Wipers never completely
stop wiping-- very long
intermittent
If the wipers never completely stop, replace the wiper blades (they were due for it, weren't they?).
Clean the area just over the Rain Tracker sensor, and polish the glass with a soft cloth.
Check each of the conditions listed above.
Rain Tracker does not
respond fast enough
Note that it is normal for the wipers to speed up and slow down over several seconds. Real rain
storms do not start or stop instantly. The Rain Tracker should respond appropriately to a real rain
storm. With a spray bottle demonstration, it will appear to respond too slowly.
Sensitivity too low
Rain-X or car waxes can makes the sensor too insensitive. You can use Rain-X or any other
hydrophobic coating, but clean the area just over the Rain Tracker sensor, and polish the glass
with a soft cloth.
If the sensitivity is not to the driver's liking, you may adjust it. See the installation manual.
Sensor appears to
actually slow down with
more water
This can happen in installations with external resistors. (Usually not HSS or GSS applications!)
Check to make sure that the external component values are correct. This condition can be tricky
to diagnose because it looks like a sensor problem. Use an ohmmeter to check the value of the
external resistors.
Sensitivity too high
If the sensitivity is not to the driver's liking, you may shift it up or down using the procedure
shown in the installation manual.
The sensitivity detects darkness and increases the sensitivity a little at night.
On vehicles that wipe from the center out (e.g. recent Chrysler vans) having the sensor too close
to the edge of the wipe pattern will make the system wipe too much.
No amount of water will
make the system run fast
Are you doing this in bright sunlight? Note that the Rain Tracker will not run the wipers fast
when in bright sunlight. The Rain Tracker is intentionally less sensitive in very bright
conditions, which are often due to road spray. This is to prevent smearing.
If possible, have an assistant spray the sensor, and listen for the FAST relay click when the
sensor is being sprayed hard. If you hear this, you know the system is trying to make the wipers
run fast, and the problem is in the interface wiring.
Check the wiring around the FAST terminals—the PNK and ORN wires from the Rain Tracker.
Check to see that you properly cut the SLOW motor winding—you do not just Tee into it. If you
just Tee into SLOW, the Rain Tracker shorts the SLOW and FAST windings together when it
tries to make the wipers run fast. This slows the wipers down enough so it can look like it cannot
run the system fast.
Could you have chosen the wrong wire for FAST?
•
For Hot-Side Switching systems: check that the FAST wire goes to +12V for manual fast
mode, ground for off mode.
•
For Ground-Side Switching systems: check that the FAST wire goes to 0 for manual fast
mode, +12V for off mode.
•
For external-component applications, see if the behavior of the FAST wire is appropriate for
the switch.
Responds to water, but
Fast speed is slower than
it should be
There is probably some wiring error that is shorting the wiper motor slow and fast windings
together. For example, the power diode (YEL & WHT) from the Rain Tracker is not wired in
place. Be sure to correct this, as it wears the wiper motor out.
Rain Tracker RT-50A Troubleshooting Procedure: Motor-switching Applications
www.raintracker.com
Page 5 of 6
Last Revised: 08/02/12
