I've at last managed to buy my Mk 2. I believe the car had been standing for some months and on my way back from the auction my wipers were on continuously. I then couldn't turn them off unless the switch was held between off and low speed. When I tried to use the wipers again the other day they wouldn't come on at all and there was a plastic burning smell coming into the car. This smell comes from the wiper motor so I presume it has burnt components in it. The switch I've tested, and its fine. As far as the motor is concerned can it be removed without taking the cable with it and is examining and reconditioning the motor myself a possibility or am I better off fitting a reconditioned or new one. I'm fairly practical but by no means an engineer or very competent engineer. My concerns are that the cable needs to go back into a certain position when refitted due to the park position and also what is the cause of the burn out - If there's something wrong from the cable to the wipers - changing or reconditioning the motor wont help and I guess the same thing could happen again. Any help will be gratefully received.

 

I thin the best way for you to familiarize yourself with the procedure is to do a search of threads in this area of the forums. The has been discussion on removal, wiring and adjustment before. Good luck.

 

Also, if you Google Lucas dr3 windscreen pdf, you will find some manuals describing how they work and how to repair them. They may seem intimidating at first; they are a clever design, but they're not so complicated.

 

My experience is that the motor with cable attached can be pulled together as long as you first remove the wipers, (Blades AND Arms) from the wiper box shafts.

This is a common procedure done to lubricate the cable with fresh grease.

The tubing is flared between wiper boxes so the cable should go back in without getting "caught".

I have done this cable lubricating job to my '84 XJ-6 and '65 S type.

It has no effect with the Park feature of the motor.

Again, the trick is to remove the wipers because as you pull the motor and cable, the shafts will rotate, same when you re-insert the cable.

After you replace the motor and cable, you run it WITHOUT wipers fitted, and let the motor PARK when switched to OFF, then, and ONLY THEN, you reinstall the wipers to their resting position.

Really there is nothing to it, it's very simple.

As I explained in your other forum post, make sure you MARK or LABEL each wire connection from the motor to the Harness, ( A to A, B to B, C to C, etc.) as you disconnect each wire, and also take good clear pictures.

In my S type, removing the motor requires a 8mm spanner under the wing, and another 8mm ratchet and socket at the motor itself. In other words, you need 3 hands.
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I'm in the final step of a complete restoration of my Mk2 and I have experienced the same problem. The wiper motor was working (no wiper arms) and when I switched it off I don't think it parked correctly. I had a huge current draw when the ignition switch was turned on and in the process of trying to figure out where all the current was going, I burnt my arm on the wiper motor. It was starting to smell like burning plastic.
I solved the problem by disconnecting all the wires but I do need to get back to it. It does seem to have something to do with the park function. As Peter said, there is a lot of information available on the interwebs. Please share when you get it figured out.
Good luck
Craig