quickclear windscreen

Hi,

I actually find both of these really good, and the rain sensor is perfectly accurate for me. Just as I'm thinking that the screen is in need of attention the wipers spring into action. I think it's the best thing ever. Maybe the sensor was calibrated in a place with my kind of weather? Again, I can imagine this feature is open to different opinions.

Jen, you do realise that you're supposed to look through the windscreen not at it? ;-)

It sounds like you're suffering from what the bikers call target fixation: i.e. you're paying too much attention to them.

I had a Mundaneo with quickclear a few years ago and despite only getting frost a few days in the year found it invaluable for those cold misty mornings we get near the sea, because the car didn't have aircon ('97 P plate). I was then spending an average of 4 hours a day behind the wheel driving all over the south coast.

One thing that can make the wires being more or less visible is how clean you keep the inside of the screen. Give it a clean with household window cleaner BUT only wipe up and down in the direction of the wires, do this about once a month and you'll harldly notice the wires. If the first time you do this the paper towel/cloth comes away brown do it again until the cloth comes away clean. The number of people who only clean the inside of their windscreen when it fogs up is unbelieveable (usually with their hand or the closest bit of rag).

One more thing, if you are claiming this under your insurance they will liklely ONLY allow 'like for like' replacement, if you do decide to go and change it for something different then you will have to foot the bill.

-- Chris

What a ridiculous suggestion!!

The quick-clear screens are easily the best ever feature of a Ford, the auto- wipers less so- some can be abit haphazard.

Look *through* the screen rather than at it - you will soon get used to it.

Tim..

It's a common complaint about the QuickClear screens.

It's especially bad for people who wear glasses - my mother in law refuses to drive the father in law's S-type in the dark because of this.

I wear glasses and have never had a problem.

Tim..

Ditto!

Chris

But if you wear glasses you're used to focusing past the fingerprints close up & at the thing you're interested in.

true but I find quickclear screens distracting, especially in bright sunlight and at night. Relatively pointless too, never had a problem demisting any modern car with a/c.

It's designed for melting the ice / frost on the screen in about 30seconds, not so much de-misting!

Tim..

Thanks to SteveH for the back up. I guess you other folks don't actually know the answer to my question then?

I believe the rain sensors are just IR transmitters/receivers inside the car behind/on the rear view mirror, so changing the windscreen shouldn't make a difference.

Al.

Err no, those are for the auto-dip rear view mirror.

The rain sensor is stuck to the glass and uses a HF emitter and receiver- the resonance of the glass changes when its wet.

Tim..

There's more than one version, some rely on the change in reflectivity. Which still leaves the answer as ask Ford, as nobodies bothered to make such a change. I still can't think of any reason it wouldn't work, most autosensing wipers are on cars without quick clear windscreens.

Err no, they are behind the mirror. Autodip sensors are at the front of the mirror. Schoolboy error, stand in the corner.

What a load of bollocks.

You Are Conor And I Claim My Five Pounds.

Al.

ITYF that auto dip mirrors have a sensor on the back and another one on the front built into the mirror casing.

Optical sensors utilise light and the principle of total internal refraction within glass. In its basic form an optical sensor consists of a light source, a light detector and an optical assembly. The optical assembly is two lenses and or light guides. A beam of light is directed through the optical assembly into the windscreen glass, the light is ?trapped? within the glass due to total internal refraction. This is the principle used in fibre optic cable. The light bounces from the outside surface of the glass back to the inside surface of the glass until it is picked up by the second optical assembly. If rain falls on the glass within the sensing area, light ?breaks free? as it is directed into the water droplet, this causes a corresponding reduction in the received light. Usually a microprocessor is used to distinguish between different amounts of rain and runs algorithms to provide best wiping results. This is why it'd be f*ck all use mounting the sensor for automatic wipers on the interior mirror, and is why the sensor is stuck to the glass.

HTH.

Thank you pete.

I was only aware of the Ford system I mentioned above.

Tim..

Hi,

Thanks for all the information. It's good to know how it works. I see the sensor on the back of the rear view mirror. It is also clearly visible on looking in through the windscreen from the outside. I'm taking the car to the garage tomorrow so I'll keep you posted on any thrilling technical developments.

Hi,

I asked my Ford garage about this, and they phoned Ford and asked. Apparently the windscreen can't be replaced with a non-quickclear one, as if they did this they would have to remove the sensors and then the intermittent windscreen wiping setting would not work. (Not the auto- speed wiping but the slow intermittent setting that you get on all cars.) That's weird isn't it? So it'll be a new heated windscreen for me after all.

Thanks for the discussion, it was really interesting.

Jen