Hi team, I recently posted about my wiper woes, and it appears the motor has burnt itself out…
I have purchased a reconditioned motor, and lo and behold for the 1998 X308 , there are two types, and mine is of course the older one, so it doesn’t fit !!!
Can anybody confirm if the LHD/RHD cars share the same wiper motor assembly? I am looking to buy the mechanism and plastic mount/cover plate and there are a few for sale online in USA alot cheaper than UK for shipping to Australia…thanks as usual to the amazing experts here.
I’m confused … so are you in Oz? btw, I just ordered a t-shirt from there, and am wondering how long it will take to get here (TX) … I know from Jag parts I have ordered from the U.K. and China in the past, it seems to take almost 2 months to go through outgoing customs + incoming U.S. customs, esp. with the former.
As to “handedness”, I don’t want to say b/c I don’t know for sure. Motorupman, do you know the answer to that inquiry? btw, I’m kind of surprised that an X-308 wiper motor would just burn out like that. Assuming it’s made by the same manuf. as handled the X-300s, facelift XJSes, etc. I would expect them to be very dependable. Are you sure something amiss elsewhere in your system (e.g. an improperly grounded or a shorted wire) might not be responsible? I’d hate to see you put in your replacement motor and the same thing happens to it right off.
hi Paul yes the motor and electrics in it are done there is a short when we bench test it in the motor itself sadly…i think some water build up in the little pocket it sits in as the drain was pretty much blocked…the early 1998 models have the wiper inside a plastic panel, the later ones it is outside and protected from water…clearly a change they made after issues. i have seen on another jag forum a USA based guy who relaced the older type with the newer, and it was plug and play. I have the new motor, so just checking on RHD/LHD before i buy the USA one.
In terms of shipping from Oz these days, mate no idea, i manage to get my jag parts from Rockauto in USA and they arrive in 5-6 days every time, those guys are awesome
thanks Robin, I think that is the key difference, but unsure if that is relay and setup related rather than the arms/motor/plastic panel being different? the images from UK and USA look the same
Does NZ drive on the left or right side of the road? (same as Australia, btw?)
I never did understand why Jag designed it so the wiper parks on the same side of the windshield as the driver, instead of giving them a 100% clear field of view. But what Robin just said makes sense …
btw, had some “fun” with Superblue’s (my XJS) windshield washer system last night. I could hear the thing running, but nothing spraying onto the windshield. The low fluid level light was not on, either (and I had just added a jug of fluid a few days earlier). Then, later on, I thought I couldn’t even hear it running when the button was hit. First thing I thought of was a blown fuse (#8, LHS, btw), but before crawling under the dash to try to check it out, I popped the hood. Finally figured out the fluid hose had come loose at the little spliced-in connection (I used a tiny white plastic “barb” connector for the job) I had made a few years ago when I put in new hose. The old black OEM hose had turned into limp spaghetti, I guess due to heat and age. So, I guess it was like trying to suck something through a wet paper straw. I ordered the new stuff (translucent green hose) from one of the usual suspects, and spliced it in as close as I could to the reservoir. I’m wondering if at some point I’m going to have to do something similar with Harlem’s hose (or did Jag go to a more “durable” type of hose by then ? ).
fyi team, i got my wiper fixed. I purchased a fully remanufactured wiper motor from Rockauto for $200aud delivered(best spares supplier on earth), and purchased a used wiper assembly from the UK for like $100aud delivered…we installed new motor into the assembly, lubricated arms and also ball joints by drilling small hole, cleaning and packing with grease…that is the joint where the wiper blade bolts on, and my old one had seized causing the motor to burn out…I now have an all new wiper assembly basically for less than the local used wreckers would charge me for an old crap one…we then spent a while getting it to park in the right spot, adjusting the nuts on the motor so that it works and sits properly…all fixed, using a RHD assembly and LHD remanufactured motor…I followed what another jaglover did and threw out my old assembly which has the wiper motor inside the plastic surround and fit the later 1998 X308 model which has the smaller motor on the outside of the plastic housing…threw away the adapter cable, and plug and play…i can now drive in the rain…on the correct side of the road also !!
btw, I just ordered a t-shirt from there, and am wondering how long it will take to get here (TX) … I know from Jag parts I have ordered from the U.K. and China in the past, it seems to take almost 2 months to go through outgoing customs + incoming U.S. customs, esp. with the former. 
btw, I’m kind of surprised that an X-308 wiper motor would just burn out like that. 
Assuming it’s made by the same manuf. as handled the X-300s, facelift XJSes, etc. I would expect them to be very dependable. Are you sure something amiss elsewhere in your system (e.g. an improperly grounded or a shorted wire) might not be responsible? I’d hate to see you put in your replacement motor and the same thing happens to it right off. 
).
in others words yes the left side.