The leaves in my alley covered up my drain... Yikes! My neighbor's too! With nowhere for the rain to go in a recent thunderstorm, it flowed over the alley door threshold, right into the garage... Two inches of standing water. Not like the North Sea Flood of '53, but unfortunate anyway. My headliner material was standing in there! Fortunately, Marie rescued it, removed it from its plastic wrapper, and rolled it out -- the edge dried out fine, seems no harm done.
Tonight, I got the call from my mechanic friend in Jersey -- the garage is clear, can I bring Faulkner over? 50% chance of rain this afternoon, 70% chance tonight, with thunderstorms. Hmm... Kinda dreary, but nothing happening at the moment... I decide to go for it. Rush hour traffic in Philly is brutal; by the time I get to the Ben Franklin Bridge, I'm a half hour out. Then, there's a light mist on the windshield... It's OK, I keep going. By the time I make Haddonfield-Berlin Road, it's starting to rain lightly. Then I get close to my destination -- and the skies open! I duck for the cover of a Sunoco station with an overhead, and wait it out for 5 minutes. Then, off again, and safely make it to Bill's garage.
One of the things I never put back in the dash, was the windshield wiper control. I realize that I can turn it on without the knob, but it helps to push it through the dash so it can hold it. Hey! There's a spark -- not a "blow a fuse" zap, but sort of an induction spark -- like, the control's got current flowing through it without being grounded, and induces a current when the housing comes close to dash ground. I push the control back out, and leave it hanging down below the metal of the dash, and turn it off and on from there.
Hey again! The wipers aren't parking when I turn them off. Seems to me that worked before... Could it be, that without the control grounded properly, it doesn't park?
I dunno. Time to study the wiring diagram, I guess. But I do remember this thread:
At any rate, soon the mechanical stuff on Faulkner will be done -- maybe even Sunday! -- then time to take it to have the headliner done. And, oh yeah, Dick -- you were right about those side clips for the headliner. They sure do come in handy for holding the panels in place, while you install the upper rails.
Hmm... Do all SF's have variable-speed wipers? To be honest, last night was the first time I really used the wipers, and that wasn't a convenient time to make an assessment. It appears from the shop manual wiring diagram, that the non-variable-speed wiper switch housing is not grounded, but the variable-speed wiper switch housing is grounded. I think that's what I must have -- the former has three leads, the latter has five, and there were a gaggle of wires to the switch -- more than three, anyway.
So perhaps the behavior will change, once I get this guy hooked up to the dash again -- and the wipers will park. I sure hope so.
I believe you have it all thought out right, Dan. Need ground for variables to function correctly. Gaggle of wires is partly due to the foot-triggered washer system.
Faulkner is home safe and sound in the garage -- but no time today to experiment with my theory about grounding the housing. Perhaps tomorrow night.
But, it's all tuned up for Carlisle -- additional leaf spring, repaired emergency brake (one of the linings had fallen completely off!), leaking exhaust manifold bolts sealed, new intake manifold gasket. And an oil change to boot!
Tuesday afternoon, I'll see if I can play hookey from work and take it to:
East Coast Custom Auto Interiors
1300 Collings Ave
Haddon Twp, NJ 08107
...and see about getting the headliner installed. Then to do a bunch of little things to gussy up Faulkner for the Big Prom!
Forgot to mention! The rain seemed to be holding, so I stopped by to pay a visit to Ed and Ruth Ober on the way home from Jersey. Always a treat to see the "Black Beauty", and to visit with Plymouth folk.
Dan - Two things, I use Rain X and very rarely have to use my windshield wipers, give it a try. Are you installing a conventional headliner or the three piece Cardboad liner.
Dick.
I don't have my original headliner panels, nor the strips that snap onto the rails -- but I do have the rails, and Caravan strips snap on nicely (although I'll have to paint the white plastic; silver will be about the best I can do).
My interior guy will remake the panels, because my replacements are buckled and not that well done -- but they will be of some help. Each panel will be redone in this material:
