Howto: Upgrade to autodim/rain sensor mirror

[tongsli]

Very fun mod. Or lack of fun depending on how you look at it because you will spent a lot less time adjusting your wiper speed.

David, you know this is a safety mod, right? One day we were driving on the interstate and it was raining very hard. Pulled next to a sixteen wheeler which hit a huge puddle and splashed more water on our windshield than I've ever seen.

Rain sensor immediately increased the wiper speed to the fastest setting clearing the windshield in 2 wipes. (that's how much water there was) My wife couldn't believe it. She still didn't say she likes it, but I think that day she recognized its value.

L

 

[dieselgti]

heh... yeah... fun mod - remember that this thread was resurrected because of people trying to get RID of their rain sensing feature! I thought of doing the mod on the Jetta when I had to replace the windshield, and decided against it. After living with it in the W8, I absolutely made the right choice. It drives me nuts in most situations, and not at all worth the aggravation for the few occasions where it really does work well.

My point - just be informed before you jump in with money and time for a mod that you may have false expectations for. Check the thread volmaniac referenced above for starters.

Yeah, I've read through the thread. I'm keeping my stock non-rain sensing relay just in case (might use it in the winter if it's that bad)! From the sounds of it this will force me to upgrade to the 5.5L washer fluid tank. I'm mostly looking forward to having the autodim mirror! I love having this feature on my Mercedes. As far as rain sensor it sounds like you need good wiper blades and a nicely rain-x'ed windshield... I love mods like these!

 

[fitzski]

The 5.5L washer fluid tank is an absolute must for any MkIV, and pretty straightforward and affordable as well:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=928914

 

[volmaniac]

The 5.5L washer fluid tank is an absolute must for any MkIV

great, i will look for a thread where folks are getting tired of having use a whole gallon of washer fluid to fill up their tanks and maybe we can do some more trading!

 

[Hoffer]

What rain sensing wipers are good for.

heh... yeah... fun mod - remember that this thread was resurrected because of people trying to get RID of their rain sensing feature! I thought of doing the mod on the Jetta when I had to replace the windshield, and decided against it. After living with it in the W8, I absolutely made the right choice. It drives me nuts in most situations, and not at all worth the aggravation for the few occasions where it really does work well.

For as long as I had the automatic wipers, I could never figure out what the point of the sensitivity settings higher than least sensitive were. Anything but the lowest speed was annoying. I always had mine on least sensitive, and even then it would be a bit aggressive once in a while.

Then I did this year's POR. It rained the first night. When doing the competitive portions of the event, I putting that thing on the highest sensitivity was perfect. It's amazing how much less rain you can tolerate when you're trying to keep from sliding off a rain slicked dirt road. And in line with what Lito said: When I'd hit a large puddle at speed and completely cover the windshield, the wipers would clear it in no time. The highest sensitivity setting was great, and I'm now really glad that I did this mod. Made that whole first night of competition that much easier, never having to worry about the wipers.

 

[dieselgti]

Does anyone know what part # 1J0 955 559 is? I just got my mirror and that's the part number of the part that looks like the rain sensor. The piece has three wires coming out of it just like the rain sensor in the doc... The part number on worldimpex.com looks like it was superceeded by #1J0 971 411. The price isn't even close to the 411A part. Any ideas? The mirror came from a 1999 Passat w/ a black autodim mirror. I got the setup from someone that dismantles VW's, but has no clue about them.

IMPEX SKU # 147027
1J0971411
1J0971411
Manufacturer: GENUINE PART
Price: $16.01

 

[dieselgti]

Does anyone know what part # 1J0 955 559 is?

Nevermind, I figured it out after looking at EKTA. The 411A is the entire wiring assembly. 559/411 is just the sensor itself!

 

[ravipedrosa]

Does anyone known the part number for the black mirror and covers? i have a glx golf who came with the auto dimming and rain sensor mirro and i would like to change to black to match my black headliner

 

[MOGolf]

Black parts:
3B0 857 511 H 01C MIRROR
3B0 858 547 A 9B9 LEFT CAP
3B0 858 548 A 9B9 RIGHT CAP
3B0 857 591 A 01C WIRING CONDUIT
3B0 857 594 A 01C WIRING CONDUIT

 

[Bazmcc]

I have a couple of black versions of this mirror and also a couple of light grey ones if anyone is interested. I also have trim parts for them, wash wipe relays, and a couple of rain sensors as well. The bracket can be glued to a normal windscreen like any mirror. Wiring is easy and you can wire the rain sensor and dimmer independantly.
Baz

P.S.
light grey mirror with trim, rain sensor and relay - $140 shipped
black mirror with trim, rain sensor and relay - $170 shipped

All you need is the wiring loom and windshield bracket.

 

[parrothed]

hey Glenn
I have a 2004 beetle with a gys auto trans having trouble with solonoid a stuck marty said i should ask you if you knew anything about them
any help?
mark

 

[blizzard60]

Sorry for bumping a very old thread, but I thought I would post here first instead of starting a new one!

Has anyone who has done this mod noticed that the white wiring conduit causes the headliner not to sit flush at the front, where it meets the windshield? I was perusing ETKA and noticed that 2000 and 2001 jettas had different part numbers for headliners with and without the rain sensor. This seem to be the only year combo and model (jetta wagons, golfs, etc don't differentiate) that specifically lists a headliner for the rain sensor.

Thoughts?

EDIT: They actually list a different "cable duct" part number for the later cars: 1J0 971 615 CG (number 5 in the picture below). Anyone have an actual pic of this?

 

[Bazmcc]

I noticed that the earlier headliner is a different shape and the grab handles are in a very slightly different position. You'll also notice that the C pillars are actually a different shape in some Jettas. All the later ones should be the same though. When I fitted mine I had no fitment problems.

 

[blizzard60]

So you are saying yes, the white duct shown earlier in this thread is probably wrong for my car and I should just order one of the later cable ducts to fit my '04? They are cheap, so it would be worth a try anyway.

BTW, off topic, but I finally fitted the roof wiring harness I got from you for the interior monitor. I added the white and black wires for the factory mic though. Thanks, the factory harness saved me a lot of work!

 

[Bazmcc]

To be honest the white ducting isn't even needed. You can just tape the wires to your roof.

 

[Lurker92]

Anyone have the PDF from the OP? Link is dead and I just got my hands on the parts for this.

 

[Bazmcc]

What is it you need?

All you need is the new windscreen and the wiring diagram. (obviously the parts and a few wiring connectors).
Here's my diagram.

 

[Lurker92]

Thanks, does that cover the rain sensor as well?

 

[Bazmcc]

Thanks, does that cover the rain sensor as well?

Yes. As you can see from the diagram the dimmer plug and the rain sensor plugs are there and the connections to the wash wipe relay.

 

[MNShortBus]

Hello, sorry to bring this one back to the top but I need some help with my sensor install. I originally installed the mirror and sensor about 3 years ago with parts from a junk yard Passat. When testing (first rain) the auto wipers would not work with the sensor no matter the setting. I tried some testing with a spray bottle as well, same result. I switched back to the 377 relay to get my intermittent wipers back and never got around to getting the sensor feature working. I'm working on a few things this winter and decided to dig into this again while things are apart. I need some suggestions for troubleshooting as I have checked all my wiring multiple times and it's all good.

1. There is no kline or controlleright so vagcom doesn't help.
2. Can the sensor be tested? Voltage or resistance tests for the 3 wires?
3. Can the relay be tested? Single wipe, high and low speed are working on the 192 relay.

I'd really like to avoid finding another sensor or relay and testing my luck.

Thanks in advance.

Obligatory mirror pic

 

[Bazmcc]

Hi, I recognise the name from the vortex.

ok, so you have a 192 relay?
Did you test the car 'real world' while driving?

I've fitted a few of these but never had an issue with the sensor. Can you tell us what wires you have in the T4a connector? Colours and pin numbers please.

And obviously you have the autodimming windshield and it's not a retrofitted bracket on the standard screen is it?

 

[MNShortBus]

Hi, I recognise the name from the vortex.

ok, so you have a 192 relay?
Did you test the car 'real world' while driving?

I've fitted a few of these but never had an issue with the sensor. Can you tell us what wires you have in the T4a connector? Colours and pin numbers please.

And obviously you have the autodimming windshield and it's not a retrofitted bracket on the standard screen is it?

Yep, from the vortex

I have the 192 relay and did test it with real world driving. Driving back from SoWo in 2013 in the pouring rain for a few hours. Curious, is there a speed sensor signal that the 192 relay uses?

I will have to check the wiring when I am by the car to be sure. This will be from memory.
Both sides of the T4a connector share the same wire colors.
T4a/1 - Green/Black (Goes to T18/10, tested connection with multimeter)
T4a/2 - Green (Goes to T18/14, same test)
T4a/3 - Brown (Earth/Ground)
T4a/4 - NC

I also fitted a R32 windshield with the correct mirror mount when I had the windshield replaced.

