Windscreen Wipers With Rain Sensor: Notes
The windscreen wiper assembly is located under the cover beneath the windscreen.
The windscreen wipers are controlled by a changeover switch on the right-hand side of the steering column.
The assembly comprises a motor, two wiper arms and an arm linkage that converts motor rotation into wiper movement.
There is a built-in thermoswitch in the motor that trips if the control switch has been activated and the blades have jammed (frozen).
There are three modes of windscreen wiper operation:
- Automatic
The rain sensor controls wiper motor operation from intermittent to high speed.
- Low speed
The wiper motor is activated at low speed, without the use of the rain sensor.
- High speed
The wiper motor is activated at high speed by the rain sensor
- Washing
The washer pump is activated and the rain sensor initiates windscreen wiping.
In the automatic position, a function allows the sensitivity of the rain sensor to be varied using a potentiometer. The wiper interval depends on this sensitivity. The potentiometer controls the rain sensor which activates the wiper relays.
The rain sensor is activated by moving the control lever on the right of the steering column to automatic position, which is the same as the intermittent wiper position on cars without rain sensor. The wipers will make one reference stroke after the rain sensor has been activated, partly to calibrate for a clean windscreen and partly to inform the driver that the system is active.
The rain sensor assumes control of the windscreen wipers from the DICE. The system switches between no wiping, single sweeps and continuous wiping at low or high speed, depending on the amount of water or snow on the windscreen. The sensitivity of the rain sensor increases at night time.