Rain sensing wipers

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Dartastic

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Ok I supposedly have a 2004 LS Ultimate according to the Lincoln rep I called right after buying the car. Have all the LS standard features. Why dont I have the rain sensing wipers? I thought that was standard on the Ultimate. I have everything else but heated rear seats and HID.
 
Dartastic said:
Ok I supposedly have a 2004 LS Ultimate according to the Lincoln rep I called right after buying the car. Have all the LS standard features. Why dont I have the rain sensing wipers? I thought that was standard on the Ultimate. I have everything else but heated rear seats and HID.
Click to expand...

BTW what does the sensor look like? On the inside of the car on the windshield underneath the rear view mirror I have what feels likerubber with a bunch of holes in it. What is that?
 
Dartastic said:
On the inside of the car on the windshield underneath the rear view mirror I have what feels likerubber with a bunch of holes in it. What is that?
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My 04 with the auto wipers has what appears to be some IR stuff in that area which I assume is used to activate the auto wipers.

Personally I would be happier with a traditional delay wiper setup than the auto; it seems that the predictablity of the delay system is easier for my brain to ignore than the random failing away of the auto setup.
 
The rain sensor is a small plastic box directly below the rear view mirror on my '00. I expect it'd be the same for you, I can't imagine your car not having this.
 
On my 2004 the rain sensor appears to be a large black colored area on the windshield right in front of the mirror. There appears to be electronics and optical sensors in the system attached to the windshield.

I would rather have intermittant wipers than the rain sensors. Like the guy said, the unpredictability of the rain sensor is irritating. Some times it works like a champ, other times I am driving blind hoping the sensor will figure out it is raining. Sometimes it operates once every minute or so and others it seems to go wild. I am not sure if outside lighting affects it or amount of rain, who knows? When it is raining like heck it goes into full speed ahead mode, but then why are there manual settings for slow and fast, if the sensor automatically goes slow or fast too?

I am not sure what makes it operate since it does seem to be very unpredictable.

The manual also says not to use window coatings like rainx since that may affect operation. I am going to try some anyway since it is my habit of 20 years or more. Maybe I won't need the sensor working then unless it really is raining hard.

I am feeling like the rain sensor is just a "golly gee whiz" rather than a truely useful feature.

Would rather have good old fashioned delayed wipers,

Jim Henderson
 
I don't understand.

Even if you have the rain sensing wipers - you can still operate them like the old style intermittent one. You simply never put the interval dial into 'auto' position - that will prevent the wipers from 'automatically' coming on.

Personally - I always leave mine in auto - never had a complaint.
 
I drove for about half an hour with the dealer trying to get the old fashioned intermittant operation I expected but we were not successful, it was just auto sensing.

The graduations on the sensor acdcording to the manual are for sensitivity to how much rain it sees, not time interval. So according to my manual and the way mine works, at least the 2004 does not have timed intervals, just levels of sensitivity to rain, which is not very predicatable many times.

I have used intermittant(timed) wipers in all my vehicles since 1986(including 4 Ford family 1 chebby) and many rentals and none of them worked like the rain sensor in the LS and all of them worked better in my opinion. Maybe mine is flakey I don't have any comparison. Only benefit to the LS is I am not forced to turn them on when it starts to rain, but I often wish they would sweep more frequently and sometimes less depending on the glitch of the day.

Just my experience,

Jim Henderson
 
slagburn said:
My 04 with the auto wipers has what appears to be some IR stuff in that area which I assume is used to activate the auto wipers.

Personally I would be happier with a traditional delay wiper setup than the auto; it seems that the predictablity of the delay system is easier for my brain to ignore than the random failing away of the auto setup.
Click to expand...

This is exactly my point about those damned rain sensing wipers. That system will be a deal breaker on any future car purchase. The original poster should be happy he doesn't have them. They're annoying as Hell.
 
sensor

Ric said:
This is exactly my point about those damned rain sensing wipers. That system will be a deal breaker on any future car purchase. The original poster should be happy he doesn't have them. They're annoying as Hell.
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I have a 02 ls6 and I HATE the rain sensor. It wipes full speed when theres only a small amout of water on the windshield and they dont wipe enough if theres alot of water :Bang
 
Moisture sensitive wipers (if equipped)

When the windshield wiper control is set to INT and the intermittent position is AUTO, moisture sensitive front wipers automatically activate when moisture accumulates on the windshield. When the ignition is turned to Off and then back to Run and the wiper setting has remained in AUTO position, the wipers may cycle one time.

So if you whant to use the wipers like regular intermittant wipers - just turn the outer ring to INT and the inner ring to the speed you want. Then turn the outer ring to OFF when done.

If you want Auto - leave the outer ring in INT and the inner ring in Auto.



Picture1.jpg
 
and ladies and gentleman i present to you quick ls to the rescue once again. I just learned something else.
 
