[mblank]

Heres a strange question for your noggins... If you have the automatic windshield wiper thingy installed, do the wipers come on automatically if your car is 'submerged' in snow? I was thinking about this this morning while I was cleaning my car off from a fresh night of snow. Whenever this happens, I usually start the car before I proceed to clean off the car to allow the engine to warm up. So I was thinking that if you had this feature installed, that the snow coverage on the window would cause the wiper to go off. Does the wiper have a toggle switch to enable it if so? Just a random question... Thanks!

[MiniMan7]

I don't believe the wipers have a toggle switch. My guess would be that the wipers would go off if submerged in snow. I'm not to sure, I'm going to consult my owners manual and I'll get back to you on this one!

[mblank]

Thanks - its not really a topic of high importance, just curiousity.... Thanks!

[MiniMan7]

Ahh... some interesting things in here, and I quote the owners manual:

"When the rain sensor is activated, the windhsield wipers are automatically controlled depending on the the amount of water (or snow) landing on the windsheild."

So there you have it, I guess snow does activate the wipers too!

[mblank]

Sounds good - I was just thinking in my head and wondering if the magical technology of this day could tell the difference between a foot of snow and just some rain... Branching off of this: Do the wipers speed up when you drive faster, and if so do they only do this if you have the automatic wiper? Oh, and one more thing... If you desire to add the automatic wiper, after you get the MINI, does it require the replacement of the windshield as well? I know that the auto thingy has a heating element in the window to keep that area clear of frozen objects. I would think that the window would need replacement along with the addition/integreation of the automatic thingy. Thanks for you help so far

[MiniMan7]

Ok, lemme see what I can answer.

I believe the the windsheild does have to be replaced, this is for the simple reason that when my brother had his windsheild cracked on his VW GTI, he had to go in a get it replaced, however, at first they ordered one that wasn't compatible with the auto wiper sensor, and another one had to be ordered specially for the rain sensor. So I'm guessing its the same for the Mini's.

I have heard things about the wipers speeding up as you drive and slowing down while you're stopped. This has never happened for me and I don't have the auto wipers, so maybe it does do this for people with the auto wipers.

Hope I was of help.

[mblank]

Thanks for all your help - My little head is filled with wonderful knowledge about the windshield now. If I have any more things that I need to know, watch out!

[MiniMan7]

lol... I'll be here 7 days a week!

[TINMAN]

The wipers are speed sensitive whether you have the rain sensor or not.Your MINI has them MM7,but the change is subtle and so not real noticable(when the snow quits back there,take your car out and get it up to 240kph and see how fast the wipers go )

[mblank]

If I had a MINI I would I'm just too damn poor to have one............... I need money, but its hard to come by when your 16... Oh well, I can still dream, test drive, and drive/steal my friends

[MiniMan7]

Quote:

Originally posted by TINMAN
The wipers are speed sensitive whether you have the rain sensor or not.Your MINI has them MM7,but the change is subtle and so not real noticable(when the snow quits back there,take your car out and get it up to 240kph and see how fast the wipers go )

Ah, thanks for telling me, this I shall try. I'll go 240km/h, then slam on the brakes to a complete stop and see what happens!

[tip]

Well, I have question on wipers. I do not have the rain sensor wipers I have the regular wipers. I was told by the dealer that the wipers were programmed when on the high setting to drop automatically to the low setting when the car cames to a stop. I can not see any difference in the wiper speed and the dealer swears that they have been programmed to do this.

Anyone else hve this feature?


Charles

[snoopy]

I don't have the auto wipers on my MINI but in other cars I have had the system and it has to reset every time you turn the car off( eg turn off then back to auto). This is so the auto wipers do not come on when they are not need eg in a car wash.

On the STD wipers have a read of this thread

[Paul]

OK, let me try to add a little clarity (although I'm going to be repeating what others have said too) to the wiper settings/actions.

Rain sensing wipers:

Your front wiper is not 'speed sensitive' as such when on the auto setting (which replaces the intermittent setting on the standard stalk).

It is sensitive to the amount of water and/or snow/sleet on the 'sensor' which is hidden (almost) from the drivers view behind the rear view mirror. So, in effect, when it rains, if you go faster, more rain hits the screen, and it speeds up.

It's also very quick at noticing changes. For example if a lorry splashes you with a tidal wave of water when it's not raining hard, the wipers go into overdrive to clear the screen, then settle down again.

The rear wipers are speed sensitive when you have the 'rain sensing' option, they will wipe more or less frequently depending on the speed of your car.

You still have two 'normal' options for the front wipers which ignores the rain sensor, so you can 'switch it off' if you feel it isn't coping well with the conditions.

Non rain sensing wipers:

There is an option to have them set as speed sensitive (I think this is enabled as default). This can be noticed most on intermittent when you go at various speeds.

You can also have 'switch back when stationary' which means they 'park' when you stop the car at lights etc.

The rear wiper makes one wipe for every three of the front wipers. So if you have the front wipers at maximum speed the rears will in turn wipe more frequently than if you have the front wipers set to intermittent.

Hope that helps a bit.

