hotwiredbenz

Anyone else experience this? if I have my rain sensing wipers switched on, they will occasionally 'swipe' immediately after making a left turn... and no I am not hitting the wiper switch. I took it to the dealer, but they haven't been able to replicate the problem.. so they say it can't be diagnosed.

RajwanyS550

thats simple STOP making rite turns
kidding aside, is the rain sensor mudule on the windshield loose or something..
that might have some effects on the wiper if it slightly moves or something when making those turns.

xolinlevh

*cough* left turns *cough*

trumpet1

I saw that too.

Anyway, I bet hotwired ends up having to get a new turn signal stalk/switch. Sounds like the "single wipe" feature, by pressing inward on the stalk, is getting activated due to a short or defect in the stalk itself.

Does it wipe only once? I made that statement above with the thoughts that "swipe" meant once. Or does it wipe more than once?

hotwiredbenz

yes it just swipes once. The frustrating part is that its impossible to get the dealer to replace anything unless they can replicate the problem.

trumpet1

I know that's got to be frustrating. How often does it happen when you're not at the dealership? How old is your car/mileage/etc.
Konigster might know of a tech bulletin on this problem. He is the real hero of the forum.

Diesel Benz

Yes, the car age would be important. It could be an issue with the stalk but it could also be a wiring harness issue that some early W221 cars suffered from. The harness in front of the fire wall at the engine bay should get differently fastened (just a guess, this just confuses some CAN bus and other stuff, creating odd behaviour).

trumpet1

Good point. I forgot about that possibility.

NJS430

Is it raining when this happens, or are you leaving it switched on all of the time?

hurstg2

Hwiredbenz, my 2007 S550 is doing the same. This occurs infrequently and only when I turn left.

trumpet1

Mine has done it but not in association with turning. In the 2 years I've had my car, it has happened maybe 4 times. Just a random wipe for no reason. I do keep my switch in the first position most of the time.

lkirchner

My wife's E55 (traded on a Designo S550) would do the same thing; bright sky not a cloud to be seen and the wipers would make one swipe and stop. The dealer's explanation was so bizarre that I won't even begin to repeat it. It was sun spots or moon phases from what I recall.

trumpet1

The Mayan calendar predicted the alignment of the earth/sun with the center of the Milky Way galaxy and caused the ecliptic collapse of the neighboring solar system which in turn caused a butterfly to flutter its wings in New Mexico last May causing a polar reversal which then caused your wiper to swipe.

That's what my advisor told me at least.

Just wait until Dec.21st 2012. Our sunroofs are supposed to open spontaneously.

Diesel Benz

Can you both clarify if you have the wiper in auto-mode or does it happen even if wipers are set completely off?

hurstg2

Diesel, I keep my wiper in the auto-mode.

bob smith

Both my 04 cl500 and 07 s600 do exactly the same thing, occasionly make one swipe over the screen when making a left turn. The dealers answer to this problem is you should not leave the switch in the auto position during dry weather.

Diesel Benz

At least he did not ask you to avoid turning to the left. I understand the rain sensor may get confused from different things like certain lights or reflections hitting it but the fact that a left turn activates wipers on two pretty different cars sounds like a mystery.

tomd

Freak thing!

My 09 S550 4Matic does the same thing. Maybe 1/100 left turns.

hotwiredbenz

so I was driving around the other day and I see a CL turning left at an intersection. Low and behold, right after the guy turns, his wipers do a single swipe. Seems like this problem is more common than I thought. Anyone know if there is a TSB on this?

Bob, my dealer gave me the same "solution" - turn off the auto-mode when it's not raining. (as if I couldn't think of that myself)

AKemel

We have a 2008 S550 with the same problem. I'm not sure if it's only on left turns, though. Based on past difficulties with our dealer not being able to fix other more important issues, I am reluctant to even ask about it.

trumpet1

The problem doesn't bother me, it's just I want to know "why?"

jettie1767

My CL600 just did the single wipe today at the parking lot right when I started the car. I think it's happened twice before. It was 80, bright and sunny!

cameraman123

i think its pretty normal for the car to do this as your starting it with the wipers on. At least normal for me and my 220... just turn off your autos unless its raining

ChuckinTucson

I don't have an S Class, but I do have the rain sensing wipers that I leave in the auto position. The left turn has not happened to me, but occasionally on the freeway it will do one swipe. I've "credited" it to a bug hitting the windshield. Does the sensor on the windshield sense moisture or an "object" being on the windshield, i.e., a bug or a rain drop?

Diesel Benz

The sensor has an IR transmitter and IR receivers that monitor reflections from the window glass. Water on the glass would make the IR light diffract and reflect in a different angle from a dry glass. The system is not monitoring moisture as such and any dirt or object on the glass would affect the performance.