wiper activation + washer

[jesum]

does anyone know if it's possible to re-program or hack the system so that the washer fires first before the wiper activates in the front (kinda like the rear)? or at least both occur at roughly the same time?

it annoys me because this increases the propensity for scratches to occur!!

[seangti]

I've wondered the same thing. Will follow the thread to see if anything can be done.

[DarkCloudNebulae]

This seems to be a common problem on all cars I have used (not just VW), they need more delay so there is more water on the screen before the first swipe! Maybe try suggesting it to VW, it sounds silly but they do listen to peoples complains and in the next model it might be fixed!

[blutopless2]

not 100% sure here as i never really gave it much thought till now.. but pretty sure our polo gti sprayed the water before the wipers triggered. was a 2007 model.
our Jetta ( 2008 ) definitely sprays the windscreen before the wipers come on.
Not sure if our new Tiguan does it as i have not used the washers yet...

[PeterHBne]

Yep. Annoys the shivers out of me too.....

[DarkCloudNebulae]

Mine is 2009 GTI and it doesn't spray long enough before the wipers, its ok if its the second spray as the water comes up straight away, but when you get the delay of water from the pump to the sprays, it starts the wipers too soon... that said, maybe there is an option in the coding to adjust that timing? Be interesting to know if there was!

[jesum]

i've been searching high and low and have not come across a solution to this that is programmable.

is there an electronics wizard in the house that can splice something together?

edit: when i activate the washer by pulling back the stalk, i can hear the pump activating instantaneously. so i think the issue may be that the water reservoir is so far down the car that it takes a while for the fluids to flow up to the nozzles.

is there some way to retain fluid in the tubes that feed the nozzles? or maybe increase the delay in the wiper activation by programming the delay relay (or replace it with an aftermarket unit)? i can hear the relay clicking somewhere under the driver side dash.

[PeterHBne]

Yeah Jesum I noticed the pump starts up first as well. You would think there would be fluid in the lines already from when you last used it? Mind you, it's probably not a problem we should all lose sleep over.....

[Roodosutaa]

Or retro-fit an MGB-style full manual squirt-gun type spray so you can spray the screen till the cows come home before you flick the wipers on Can't believe there was a time when electric screen wash was considered a luxury item

[noone]

So in the Polo (i own one and have not found it) the water can not be activated without the wipers... Ghay

[blutopless2]

is there some way to retain fluid in the tubes that feed the nozzles?

you will probably find its to do with the type of pump that is used. it allows the water to gravity feed back through it over time and back into the reservoir.. so the delay you are seeing is the priming of the pump and the water filling up the tubes.

if you use the washers then wait a few minutes and use them again you may not see the delay as the pump is already primed from the previous use and the tubes may still be almost full of water from the previous use. a simple solution could be to fit a small check valve into the tubing so that it stops the backflow of water.
just a thought.

[MGrove03]

Like this?
Link

its translated from a german site but he seems to add a valve of some sort maybe to fix this problem?
Its kind of hard to make out because its translated

[blutopless2]

yes... like that. just make sure you use the right type of check valve. you need one that is not very restrictive in its forward flow mode so that you still get a nice strong squirt onto the windscreen.

[jesum]

how did you find that, MGrove03? nice find! time to study it a bit more.

[jesum]

hmmmmmmmm after looking at it for a while, i have 2 comments:
1. i should be able to get any plain check valve for this as long as the valve fits into the hoses
2. why did he delete the first valve under the wiper? that seems unnecessary as long as there is a check valve right next to the water pump.
3. having a check valve at the position of the first valve (to avoid having to remove the bumper also) might not work very well since you may introduce an air pocket between the first valve and the water tank. in this setup, activating the stalk may get you a short squirt of water (from the water stored between the check valve and the washer) and then nothing for a while (from the airpocket between the check valve and the water tank) and then water again (when the water from the water tank finally makes it up to the top).

thoughts, folks??