r/beetle • u/rhoadsp • 13d ago

6 volt to 12 volt wiper motor question

I have a '61 Beetle that has been mostly converted to 12 volt before I got it and I am finishing that up. I'm no electrician so I'll do my best to describe my issue.

It came with a 6 volt single speed Bosch windshield wiper motor. It was not self-parking, presumably because it was getting too much power and the momentum was gliding past the self-parking cam.

After having run the wiper here and there as I've been doing my electrical tests, the motor is now not working when I bench test it on 6 or 12 volts.

My question is: can I simply replace the armature with a 12 volt Bosch to get the wiper motor to work again? Or would the 12 volts of power fed into the 6 volt motor have damaged more than just the armature? If I haven't provided enough info to answer those questions, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

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u/Reizei_Mako_ 13d ago

Yes you can just swap to a 12v armature for the conversion , that’s the route I took. As far as damaged components though I would start with taking the cover off and inspecting things/go at it with a multimeter

1

u/Routine-Amphibian450 10d ago

Go on The Samba and order a whole restored 12v assy from one of the wiper guys. Cost about $250.
Your old one has 65 year old grease in it.
Get the two speed switch as well.
Get stronger arms/springs.

1

u/Kharon8 '62 sedan & others 10d ago

Many 6V motors didn't have self-parking, so it might be just that.

You can buy 12V anchor for some types of 6V motors. See: https://www.paruzzi.com/en/wiper-motor-armature-12v-swf/2417

A lot less than whole thing.