pulse the switch
I cannot hear a relay
click inside the Rain
Tracker interface module
when I pulse the wiper
switch.
You probably have a problem with the power, ground, or activation switch.
Check to see that the activation switch is working: there should be about 12V at the activation
switch / mode reader (GRY wire) coming into the Rain Tracker.
I can hear a relay click in
the interface module, but
the wipers do not run.
Check the wiring around the SNO terminal, and the power diode (GRN, WHT, YEL wires from
the Rain Tracker.)
Check for this especially common problem: the Switch and Motor side connections to the Rain
Tracker are reversed. The PPL wire from the Rain Tracker should go to the switch side of the
break you made in the SLOW wire. The BLU wire from the Rain Tracker should go to the
motor side.
Check: for all of these sorts of application (motor-switching applications) the connections are
fairly heavy gage wire—18 AWG or thicker-- in the vehicle.. If you have connected the Rain
Tracker to to any thin wires in the vehicle, you probably have connected to a wrong wire.
Could you have connected to some wire other than SLOW?
•
For Hot-Side Switching systems: check that the SLOW wire goes to +12V for manual slow
mode, ground for off mode.
•
For Ground-Side Switching systems: check that the SLOW wire goes to 0 for manual slow
mode, +12V for off mode.
Wipers stop on the
middle of the windshield.
Check the SNC connection (PPL wire from the Rain Tracker). Be sure it is going to the switch
side, not the motor side.
You may need to use the CAM Feedback feature of the RT-50A. If this is the case, you need to
purchase the RT-50A.
Some applications will do this if you try to run both the Rain Tracker and the intermittent mode
simultaneously. Keep the factory system off when running the Rain Tracker.
The wiper fuse just blew!
If you use the Hot Side Switching Diagram for a Ground Side Switching system, or the other
way around, you will be shorting power to ground, causing the fuse to blow or breaker to trip.
4. Diagnosing Sensor problems.
•
If you skipped straight to this step, go back and systematically go through the procedure from the beginning, eliminating
more common problems.
•
The sensor adjusts itself to the windshield when it powers up. To be sure that it has done this, turn the ignition off and
then on.
•
Place the existing wiper switch in manual off, and activate the Rain Tracker system
•
See how the system responds to a spray bottle or garden hose.
Symptom
Check
System does not respond
to water at all.
Did you mount the sensor so that the double-stick tape wets out against the glass?
•
The sensor will not see through the red release-liner tape—you must remove it, and actually
install the sensor using the procedure I the installation manual..
•
You cannot just tape the sensor against the glass without mounting it.
•
The tape must be fully ‘wetted out’ (appears black from outside the vehicle)—you cannot
lightly tack the sensor to the glass.
•
Verify that there is 12V getting to the sensor. Do this by unplugging the sensor, putting
two small bits of wire (resistor leads are a good choice) into the the sensor cable, and
checking with a multi-meter.
Sensor responds barely at Is the sensor mounted too far in the shade band? From the mid 90's on, most US vehicles come
Rain Tracker RT-40A Troubleshooting Procedure : Motor Switching Applications
Page 2 of 4
Last Revised: 08/01/08
