rain sensitive wiper,s .. any idea,s ??

[shirehorse]

alrighty there folks???
i was having a particulaly boring day in the traffic today when i came up with a plan to fit rain sensitive wiper,s to my van !!
the problem as allway,s is that i dont have a clue where to start !!
would it just be a case of finding a sensor up the scrappy.s and hooking it up to the existing motor or is it more complex than that??
if anybody has any thoughts on the subject then ide be greatfull to know them ,,

cheeRS in advance mike ,

[winterheating]

for what reason do you want them, if its so don't have to keep turning them on and off in drizzle, then the mondeo 6 speed ones wipers are very good and would be a lot easier to fit

[kawasaki_kev]

I think the sensor is located inside the windscreen so could prove rather expensive!?

Got the factory ones on my van and (would personally like a manual mode also for intermittent) I'd say they are better on the motorways than variable local weather. Just my opinions, I'm sure everybody that's experience of them has an opinion?

[carnut1100]

They work by shining a small light through the windscreen from one edge to the other wher ea sensor picks it up and knows all is dry.
the light travels around the curve of the windscreen without you ever seeing it as the shiny glass surfaces act as a sort of crude fibre-optic strand.
When a drop of rain lands on the windscreen some of the light is refracted outwards and never reaches the sensor whereupon the car's computer decides the windscreen is wet and switches on the wipers.
Would NOT be an easy retrofit, but damn it would be cool if you could do it!

[mikke]

Rain-x is far cheaper lol

[carnut1100]

Very true......I use Rain-X all the time, and use the Rain-X washer additive which keeps topping the protection up every time I wash the screen....it is so much fun doing 70mph down the motorway in a belting rain where everybody is trying to see past the wipers on warp speed while I just have them on intermittent...
So cool to watch teh raindrops bead up and spear off too....

[Mike]

Looking at the sensor on my MK7 I can't see it being retro fittable to a MK*. The screen is actually different at the top centre where the sensor fits. They are bloody good though and I can see why you'd like them

[Azer van man]

They work by shining a small light through the windscreen from one edge to the other wher ea sensor picks it up and knows all is dry.
the light travels around the curve of the windscreen without you ever seeing it as the shiny glass surfaces act as a sort of crude fibre-optic strand.
When a drop of rain lands on the windscreen some of the light is refracted outwards and never reaches the sensor whereupon the car's computer decides the windscreen is wet and switches on the wipers.
Would NOT be an easy retrofit, but damn it would be cool if you could do it!

Thankyou carnut for that excellent explanation of how the system works..Bloody marvellous.

[lostpaul67]

They work by shining a small light through the windscreen from one edge to the other wher ea sensor picks it up and knows all is dry.
the light travels around the curve of the windscreen without you ever seeing it as the shiny glass surfaces act as a sort of crude fibre-optic strand.
When a drop of rain lands on the windscreen some of the light is refracted outwards and never reaches the sensor whereupon the car's computer decides the windscreen is wet and switches on the wipers.
Would NOT be an easy retrofit, but damn it would be cool if you could do it!

Thankyou carnut for that excellent explanation of how the system works..Bloody marvellous.

Not on a Mk7 Transit though, you squirt water all over my screen and nothing happens until you actually put the water on the moisture sensor at the top of the screen

[carnut1100]

Ok. Never seen details of the Transit system, but that is how most of them work.
I would say the Transit system would work on a similar principal but in a small concentrated area, which might make it a more viable candidate for retrofitting.....