Paul

[MICKEY]

I've got the Auto-wipers on my S, but I’ve not had to use them yet, only had the car 3 days and no rain yet

To use the autowipe feature you need to turn the wipers on, it's the int. wipe position on the wiper toggle. Instead of wiping every 6 seconds or what ever time is pre-set (normal wipers), the rain sensor sees the amount of rain coming down and adjusts the frequency of the wipe (faster or slower).
When you park up and turn off your ignition, the car automatically resets the wipers to off (on autowipe) even if the toggle is left in the auto-wipe position, this is so
the wipers won't try to start if the sensor is covered by thick ice or snow in the morning.
As to it been a different windscreen, I’m not 100% certain but it looks like the sensor is just stuck on the screen up behind the interior mirror.

[KTC]

The rain-sensing wipers are a wonderful thing! The second day I had my car I drove four hours in varying amounts of rain and never had to touch them after I turned them on. They are quite good and clearing up after a truck has splashed by and then settling down again. I was worried that they would let too much rain accumulate but they don't. I also found it helpful on long trips because they don't have the hypnotic effect regular wipers do because they vary the speed. I didn't realize that they shut themselves off automatically, I usually just twist the button back to the off position. The dealer only said to make sure they were off when going through a car wash!

[Lumspeed]

Don't have , Auto Wiper's .

Do have Auto Air Con , Flick Switch - Window open's - Instant Auto Air Con !!.

Also have ' North East England Special Option ' :

'AUTO NAGGING WIFE'.

Comes with FOUR standard WINGE'S :

1. How many other corner's do we take on TWO WHEEL'S ?.
2. Did you not notice that 'Roundabout ' then ?.
3. Close the ROOF my Hair's getting ' Bu**ered ' !.
4. Drop me at the next bus stop !.

Fortunately there is a software overide for this option :
LEAVE HER AT HOME mode !!.

God bless her I love her really !!.

Seriously , when you guy's sort the Wiper query out , I will be interested as I wanted to spec that one myself but could not get enough info from the dealer .

Got the heated washer jet's , that ' DON'T ' work though.


Cheer's me dear's .

Lumspeed.

[Paul]

Quote:

Originally posted by Lumspeed
....Seriously , when you guy's sort the Wiper query out ...

What query hasn't been answered yet?

[MiniMan7]

I thought we covered everything...

[Lumspeed]

Havn't mentioned this before as I'm still gathering data !!.

This is a rather ( Very ) long Query !.

Picked up my Cooper early on a rainy afternoon and took her home , washed the rain off later , inspected her all over and garaged the car .

Washing the car the first time allows you to learn about the body work , Panel fit , trim fit , etc .

Drove to work the following morning , parked up , and while admiring her , noticed a ' DIN'T ' , ' GROOVE ' , in the roof just rear of the driver's side windscreen pillar.

Having lovingly spen't hour's washing and inspecting all the bodywork the previous day , I know that the ' DINT ' was not there previously ? .

My route to work that morning included a trip down a sharp incline to a ' T ' junction controlled by traffic light's .

When the light's turned green I continued , turning left onto the next road , at about 10 to 15 MPH.

The camber change of the tarmac from my stationary position on the ' HILL ' to the tarmac of the adjacent road that I had just entered was very ' SEVERE ' and I noticed that the car seemed to ' Rear up on three wheel's ' and a ' THUMP ' was hear'd !.

( An adendum here , they have since changed both road surfaces and the connection is now ' SMOOTH ' ! .)

Aghast at the ' Ding ' in my roof , I went to the dealer's to report the damage .

I related my thought's about the possible cause !!.

Sport's suspension + , 40 Pound's plus in my tires , I later found and rectified !! , Bad camber road surface change , and the fact that when I bough't , and had previously tested SS+ I had doubt's about 'how long before something GIVE'S '.

Let's face it , if you fit ' Competition suspension to a road car , Something's going to suffer !! ' .

We all have the Groan's and Trim Rattles now RIGHT'T !! .

Anyway , the service manager and crew ' Leapt ' at the car and scrutinised the roof , he came back and said that there was definately a dint in the roof and could I think of any way it might have happened , related my thought's , and although listening intently , disagreed with my theory , stating that the MINI2 has supporting web's between the headlining and the roof skin so he doubted that any ' FLEX ' in the body structure woud damage the roof ! .

Also , he had covered the competition event;s that the mini had been put through recently with no problem's , at which point I asked him , and how many of them ' HAD A SUN ROOF ! ' , and of course they all had Full Roll cages built in , and all trim removed !! . He moved on rappidly at this point !!.

Ok say's I , But I have The full panoramic sun roof , which mean's that my roof is actually only a thin band of metal which has a' HUGE ' hole cut in it within which sit's a Framed sun roof , so any ' Stress Forces transmitted up the windscreen pillar have to dissipate in the nearest un-stressed area , IE the thin remaing roof panel behind the Pre-formed roof bend above the windscreen.

IS ANYONE STILL AWAKE AND READING THIS !!.

SORRY IF IT'S BORING , but I'm not finished.

I requested that my fault was recorded as I realised that it may take three pig's flying over a silver moon before someone with a NEW STIFF ( SS+ ) car encountered a similar situation .

OK he say's I will record your fault and the area manager will be in touch !.

NOTHING HEARD !!.

As I have said I am Busy researching various area's relating to vehicle stress / structure problem's and have aquired ' PHOTO'S ' of the MINI under ' CRASH ' tests , which clearly show's the Weakness in the ' ROOF '.

Im bored with this thread MYSELF now , so i'm going to close.

But anyone with an AUDI TT ! , Don't ' ROLL ' it .

The whole roof ' FLATTEN's down to Bonnet level !! .

Iv'e got the Photo's !.

Must Close .

Lumspeed.