Hi Folks,
Just picked up an '88 XJS left hand drive, seems to me the wipers are positioned for a right hand drive (parked to the right). Is there a diifferent motor for each, or can the park position be adjusted to suit either?
Thanks,
Seann

 

Hi

We discussed the subject some time ago: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...sition-162744/

 

I think that if yours park away from the driver that's right for LHD. The blades clean straight up to the driver side windscreen edge. If you turn them on you will see what l mean. But it seems that Jaguar workers fitted any setup to any car they felt like.

 

With the XJS, while the ROM specifies parking on the driver's side, there is a lot of variation - mine park on the passenger side, which is better for visibility. However, both do a full 180 (okay, a little less) sweep - the driver's side wiper does not clean right up to the edge (a 90-degree sweep). So whichever side they're on is not going to make much practical difference.

 

On my XJSs, wipers "park" on the driver side. Initially I found it weird. At least, unconventional (for US market). But I kind of like this quirkiness

 

Mine park on the drivers side (left) for now. Looking for right hand park wiper arms so I can change them. There is a difference in the wiper arms between left and right parking position.

 

There is a difference. The wiper arms are bent in the other direction.

 

What I mean by "difference" is difference in coverage, not the actual shapes of the arms.

 

Who knows what Jaguar did, maybe there were 2 different people at the factory installing wiper mechanisms and each parked on a different side..

Mine park on the passengers side.

 

It isn't actually any thing they had in their hands. It is actually depending on manufacturer of the assembly.

My RHD XJ-S has the wipers on the left. A friend's same age LHD has the wipers on the left. Another 1990 in the next village has them on the right.

Iirc there were several changes in the cycle... XJ-S PreHE had the unit in silver/chrome-look and they sat IIRC on the right. The HEs had them on the left. Facelift models again got them again on varying sides.

As nearly all cars have had a new setup somewhere along the lines and they seem to be interchangeable, people have "mixed and matched" as they want.

I remember reading this but can't remember where.

 

Not sure I know what you're asking.

They are essentially mirror images of each other. If you switch, the drivers side will get wiped exactly as your passengers side gets wiped today. Imagine it as a simple mirror image. The wipers are symmetrical so that RHD cars had wipers parked on the right, whereas LHD cars had them parked on the left.

 

That's what I mean. No difference in coverage, as you state. I'm not asking anything.

 

VEE. I think its the other way round LHD parks right (passenger side) RHD parks left (passenger side) But as you can see if you google XJS photos it seems random.

https://www.google.com/search?q=jagu...cCLmM:&spf=415

 

There is no discernible rhyme, reason or consistency between models or markets on the question of which side the wipers park on as far as HE V12 coupe models are concerned, at least. That is for sure.
Greg

 

I had dinner with a friend last week who used to work for Jaguar, and we were discussing this. His response was Jaguar used what was on the shelf, this is why nothing is standard.

 

That explanation is bandied about quite often in Jaguar discussions and, personally, I don't put too much credence in it. I'm not saying that impromptu substitutions *never* occurred but I seriously doubt it happened regularly. I just don't believe that Jaguar, by the time the 1980s-1990s rolled around, was so backwards in production methodology that such off-the-cuff practices were commonplace.

If you go to the parts catalogs you'll see multiple variations of wiper mechanisms based on VIN breaks and RHD vs LHD. If we were to study the variations and compare them to our cars...considering build dates, VIN breaks, etc. I'm pretty sure we'd find some logic or pattern.

Speaking more generally, service TSBs (I have loads of them) also often lend logical explanations to production changes....many of which applied to only certain cars, or were market specific.....which to our eyes seem random and are commonly explained away by asserting "....they just grabbed whatever they had off the shelf and used it".

Having spent 30 years in dealership parts and service departments I naturally came to know and speak with many "factory" representatives/employees. I can assure you that they didn't always know the right answers and often perpetuated inaccurate information.....either out of ignorance or convenience. Granted, I never worked at a dealership representing Jaguar but I doubt that Jaguar would be much different than all the others in this regard.

Sorry to be contrary....and I'm certainly not asserting that I'm correct in this particular instance, as I haven't researched it in depth. Just tossing out my two-cents

Cheers
DD

 

If anybody cares to research this for theirown satisfaction, my 95 4.0 coupe is LHD and my serial number 199271 build date1/95. My wipers park on the driver’s side which I want to change to parkpassenger side. It is simple to change the park position by rotating theposition of an arm at the motor 90 degrees. Then replace the wiper arms with aset designed to park the other way. They are different the bend of the arm isin the other direction. I am looking for a right side park set. If anyone wantsto trade my left park pair for a pair of right park, just let me know.

 

Absolutely TRUE!
Greg

 

For once I disagree about this particular point Doug. The entire production setup at Jaguar until about 1986 when some new production engineering guys arrived and started to get hold of it, was an absolute throwback to a bygone pre-war era. The cars were assembled by a group of astonishingly talented workers who "got round" any number of systemic deficiencies. A quote from a worker on fitting XJS doors: "In a modern car factory you could throw a door at the car from 15 feet and it would fit. With the XJS it takes about 10 minutes to get a decent fit, then, when we put the electrics in, we have to adjust it again".


Supply problems, using up of stocks of components, etc etc all account for a great many small differences. If a wiper set fitted, and that was all there was, even if originally for a different market, in it went. About 4 years ago the JEC had an article, or even a series of them, on this topic of wiper parking, and they concluded there was absolutely no consistency at all in the matter.
Greg

 

Well at least in the US market, pre-facelifts seemed to all park on the passenger side. 1994-1996 all parked on the driver side (if you see anything different it has been swapped out for the earlier setup).