From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Performance issues of vacuum and electric windshield wipers and proposing improvements.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 19\3\ Scan384 | |
| Date | 20th May 1930 | |
| x7732 To: ROBP-from Cy. C. Sam. C. Darr. C. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} C. EWA ------------------------- Oyl/DM.{D. Munro} May 20/30. Windshield Wipers. ---------------- Replying to yours of May 6/30. From the time of my note to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} of Nov. 13 on L.H. P.II chassis and the Verrey Conference of Nov. 29, a fused terminal on dash for electric windshield wipers has been contemplated and agreed to by England. Consequently all I intended was to draw this to the attention of all concerned. England have concentrated on electric wipers for their own cars and use either Robert Bosch or Lucas. I am surprised in looking over specification of equipment for American cars to notice that, in spite of all announcements to the contrary, they have all gone to Trico Vacuum. One must admit that the two small Trico wipers on 404 MR are very effective and generally satisfactory, except that they squeak and are liable to jam ones thumb when switching on. I have been driving in rain for months however, and do not consider that we should consider the vacuum wiper as permanently satisfactory, because it fails just when one needs it most, when accelerating past another car, or coming over the brow of a hill. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} offers a suggestion which I think should be useful in getting a satisfactory electric wiper, namely that they have obviously all been designed for their nominal voltage, i.e. 6 or 12 volts, instead of the actual voltage they receive, i.e. approx. 8 or 16 volts. Consequently they always work well at a nice slow speed and quietly, so long as the generator charge is off, but are noisy and too quick when the generator is charging. Could we not get Stromberg (say) to develop for us a wiper fastened to the cowl bar and driving the arms through cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} | ||