it is wrapped around the strut and drilling out the rivet just above the spring 
attachment.  Then the strut can be cut about an inch shorter, drilled and bent to form a new spring attachment, a new 
rivet hole drilled, and then the strut can be reattached with a new rivet (a pop rivet will do) and the sheet metal re-
crimped around the strut.  A little flat black paint, and no one will know the original design was so poor.  With the 
shorter arm, the wiper can be positioned much closer to the bottom of the windshield.  Note that the shorter wiper will 
not reach as far toward the top of the windshield either, but this doesn’t seem to pose a problem.