JC C230K

Hey everybody... it has been raining a lot lately... How would i know if my rain sensor is not working right? do i have to turn on some kind of button to activate it? Man 1500 dollars for the rain sensor and i have not seen it go into action...

psk145

did you turn the wipers on? they work on position I

SUNILP

I am sure the sensor alone did not cost 1500. Must have been part of a package with other option. Turn switch to position 1 and and it should work. If it wipes continously without rain, then faulty rain sensor, or you have no rain sensor.

BabyBenz6spd

Rain Sensor worked great on my car....BUT!! It only works great during Day time.......During Night time...its useless... I guess its because it doesn't "sense" very well during night time.

EricTheRed

I have had no issues with my auto wipers. Day or night. In the city with lots of lighting or out on a country road. This is Oregon and it has been raining just a bit here.

JC C230K

If my understandings are wrong.... i thought rainsensor you dont have to activate to 1.. and when it feels a rain drop it wipes it self... Whats the point of turning it to 1your self ? does the wipers goes with the rain ? more rain more faster? lesss rain less faster?

EricTheRed

The intermitent wiper setting (turning it to 1) utilizes the rain sensor.

tommy

Yes, that's what it does. If you leave it in the first position (so that you're assuming that it works like the "auto" first click on the headlights), then what'll happen is that, on ignition, it'll do a preliminary sweep, then leave the wipers entirely to the sensor's discretion.

My guess is that MB was ok with leaving an idiot-proof option for the lights, but didn't think that such an option is necessary for the wipers (and I'd agree with them). So, yes, when you need the wipers on, put it in position 1 - it'll do that preliminary first swipe immediately.

Oh, and btw, to get the wipers to wipe at the second speed (position 3), you have to manually set it to position 3 - the sensor will not tell the wipers to wipe any faster than they would in position 2.

revstriker

If you were not able to shut off your wipers, you would not be able to use an automatic car wash.

Also, I thought MB fixed the "dry sweep on start up" in 03. If this is true, then you could use them as you do the automatic lights.

tommy

Of course, I could be wrong.

I thought it sounded better to attempt an answer than say "RTFM", which is the more appropriate answer anyway.

psk145

my 03 does the sweep when you turn it to the first position

tyro

Glad somebody thought of that

rnisle

But if you leave it in the first position on restart, does it wipe? At least on the '05, I don't think it does. But it did on earlier models (before '03, at least).

CitronC230K_03

yes it does wipe if its left in auto mode after a re-start. that is kinda like a reminder that they are still on. mine is an 03 and does the wipe after restart.

GGM

I have an '03 C240 and get the dry sweep on startup when I forget to turn the wipers off.

GGM

SUNILP

All hella rain sensors do a dry sweep when turned on. Even hella aftermarket add on kits have this feature. The wiper stops if the drivers door is opened though and resumes when car is put on drive.

rnisle

I'm pretty sure they fixed it. If I ever get my car back (long, sad story) I will check it out. My recollection is that it did not swipe on start up.

psk145

mine wipes on restart.

The day after it rained here, I started the car in the garage, and it startled me when the wipers swept across

CitronC230K_03

i wouldn't say they fixed it, if they did remove this feature. it's like a reminder, "hey stupid you left your wipers on." for just the same reason revstriker mentioned, you will more than likely forget to turn them off in the auto car wash, and they could get damaged wiping and get knocked around by the brushes. even a reminder in the owners manaul not to leave them on for this very reason. it's not that hard, to click the knob over one position. if they did "fix" it, i'd think of it as more of a draw back than an advantage, in case i did forget. though i rarely take my car thru the auto car washes, there might be that one time......

there's my $0.02

SUNILP

First of all, it is not a problem to be fixed to begin with so NO, they will not fix it. It's suppose to do that.

c4791p

I READ my manual and its clear that if you leave the wiper switch in position 1, you get a dry sweep when you start up the car. (2004.5 C320S). And I've done it, and regretfully -- it works just like the manual says.

One thing that is not clear though, is whether the rain sensor will cause the sun roof to close if its left open and it starts to rain (presuming the wiper switch is left in position 1?)

Now, I have heard that it works that way in the c320 sedann and the owners manual sort of says it will in the wagon, but I can't get it to function in my wagon. Can anyone provide some insight?

Chuck

SUNILP

The sunroof will close on 2005 models. Not sure about 2004.5 Just try it yourself. open roof with car on, wiper 1 pos, spray sensor.

c4791p

Thanks for tip. Talk about overlooking the obvious. The answer is for the 2004.5 c320, no the sun roof doesn't close automatically. Chuck

Flash

Hi everyone (my first post and this is a fantatsic W203 website... the best ever ).

I am in the UK and have a W203 2003 C220 CDi saloon - My previous W203 was a 2002 C200 Kompessor Saloon and both cars had the rain senosor wipers - on the 2003 car the wipers would do a dry sweep everytime the ignition was on (quite irritating as scratches windscreen if dry and dirty) but on the 2003 car it no longer does the dry sweep when the ignition is turned on (which I much pefer...) and the rain sensir works fine - I guess that on 2003 models teh sensor wipers must have been modifed not to do dry sweeps on actiavtion when the ignition is turned on.

Flash

mctwin2kman

My 2003 does a dry sweep on ignition if left on. My wife always leaves them on when she gets out if it has been raining. Of course this is because she is pulling in the garage and does not of course notice them on still. She is getting better at turning them off though.

SunMan, you can get aftermarket rain sensing wipers? I would like this for my 190E if it is possible. No Adjustable Intermitent wipers on that bad boy. Only three speeds, delayed(no changing its timing), low and high on the old mono-wiper.