Windshield Wiper Problem & Rain-X Question | FerrariChat
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Windshield Wiper Problem & Rain-X Question

Discussion in '206/246' started by Crawler, Sep 17, 2007.

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  1. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #1 Crawler, Sep 17, 2007
    Yesterday, I was checking over the car in preparation for this weekend's trip. Since I never drive it in the rain, I hardly ever use the wipers. What I discovered was that I only have the lower speed. Pushing the lever all the way down, instead of speeding up the wipers, just causes them to stop. Also, when turning off, the wipers don't "park", I have to switch them off at just the right time in order to make sure that they stop all the way down. I should mention that our RHD car has the "clapping" wipers.

    Since the current forecast is for some rain on Friday, I'm a bit apprehensive. I've never used Rain-X. Would an application of the stuff help if I were to get caught in a deluge with slow (or no) wipers?
     
  2. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 10, 2003
    43,757
    26.806311,-81.755805
    Full Name:
    Dave M.
    #2 dm_n_stuff, Sep 17, 2007
    It'll help, some. But it's not gonna work as a substitute for real wipers. It will help shed rain off the windshield. I actually use washer fluid in my regular cars that has rain-x in it.

    But, truth be told, the wipers aren't that great at high speed either. I've been out in the rain a few times. They'll help, but you're not gonna get modern wiper speeds.

    Ahh... the joys of old car ownership.
     
  3. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,873
    #3 jselevan, Sep 17, 2007
    Dan - yes, on one of my Dinos the wipers behave exactly the same. The schematic is a bit unclear. I believe the culprit is in the motor itself. There is a switch in the motor for speed and "intermittent." When you put the stalk-switch all the way down, wait a moment and see if there is an intermittent position. I have had this happen on occasion.

    Otherwise, get a sturdy umbrella and hold it out the driver's window while at speed. This works well, although on hard left hand turns, if it catches air, it leads to a bit of oversteer.

    Jim S.
     
  4. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Dec 6, 2002
    79,386
    Houston, Texas
    Full Name:
    Bubba
    #4 BigTex, Sep 17, 2007
    Dan,

    Don't try to run them on dry glass for sure!

    Also, JRV showed me that you actually should lube the motor shafts periodically, lift both arms off the glass to upright position, turn the motors on a put some of Mom's sewing machine oil on the shafts.....

    HTH

    I have found replacement inserts for the original blade holders and do use RainX on the outside glass and the RainX Anti Fog on the inside surface, two different products......

    I bought some RainX wiper baldes though and truthfully they sucked......
     
  5. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #5 Crawler, Sep 17, 2007
    Thanks for all the input. I had to make do with a couple of Bosch replacement blades from Advance AP. They're a couple of inches longer than stock and don't conform to the curvature of the windscreen in the "parked" position (which looks a bit odd), but they do a good job otherwise. I was a bit concerned about them interfering with each other due to the "clapping" action and added length, but they seem to work fine for now, until I can find some 14" Armans or reasonable facsimile.
     

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