Safety technology and comfort - retrofit rain sensor

Recently updated on December 20, 2022 at 03:19 am

The advantages of a rain sensor are obvious. While driving, you don't have to worry about setting the right speed of the wiper. Especially in showers, you are often busy switching between the different intervals. If the interval is too short, the visibility is poor. If it is raining less, however, the windshield wiper is still running at full speed, which is caused by the squeaking of the wipers and later on the wear and tear of the wiper blades noticeable.

retrofit a rain sensor

Many, especially newer car models have already installed a rain sensor as standard. Often in combination with one automatic headlights, In vehicles of the upper middle class such as the BMW 5 Series, an Audi A6 or the Mercedes E-Class, you will hardly find a vehicle that does not have the rain sensor on board. And it is also optionally available for small cars such as the Smart or a Fiat 500. The sensor can also be retrofitted, however. And that without too much effort and with manageable costs. With technical expertise, a rain sensor can be installed on your own. Alternatively, of course, every workshop does the same. Before retrofitting a rain sensor, you should find out whether and how it can be installed in the respective vehicle model. Additional adapters may be required for some vehicle types. Before you go to a third-party provider, you should check whether a rain sensor could possibly not be available in the manufacturer's surcharge list. If this is the case, you should check whether the factory Rain sensor is not easier to retrofit. Often, only certain components need to be replaced. The sensor and a modified wiper lever may already be sufficient. Cables, control units, etc. may already be on board.

the principle of measurement technology is mostly identical

However, the functionality of retrofittable rain sensors for the car is generally the same. The sensors work with LEDs. These are usually located in a circular adhesive pad that is attached to the inside of the windshield. The rain sensor is positioned at the top edge, ideally behind the rear view mirror. However, some car models have opposite wipers, In this case, the sensor must be installed at a different location (a place on the edge of the disc). Raindrops or wetness caused by fog change the amount of reflecting light. This change is evaluated by the sensitive measurement technology. Optical sensors react quickly and adjust the intervals automatically to the rain intensity. These usually work via infrared. The cable of the rain sensor is led along the edge of the windshield, along the side rail to the relay box. There the wiper relay is either replaced or additionally positioned. This depends on the respective car model and can be solved individually.

Advantages of the rain sensor outweigh

Critical voices complain that rain sensors take just as long to adjust to the change in the amount of water as it takes to manually adjust the wiper. But even if it does, the advantage remains that you don't have to operate it manually. So your hands stay behind the wheel when visibility is poor. Of course, it can also happen that dirt or insects on the glass disrupt the sensor. For proper use, care should therefore be taken to ensure that the windshield in the sensor area is clean. Depending on the manufacturer, there is a replacement for the adhesive pads, so that the rain sensor can be used again, for example after replacing the windscreen after a stone chip.

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