[pgsagar]

All cars these days have intermittent wipers. Generally we have only one speed intermittent wiper which sweeps after pause of every few seconds. Now, we have varying degrees of drizzle. Most of the time, the intermittent wiper interval does not match the drizzle. I mean either the wiper moves too fast and squeeks or moves too slow and doesn't wipe the glass clean. Both situations are irksome. Is there an aftermarket stepless regulator which may increase intermittent wiper time interval infinitely at the turn of a knob, thus helping us finetue the intermittent wiper interval to the prevailing drizzle? It will be a boon to motorists during monsoons. I am sure many motorists must have faced this problem. Is there any such thing? I haven't heard of or seen on any car(s).

[ghpk]

Don't think this exists in small cars, but there are sensors in luxury ones if I am not mistaken.
This cannot be altered at user end, you can however use the water mode to spray a little water which will run the wipers once at-least.

[AbhiJ]

The i20 has 5 diff speed settings for the intermidiate wipers...

So did my accent crdi .... if I remember correctly

[condor]

The Ikon has it. You can set the speed to what you desire.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/1134879-post1.html

Windshield wipers : Programmable intermittent speed !
Pleasantly surprised with this.
• Switch on intermittend speed wiping. Let it wipe once, then Switch off.
• Wait n seconds (between 1 & 25 seconds). Switch it on again. The number of seconds you wait, is the speed/delay of the intermittent wipe action !

Ref page #14 of the owners manual

[parampath]

My 2003 Indica has 7 speed wiper. one regular, one fast and 5 intermittent speeds.. comes really handy in drizzle conditions. I have seen a 2001 One also having the same setup

I think all Tata vehicles (No idea abt Nano) has this setting

[Digital Vampire]

Tucson has a slightly different scheme. The wiper sweep interval is determined by the vehicle speed as well as the amount of water on the windscreen as determined by a sensor. It even stops automatically when the rain has stopped and restart if it rains again. You can very well bypass and do it the normal way with programmable sweep intervals. I'm not sure if this can be retrofitted to other vehicles.

But if the intention is to get an infinitely variable intermittent speed, I guess it is possible to DIY with a timer circuit like the ubiquitous NE555 driving the wiper relay/s with varying duty cycle controlled by a potentiometer (similar to volume control variable resistor). I've never done it, but just a thought.

[ilangop]

Why not?
The Wiper intermittent relay already has a timer whose duration is decided by the Resistors and Capacitors inside. Most people might be knowing R*C = Time constant. By adjusting the speed we actually vary the resistance, like in the 5 speed cieling fan regulator.
For DIY people, in vehicles where the intermittent speed know is isolated from the wiper switch stalk (Like in Indica / Sumo) there are 3 wires. A +12V, ground and the 3rd one is the output. The entire assembly is like a potential divider. So, to have infinite speeds, you may replace this thing with a 100K POT (Volume control), connecting +12 & ground to the ends and the output wire to the middle one. The practical reason why a POT is not preferred is that if it catches up some dust inside. the output voltage will be flickering and the wiper speed will erratically vary. If you can manage to find a sealed POT, then your job is done. Can help you if some one wants to try it out or install one on older vehicled with out an INT function.

[wanderernomad]

My Indigo Marina has about 7 intermittent wiper speeds. BUt honestly they are not often used and I think about 2 speeds are just about ok to cover every eventuality.

[RajaTaurus]

Even infinite int wipers won't be of real help if the rain intensity and car speed keeps changing too quick. Better option is Automatic wipers as the one on Tuscon as D_V said above.

[anky]

Hi To have several speeds for intermetent wipers the wiper motor and the combination switch on the steering wheel needs to be changed.My alto wiper motor has only 3 possible speed settings on it.

[zaks]

Two speeds should be ok too, just make sure you use a good quality wiper blades which don't squeek.

[aargee]

I hate the intermittent concept of wiper getting delayed & always felt the need of a switch like fan's regulator (rider regular switch) to control the motor's speed or increase & decrease the timer based on this switch. I always believe it is possible & why the manufacturers aren't thinking about providing this option?

I always felt the need for this due to two factors affecting the visibility due to the variation on the speed of vehicle & the speed of the rain & wind. If such a regulator type control is provided, it becomes easy to adjust to the required speed. Is it so difficult?

@Ilango - Appreciate your thoughts & expect a PM from me soon regarding this.

PS - WagonR has only 3 steps

[tsk1979]

In small cars Indica has this feature. You can select some 4-5 speeds of intermittant wiper interval. Not sure if other small cars other than tata have it

[pgsagar]

thank you everyone for the replies. Condor, is it page 14 of your Ikon's user manual?

[ilangop]

13th May 2010, 00:09 pgsagar

Sagar, did this doubt pop up suddenly while you where in deep sleep?