How to get to the service if the wipers suddenly broke in the rain
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The creative team of Elon Musk has recently come up with a revolutionary transformation in the janitor business on a car. She invented a new method of non-contact cleaning of car windows. To do this, mini-rails are laid above and below the windshield of a car, along which a source of electromagnetic radiation scurries extremely quickly in a horizontal plane. Without touching the glass, even in a heavy downpour, he manages to leave it free of water. But while this innovation takes over the bulk of the world's car fleet, motorists have to put up with old wipers, which tend to fail. What should the driver do if this happened on the road far from the service station or at home and during the rain?
What to do if car wipers break in the rain
The most reasonable advice, suggesting to pull over to the side of the road and wait out the bad weather, is rejected outright by most drivers, since the clear prospect of wasting time seems more tragic than the vague possibilities of getting into an accident.
How to get to a car service without wipers: life hacks from experienced drivers
If by driving experience we mean not the inability to hit the road with a faulty or breathless janitor, but the ability to get out in unusual situations, then such drivers really have rich experience.
The most popular life hack that can alleviate the fate of a driver caught in the rain with a janitor who has failed in front of his eyes is tying ropes to him, one of which winds up in the left window, and the second in the right. Alternately pulling the ropes sets in motion the wiper blade, which, although extremely slowly and uncertainly, nevertheless begins to fulfill its functions. It is clear that this system is much more convenient to use when a passenger sits next to the driver and performs these manipulations. But sometimes the driver himself does such tricks. He has to drive very slowly. In addition, it should be emphasized that this life hack should be used away from the traffic police. She does not officially accept such innovations, although sometimes she can get into a situation like a human being, that is, she will force her to stop, but will not fine her.
A fairly effective way to deal with rain when the wipers are not working is considered windshield oil coating, which creates a transparent water-repellent film that forces raindrops to be removed from the glass.
Some suggest using a spray that protects shoes from getting wet for this purpose. It also creates a water-repellent film on the glass. But even if we assume that many drivers constantly carry such a spray with them, the requirement to use such a method only at a speed of at least 60 km / h (otherwise it is ineffective) is clearly dangerous in bad weather.
Much more reliable means of industrial production from the Anti-Rain line. They also mainly use the principle of creating a water-repellent film on glass. And, as evidenced by the reviews of motorists, these properties directly depend on the cost of the product. Most cheap "anti-rain" works, like the shoe protection spray described above, only when the car reaches a decent speed. Expensive proprietary products often, indeed, have pronounced properties to remove raindrops from windows and at the same time can maintain their performance for six months.
Some drivers with long driving experience claim that tobacco helps well in the rain and when the wipers are not working. It allegedly makes the surface of the glass wettable, which causes raindrops to blur and not interfere with the view of the road.
How to repair wipers on the spot
Most often, windshield wipers are driven into a stupor by a rotary nut that secures them. In winter, it corny freezes, and in a warmer period, the presence of dirt jams it. Sometimes, on the contrary, it is weakened, which is easily eliminated with a wrench.
In addition, the inaction of the janitor can lead to:
- Blown fuse protecting the wiper motor. It is with its replacement that it is worth starting the search and elimination of the cause of the inaction of the wipers. You can find out where this fuse is located in a particular car in its instruction manual.
- Violation of the integrity of the wiring and contacts. The wiring can break and the contacts oxidize, which is also one of the most common reasons for the windshield wipers to stop working. Such a violation can also be quickly eliminated on the road.
- Faulty wiper control unit. At the steering switch of the wipers, the contacts are often oxidized, which can be eliminated in the "field" conditions. But sometimes the entire control unit needs to be replaced, which requires a new unit.
If the contacts in the wiper switch are oxidized, the problem can be solved quite easily - Breakage of the wiper motor, which immobilizes the entire wiper system. If there is a voltage equal to the battery voltage at the connectors of the electric motor, then the motor either has worn out brushes, which, if spares are available, are quite easy to replace, or the winding has burned out, which requires the replacement of the entire electric motor in stationary conditions.Even the heart of the windshield wiper system - the motor can be repaired on the road with spare brushes
- Malfunction of the trapezoid, which consists of levers and rods that transmit movement from the wiper motor to its leashes. It is these leashes that most often fail. They cannot be repaired, they can only be replaced.
What not to do and why
If you have skills in car repair, tools and some spare parts, then you can make any attempts to revive the "dead" wipers. The only thing that should not be done categorically is driving with a broken windshield wiper in rain or snow. According to the administrative regulations, traffic police officers have the right in such a situation to require the driver of the vehicle to immediately stop moving. Failure to comply with this requirement (according to Article 17.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) is fraught with penalties in the amount of 1 to 1,5 thousand rubles.
Preventive measures to increase the life of the windshield wipers
To maximize the life of your windshield wipers, do not:
- turn them on with dry and dirty glass;
- use an incorrectly adjusted washer;
- leave the brushes in one position for a long time;
- turn on the wipers, despite the freezing of the brushes to the glass;
- clean icy glass;
- allow oil to get on the rubber of the brushes.
In addition, for prevention it is useful:
- systematically clean the rubber bands of the brushes and the windshield from grease and dirt;
- weekly, with the brushes raised, turn on the wipers for a couple of minutes to self-clean the electric motor collector;
- when the car is parked for a long time, raise the wiper arms above the glass by 5–20 mm by placing matchboxes or bottle caps under them to eliminate contact of the rubber tape with the glass;
- develop the habit in winter to free the brushes from ice only manually, turning on the wipers only when there is a complete absence of ice on them and on the glass.
Reviews and tips from drivers
Try sprinkling tobacco from a torn cigarette on your windshield and rubbing it with a non-greasy rag. The surface of the windshield will become wetted, the droplets interfering with the view will spread, the layer of water on the windshield will become continuous and will not interfere with the view.
From personal experience. For more than 30 years of operation, the car also got into similar situations. Tobacco, indeed, helped out, but with not very heavy rain. Of the "brands", Prima and Belomor-Kanal proved to be very good at that time, they were vigorous. So you can take it as a joke or follow the advice (this is for non-smokers) next to the fuses for driving the wipers and the washer pump, throw in a pack of cheaper cigarettes - they will help you get to the service station on the road.
Driving without wipers is a nightmare, especially if the rain is very frequent. Although it often happens to me, if the rain is average, then at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, the drops themselves roll up the glass and the glass remains clean. In such cases, I even turn off the wipers and drive without them. But this does not always happen. Like this.
The only thing that comes to mind is to turn on the stove on the glass to the maximum, in a light rain it can dry out.
If the motor works, but the wipers do not go, then you remove the cap at the base of the wiper drive, tighten the nut there and the wipers work again. Perhaps there is a slightly different mechanism, for example, a nut from below, but whatever one may say, it is there and it just unscrewed, and it turns out that the axis is spinning, but the base of the wiper slips, since there is no strong connection.
Video: if the wipers do not work in the rain
Of course, when the wipers are not working during the rain, it is more prudent to wait out the bad weather. But not all drivers have the time or desire for this. Some life hacks or quick troubleshooting methods help solve the problem to one degree or another. But one thing remains immutable: it is forbidden to drive with idle windshield wipers in rain or snow!
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