automatic wipers

pie eater · Post by **pie eater** » 27 Jun 2006, 19:56

Has anyone got an opinion about their automatic wipers on their C5? Are mine faulty, or is it just a rubbish design?

The automatic wipers on my wife's Xantia are fab. Intermittent in light rain, slow in medium rain, and fast when its big old fat rain.

The ones on my C5, in light frain, go from off completely, to intermittent, fast, slow etc CONSTANTLY. This means that I have, effectively, no intermittent wipe because they are just SO BLOODY ANNOYING that it really is easier to use flick wipe, like I used to do in my 1979 Cortina. Progress, hey?

The car is still under Citroen's Approved Used Car warranty, so before that expires in September can anyone tell me how their auto wipers perform in a C5? Have they been designed to be useless compared to the older Xantia, or is there a known fault with the sensor or summat?

Come on pals, I am depending on you. Then I'll see how good the warranty is. Rubbish, I expect.

Ta,

The Pie Eater

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 27 Jun 2006, 21:09

I've had auto wipers on the Xantia and the 807 and they are both very good.

The only thing I can suggest is trying new wiper blades as I have had problems when blades start streaking.

brian.r.uk · Post by **brian.r.uk** » 27 Jun 2006, 21:16

the auto wipers on my 2002 C5 work exactly as you describe the xantia wipers so i would think there is a problem with your C5 wipers

brian

406 V6 · Post by **406 V6** » 27 Jun 2006, 22:06

Mine can sometimes go to completely off, with that light rain, until the sensor detects the water. I had the same behaviour on the 406, in my humble opinion, Citroën placed the rain sensors too high to detect very mild rain, it's easier to flick it in those situations, due to the aerodynamics on that part of the glass.

Your's seem to be definitely faulty.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 28 Jun 2006, 00:55

Did'nt we have a previous discussion on this issue - where the conclusion was to clean the area of the windscreen - around the rear view mirror ?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 28 Jun 2006, 07:46

I agree with Anders. I think the sensors work by replecting infra red? light off the inside face of the front of the windscreen, the idea being that water on the glass alters the refractive index of the combined system, light is reflected differently and lands up away from the sensor and so the rain is detected.

So after all that the boundary between the glass and air at the front face of the windscreen is where it happens and crud will obviously become important.

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 28 Jun 2006, 11:09

Homer wrote: The only thing I can suggest is trying new wiper blades as I have had problems when blades start streaking.

I've replaced wiper blades when they started streaking before. Usually they start to streak because they've got a nice coating of "road film", its a greasy residue. Cleaning the screen and wiper blades with glass cleaner and kitchen paper makes the kitchen paper go black very quickly and made the streaky wipers streak free again.

If cleaning them doesn't fix your streaking, its only then that you need new wiper blades.

PowerLee · Post by **PowerLee** » 28 Jun 2006, 15:46

Bet it needs a new rain sensor

pie eater · Post by **pie eater** » 28 Jun 2006, 22:20

I don't think it needs the windscreen cleaning in front of the sensor. The wipers are crazy on auto setting even when the car has just been washed.
I'll try some rain-x on the top of the screen, in front of the sensor. On previous cars I have found this to be very good - water just blows off the screen (and side windows) at anything over about 30mph.

KevMayer · Post by **KevMayer** » 28 Jun 2006, 23:00

The wipers on my C5 don't seem to work very well on Auto.

I drive with the stalk at the auto position but when its begins to rain the wipers don't respond. I haveto flick the stalk, I then get a message saying 'Automatic Windscreen wipers activated' then they work. But they vary from intermittant to fast and all shades in between. There doesn't seem to be any correlation between the amount of rainfall and the wiper speed.

Mine sound like yours Pie Eater.

cheers, Kev

BonceChops · Post by **BonceChops** » 28 Jun 2006, 23:17

KevMayer wrote:I drive with the stalk at the auto position but when its begins to rain the wipers don't respond. I haveto flick the stalk,

I think you will find that after turning off the ignition then restarting again, you have to switch wipers off then back to auto to make them work again. You do on the Xantia.

rod · Post by **rod** » 29 Jun 2006, 12:14

hi all new guy here,
i havesame problem with my c5,2.2.
i am told you can have the auto sensor disabled.
it means altering the ecu.
anyone got the programme to do this?

rod · Post by **rod** » 29 Jun 2006, 12:15

hi all new guy here,
i havesame problem with my c5,2.2.
i am told you can have the auto sensor disabled.
it means altering the ecu.
anyone got the programme to do this?

rod · Post by **rod** » 29 Jun 2006, 12:31

hi all new guy here,
i havesame problem with my c5,2.2.
i am told you can have the auto sensor disabled.
it means altering the ecu.
anyone got the programme to do this?

8)

rod · Post by **rod** » 29 Jun 2006, 12:32

hi all new guy here,
i havesame problem with my c5,2.2.
i am told you can have the auto sensor disabled.
it means altering the ecu.
anyone got the programme to do this?

8)

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