Windshield wiper question

[Ericalan350]

I'm curious, on my 2013 sport, if I set my wipers to "INT" (intermittent), it seems as if they rarely work. My "low" & "high" settings work with no problems as well as pressing down on the wiper control. I was under the impression that the intermittent setting(s) would cause the wipers to go off every so often. Does anyone else have this problem?

[akirby]

They do if you have auto-wipers set to off. If you have auto-wipers set to on they only come on when you get rain on the windshield. In that case the intermittent setting is the sensitivity of the rain sensor.

 

Assuming you have auto-wipers.

[TheWizard]

Good answer! Mine was going to be more along the lines of intermittent wipers being like turn signals - they're working, no they're not, now they are, no they aren't...

[Ericalan350]

I honestly am not sure if they are auto or not...(man that's sad). I believe they are the "auto" wipers because they do not have a delay like other vehicles I own operate. I posted this question due to the last time that it rained, I tested the theory that if I switched the wipers to the highest INT setting, it seemed that the delay was longer than what I would expect. 15 to 30 seconds of a delay make a pretty big difference when your talking about driving in the rain... (I know, I know, if its raining that bad, turn your wipers on high). It doesn't rain all the time however, when its lightly raining, I figured the INT would work similar to other vehicles that I have owned (auto sensor equipped). I had the dealer replace the mirror when I first purchased the truck (October 2016). The OEM mirror was put back in.

 

If the INT is set to the highest setting, shouldn't (in theory) the wipers clear the window faster if the rain is hitting the window at a fairly consistent rate?

[omar302]

If the wiper stalk has "AUTO" written on it then it has auto wipers. Also in the left screen cluster display, there should be an option under settings to enable/disable it and there would be a sensor on the windshield behind the rear view mirror on the passenger side.

 

[TheWizard]

Your wipers are either intermittent or automatic - not both. As Omar pointed out, if they are automatic, the switch will say auto on it and the various positions control the sensitivity of the sensor to moisture on the windshield (more sensitive selection will wipe more frequently based on needing less moisture to trigger a wipe). If they are regular intermittent then the various switch positions represent fixed time intervals between wipes regardless of whether there is any moisture on the windshield. Rotating the switch away from you will shorten the time between wipes. I have found that Ford intermittent wiper designs tend to have a longer delay between wipes at the low end than many other brands. This is helpful in cases of really light mist/fog or just handling spray from other vehicles.

[omar302]

May I also add, as far as i know, in case you don't have rain sensing wipers (or they are disabled), then the regular intermittent speeds are probably speed sensitive.

From the Owners manual:

Speed dependent wipers (if equipped):

When the wiper control is set to any of the interval settings except the longest pause setting, the pause time between wiping will automatically adjust with the vehicle

speed. The faster your vehicle is travelling the shorter the pause time between wipes will become

 

[akirby]

Your wipers are either intermittent or automatic - not both. As Omar pointed out, if they are automatic, the switch will say auto on it and the various positions control the sensitivity of the sensor to moisture on the windshield (more sensitive selection will wipe more frequently based on needing less moisture to trigger a wipe). If they are regular intermittent then the various switch positions represent fixed time intervals between wipes regardless of whether there is any moisture on the windshield. Rotating the switch away from you will shorten the time between wipes. I have found that Ford intermittent wiper designs tend to have a longer delay between wipes at the low end than many other brands. This is helpful in cases of really light mist/fog or just handling spray from other vehicles.

 

Slight correction. If you have auto-wipers but you turn them off via the left hand menu, they will operate just like regular intermittent wipers.

[akirby]

I honestly am not sure if they are auto or not...(man that's sad). I believe they are the "auto" wipers because they do not have a delay like other vehicles I own operate. I posted this question due to the last time that it rained, I tested the theory that if I switched the wipers to the highest INT setting, it seemed that the delay was longer than what I would expect. 15 to 30 seconds of a delay make a pretty big difference when your talking about driving in the rain... (I know, I know, if its raining that bad, turn your wipers on high). It doesn't rain all the time however, when its lightly raining, I figured the INT would work similar to other vehicles that I have owned (auto sensor equipped). I had the dealer replace the mirror when I first purchased the truck (October 2016). The OEM mirror was put back in.

 

If the INT is set to the highest setting, shouldn't (in theory) the wipers clear the window faster if the rain is hitting the window at a fairly consistent rate?

 

Check the left hand menu options to see if you have the auto wiper option. If you do then make sure it's set to On. You can test it by spraying it with a hose in the driveway.

[chefduane]

..or you could put your hand behind the mirror to clock the reflecting sensor to initiate a wiper sweep. Wouldn't that do it also, and save getting the car wet?

[akirby]

..or you could put your hand behind the mirror to clock the reflecting sensor to initiate a wiper sweep. Wouldn't that do it also, and save getting the car wet?

 

You'd have to put it on the outside of the windshield itself which is hard to reach and make sure the wipers don't get you if it does activate. Also not sure just covering it with your hand will actually activate it.

Edited April 24, 2017 by akirby

[chefduane]

Yeah, you're right. I was just trying to think of how not to get the car wet. Lazy man's way. Heh.

[TheWizard]

The rain sensor works by using several infrared LEDs along with light sensors mounted on the inside of the windshield. The LEDs shine light at a 45 degree angle into the windshield glass. On a dry windshield, the light from the LEDs will reflect back from the outer surface of the windshield glass to the sensors. When water is on the outside of the windshield, some of the light will get refracted through the surface water and not reflect back to the sensors. The more water, the more refraction and the less light reflects back to the sensors.

 

Your hand would not provide the same refraction but I suppose some translucent materials (bubble wrap, anyone?) placed against the outside of the windshield could cause a reaction similar to water.

[akirby]

just pour a glass of water on the windshield above the sensor.

[Ericalan350]

I did not know that I had the option to disable the "auto" sensor to conventional INT wipers.

 

@TheWizard, yes, with the fog, mist, or light rain is when the INT setting would be very helpful.

 

Thanks to all for the comments.

[akirby]

I did not know that I had the option to disable the "auto" sensor to conventional INT wipers.

 

That's what I tried to tell you in post 2 - guess I didn't go a good job. IMO they work just fine on auto and I've had them on several different vehicles. If you get a light mist and they don't come on soon enough just bump the stalk to initiate a wipe and they're usually fine after that. Adjust the sensitivity as needed.

 

And please, please, please - RTFM.