Wipers and Mirror Sensors??

Stratts

Member
 Upminster, Essex (East Laaandan)
Hi all,

I am just trying to diagnose an issue with my auto wipers and rear view mirror, I had a good scour of this and other forums and couldn't find the specific issue I am having.

Firstly, the auto dimming rear view mirror isn't working. OK, this could be a fuse and I haven't got round to checking it yet, but most likely I need a new one. Not an issue until I finally got to using my rain sensing wipers...

My wipers are strange. The rain sensor does not work, but the intermittent function does - by this I mean when moving the stalk one up from off, the wipers are entirely speed dependent (at below 5mph they wipe once every 20 seconds or so, above 40mph they are constant). Everything I have read elsewhere about the rain sensor filing suggests they just do not work at all, so I can't work out why I have the intermittent function. My car definitely has auto wipers by the way, it's on the spec sheet and I have the sensor on the windscreen.

Perhaps these two issues are linked, so maybe there is an issue with the connection on the windscreen? However, the fact I do have intermittent and not auto wipers suggests something more strange. Wrong module perhaps?

These sort of things flummox me if I'm honest, and it is really annoying.
 
The intermittent wipe is a physical switch function and not reliant on the rain sensor, the rain activated wipe should be instigated by setting the switch to auto and this is not speed sensitive until your stationary.

I would check the fuse on the sensor or indeed the sensor itself, it's common that a build up of film on the screen causes the sensor to stop sensing rain so it may be as simple as a really good glass clean could solve the rain sensor problem.

Just my opinion not nec realistic but sure someone more specific will get on board.
 
Thanks. The issue is that other people who say they have a failed rain sensor say that when switched to Auto, they get no wipers at all (so they have to move the switch up again to the normal function).

I switch to Auto and get the intermittent function. From my brief search, no one has ever reported this issue.

I originally thought it was a failsafe mode, where the car would revert to normal intermittent if the rain sensor failed, but as I say from my search on other threads this is not the case.
 
Hi - on my car, one up from off is the auto setting.
You just need to activate again each time the ignition has been turned off
No intermittent setting. (that I'm aware of :oops: )
At that point you can adjust the sensitivity.

Is it the sensor? Have a look to see if there is an air bubble in it.
Mine didn't work properly after I bought the car. Apparently a new screen was fitted at some point and the sensor was fixed in place with the wrong gel/solution.
A quick visit to a windscreen company fixed the problem - They fitted a new sensor for about £60 I think

Edit
Sorry, re-read your last post and realize my reply doesn't add up - when my rain sensor failed the wipers didn't work very much at all, just every now and then - no pattern.
Good luck
 
I find that the auto-dimming really only works with the wind-deflector removed, allowing more light to come onto the rear-view mirror from driver's headlights behind.

Doe you have the wind deflector installed? If so, remove it and see if that works!

Andrew.
 
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