 

[Bazmcc]

First thing I would do is check that the pins are correct on the relay connection. As with my diagram above obviously the pins shown on the relay are reversed compared to the relay plate.

It's not uncommon for the relay to fail. So obviously try a test with it to make sure the connections inside are firing correctly. If your normal wiper stalk and relay work fine on the intermediate position I would say the 192 relay is most likely to be the problem.

 

[MNShortBus]

First thing I would do is check that the pins are correct on the relay connection. As with my diagram above obviously the pins shown on the relay are reversed compared to the relay plate.

It's not uncommon for the relay to fail. So obviously try a test with it to make sure the connections inside are firing correctly. If your normal wiper stalk and relay work fine on the intermediate position I would say the 192 relay is most likely to be the problem.

I'll verify the pins again. I know that I only added two pins when I installed the wiring. No other wiring was removed or modified from the T18 connector.

I did find some pin information in another thread, ill post it here to help some others if they ever need it. Interesting that this relay has a speed signal associated with it. Is it possible to test the sensor while the car is not moving? I would think that the wiper relay would be built to keep the windshield clear of rain if the wiper is set to "on" regardless if the car is moving or not (This is how it is on my B8 A4 with auto wipers).

The wiper relay pin assignments are:

1 Speed signal
2 Intermittent wiper control switch "53b"
3 Intermittent wiper control
4 Wiper motor (green)
5 Wiper motor (green/yellow)
6 Headlight washer pump
7 Washer pump
8 Intermittent wiper control switch "53"
9 Light switch (headlights on)
10 Rain sensor (black/green)
11 Wiper motor (green/black)
12 Intermittent wiper control switch "J"
13 Power from fuse 24
14 Rain sensor (green)
15 Power from fuse 33
17 Ground

 

[MNShortBus]

Alright... bit of an update.

Opened the 192 relay that I currently have and visually inspected it. It looks OK. The new 192 relay looks OK as well. Installed the new relay and I get the same behavior, no intermittent wipe.

With the relay installed:
Pin T4a/1 shows .6 volts
Pin T4a/2 shows 12v

I'm guessing one is the signal back to the relay from the sensor. Voltage does not change when applying water to the windshield with a spray bottle.

Looks like the sensor is next?

 

[MNShortBus]

Update...

Stumbled upon the SSP for the Golf4. According to the PDF the rain sensor uses LEDs and a photo sensor to detect light reflecting off of the water on the windshield. I'll be taking one of my spares apart to get a better look at how its configured.

 

[compu_85]

That's how every rain sensor that I know of works. They shine IR light on the glass. When there's no rain it's reflected back to the sensor. When there is rain the water on the glass makes it reflect less.

-J

 

[MNShortBus]

That's how every rain sensor that I know of works. They shine IR light on the glass. When there's no rain it's reflected back to the sensor. When there is rain the water on the glass makes it reflect less.

-J

News to me!



I got a hold of a few extra sensors to do some testing. Previously in the thread I had mentioned that I think the T4/1 pin is the signal to the relay for when to wipe. The sensor currently installed in my car shows .6 volts with water or my hand over the sensor.

I tested three additional sensors and got a different result on the last one.
Sensor 1 - .6 volts with an occasional spike to 4.9 with my finger on the sensor.
Sensor 2 - .6 volts all the time.
Sensor 3 - 4.9 volts all the time with a dip in voltage each time my finger covers the sensor. This is very repeatable compared to sensor 1.
Sensor in car - .6 volts all the time.

I'm wondering if sensor 3 is the one that is behaving correctly. The relay would see a change in voltage and then require the wipers to wipe with each dip in voltage. If this is the case I get these sensors aren't very reliable after baking in the summer heat for a few years.

Here are some pics of one sensor taken apart.

Lens removed

Side view. Appears to be a 2 PCBs sandwiched together.

Where are the IR LEDs? they don't seem to on here.

Next step is going to be plugging the sensors into the car.

 

[compu_85]

Are the LEDs part of the lens? Which sensor in your list is the one you took apart? It almost looks like all the LEDs and IR sensor are missing

 

[MNShortBus]

Are the LEDs part of the lens? Which sensor in your list is the one you took apart? It almost looks like all the LEDs and IR sensor are missing

I took apart sensor number one. The lens appears to be a simple plastic piece with the rubber ring in the middle. I'm not sure what the purpose of that ring is. I'm going to grab a different camera to see if I can get a better view of the components.