97 Buick Park Ave - Problems with Rain Sense automatic wipers feature

[cb3]

It's a very buggy defective system on 97 Park Ave. If wipers are manually set on intermittant they work fine until a drop of rain lands on the winshield where the sensor is. Then wipers go crazy fast on high speed setting for no valid reason.

In an earlier thread @BuickGirlFromMars said there's two ways to fix it.

She said one way is to disable the automatic Rain-Sense feature. How could I disable it?

She said the other way is to fix the Rain-Sense feature. How could I fix it? Please be specific with details because I'm only an amateur DIY guy. If necessary I can pass on instructions to my mechanic.

 

[Ultra Ego]

Unplug the sensor on the windshield behind the mirror. That will return it to delay only functionality.

You can replace the windshield sensing unit fairly easily, but they are hard to find. A bone yard may be able to help.

Using the search function, you should be able to find the thread you are referencing by trying keywords like wipers, rain sense, delay, etc.

 

[DrivenDaily]

Consider getting just the mounting part of it, called a "rain sense gel pad" on Amazon.

My 2005 would wipe only 1 time on any intermittent setting and never wipe again. One day while I was fiddling with the mirror I barely bumped the rain sensor and it fell off the windshield. So I unplugged it and took it inside the house and carefully disassembled it to see what's up.

All it is is a pair of LEDs, 1 to transmit and 1 to receive. It uses TIR - total internal reflection - to do its job. When a drop of water hits the WS the reflection changes and that is its cue to tell the wipers to wipe. Since it is in the part of the WS that is wiped, the new drop disappears and it waits for the next one.

Fast forward a few months and I got a new WS since mine was badly scratched by the PO. When the tech was about to go he asked if I had my rain sensor, so I got it and he installed it. He also plugged it in.

The next time I used my wipers I got to experience the RainSense feature and I love it!

I shared all of that so you might understand that the the gel pad, which is clear, might be part or all of your issue. You may be able to get that separately from a sensor, and it just might solve your problem.

Otherwise, like @Ultra Ego says, unplugging it should return you to normal intermittent functionality.

 

[02LTD2.0]

Consider getting just the mounting part of it, called a "rain sense gel pad" on Amazon.

My 2005 would wipe only 1 time on any intermittent setting and never wipe again. One day while I was fiddling with the mirror I barely bumped the rain sensor and it fell off the windshield. So I unplugged it and took it inside the house and carefully disassembled it to see what's up.

All it is is a pair of LEDs, 1 to transmit and 1 to receive. It uses TIR - total internal reflection - to do its job. When a drop of water hits the WS the reflection changes and that is its cue to tell the wipers to wipe. Since it is in the part of the WS that is wiped, the new drop disappears and it waits for the next one.

Fast forward a few months and I got a new WS since mine was badly scratched by the PO. When the tech was about to go he asked if I had my rain sensor, so I got it and he installed it. He also plugged it in.

The next time I used my wipers I got to experience the RainSense feature and I love it!

I shared all of that so you might understand that the the gel pad, which is clear, might be part or all of your issue. You may be able to get that separately from a sensor, and it just might solve your problem.

Otherwise, like @Ultra Ego says, unplugging it should return you to normal intermittent functionality.

Where did you get your sensor from?

 

[DrivenDaily]

Where did you get your sensor from?

I got my sensor gel from Amazon.

The sensor itself came with the car and appears to work perfectly now that it is firmly mounted and not loose like before.