Quik LS said:
Moisture sensitive wipers (if equipped)

When the windshield wiper control is set to INT and the intermittent position is AUTO, moisture sensitive front wipers automatically activate when moisture accumulates on the windshield. When the ignition is turned to Off and then back to Run and the wiper setting has remained in AUTO position, the wipers may cycle one time.

So if you whant to use the wipers like regular intermittant wipers - just turn the outer ring to INT and the inner ring to the speed you want. Then turn the outer ring to OFF when done.

If you want Auto - leave the outer ring in INT and the inner ring in Auto.

Click to expand...

My controls are nothing like that. I got cheated!! :Bang
 
My 2004 wiper control is not like that, just one turn switch with auto plus various length bars I assume to indicate sensitivity, then slow and fast markers. Looks like a normal intermittant control, but it says auto or something like that.

Today I got confirmation that I hate the auto wipers in my LS. There was a steady but light drizzle. I set the wipers on auto, one sweep then nothing, ever, I played with the sensitivity, nothing. I had to tap the wash control to get a sweep of the blades every minute or so. The windshield slowly got covered with enough mist that it was dangerous for me to drive, so like I said I had to MANUALLY activate the wipers on occasion, POS. If I had intermittants, the problem would have not existed.

Seems like my sensor only detects when there is significant rain and then it either just sweeps once in awhile but not enough, or it sweeps like Noah is sitting at the bustop. Rarely does it sweep the right amount for the rain conditions I see, so like I said maybe mine is flakey? But then it seems a lot of ours on this list are according to what I have read.

BTW, it is my experience that Ford wiper controls and some other switches seem to become faulty in humid climates, especially if not used all the time. My 94 F250 intermittant dies if it sits over summer. I need to kind of grind on it a few times when rainy season comes before they work semi reliably. If I don't use them for a month, grind again. It has been this way since I got it in 96. My wife's 95 Mercury has a similar problem with the washer control and the rear wiper. First time in the season or after not using for awhile you have to grind on it to get them to work.

My 96 Chebby never had a switch problem or any electrical problem for that matter, my Fords seemed to have at least one or two in every one I owned. Maybe this explains the Ford/Jaguar connection, "Lucas said let there be darkness"(have to understand English electricals to get the pun).

Not one of Ford's better ideas. Grumble grumble.

Jim Henderson
 
BTW, it is my experience that Ford wiper controls and some other switches seem to become faulty in humid climates, especially if not used all the time.


Figures that the main safety device used in the rain becomes faulty in a humid environment.
 
Quik LS said:
Moisture sensitive wipers (if equipped)

When the windshield wiper control is set to INT and the intermittent position is AUTO, moisture sensitive front wipers automatically activate when moisture accumulates on the windshield. When the ignition is turned to Off and then back to Run and the wiper setting has remained in AUTO position, the wipers may cycle one time.

So if you whant to use the wipers like regular intermittant wipers - just turn the outer ring to INT and the inner ring to the speed you want. Then turn the outer ring to OFF when done.

If you want Auto - leave the outer ring in INT and the inner ring in Auto.

Click to expand...


That's not my switch. I have no choice but to use the rain sensing wipers for intermitant,
 
I hate the auto wiper mod too, its either not quick enough or goes to fast. I'm one of them people that do not need it to be at a steady pace, no matter the type of rain, from a mist to a down pour I only use the first 1 or 2 bars which are the slowest.

I use rain x on the windows evertime I wash it and normally hit the windshield w/ a couple of coats of it. Than when it rains steadily or so I do not even need the wipers after about 30 mph. Meanwhile I pass people that have theirs on full blast, sometimes when its barely raining.
 
Beamer said:
I use rain x on the windows evertime I wash it and normally hit the windshield w/ a couple of coats of it.
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that is probably your problem. remember - it bounces light from inside your windshield to determine how much water is on the outside of your glass. They warn against using things like rain-x that it may effect the sensitivity of the wipers.....
 
I figured that maybe part of the auto problem but I do not like the auto part anyway and prefer not having to use my wipers nearly as much as I would have to if I did not put rain x on the windshield.
 
Sorry, do not mean to sound like I'm complaining. Just everyone else was saying they did not like them so I figured I'd say it too. Not complaining, more of just saying some stuff like this do not really need to be on a car, only ads to the price. Its like them wipers on the lights (mercedes), yea its cool to say you have them but they leave water/fluid spots on your hood and such.
 
no worries - Ford has actually decided to discontinue the wipers because they are the number 1 issue of - no fault found - at the dealer, meaning the customer complained but the dealer cannot find anything wrong with them. Replaced them anyway, sent the defective unit back - Ford technicans could find anything wrong.

Turns out that rain-x on the windshield is number 3 of the fault cause.
Number 2 is 'customer did not understand how it works....'
 
they are no longer installed (rain sensor wipers) on the 05 ls. must have gotten the msg.
 
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