The simple, clever sensor behind automatic windshield wipers

When it's wet it wipes.
Links 'n' stuff:
The video I just did on stovetops:
• Simmerstats: The geniu...
Technology Connections on Mastodon:
mas.to/@TechConnectify
Technology Connections on Bluesky:
bsky.app/profile/techconnecti...
This channel is supported through viewer contributions on Patreon. Thanks to the generous support of people like you, Technology Connections has remained independent and possible. If you'd like to join the amazing people who've pledged their support, check out the link below. Thank you for your consideration!
/ technologyconnections

[@jordananderson2728]

The thing that surprises me the most about this entire episode is that Alec is not the kind of person to read his owner's manual front to back within the first 30 days of buying his car.

[@sarkybugger5009]

I had had my company car for three months, before I RTFM, and discovered it had a 6 disk CD changer hidden in the boot / trunk...

[@Highraven]

I'm a nerd I give it a solid flip through the first week😅

[@Skiman__]

I read manuals for cars I don’t even own, but am really interested in. It’s a good way to know all the useful little features the cars/devices have. Side note- I especially hate how so many companies are making the goddamn user manuals web-only, the whole point of a manual is you don’t need a network connection to look something up. I miss pdf manuals. Edit to add clarity- They don’t even have an option to download a pdf version, it’s just a link for the online manual. It’s much more clumbersome to jump back and forth between sections

[@kommodore6691]

@@Highraven I read mine online before buying my car so I knew how to test drive it and what the features were.

[@piast99]

@@Highraven - and for my car the delivery was delayed for a week from the agreed date. Reading the manual calmed my nerves.

[@norlockv]

Alec, stand proudly. You used the manual as intended; as the last resort. You sir, are an engineer.

[@andrewpast1959]

I just opened my hood when I got to this problem.

[@joels7605]

If it's not on Google it doesn't exist.

[@ElusiveDino]

As the last resort? It should be your first resort, especially if you haven't read it. It's often a lot more useful than you might think.

[@oliverer3]

As an engineer I spend the majority of my time reading the manual, or more formally datasheet. So I feel like it's more the first than the last resort.

[@talon262]

@@ElusiveDino *That'sTheJoke.jpg*

[@PopsGG]

As a Tesla owner, thank for the first 50 seconds of this video and 8:50. A much needed roasting of Tesla's decision to not include them.

[@mattw4211]

Me too hahhahahahha

[@davidglieder8862]

Why 8:50? The hood covering the blades gives you quite a bit more efficiency and therefore range, ist smart design. And the button to service the blades is literally right in the service menu in the car, couldn’t be much easier. The decision to not use a rain sensor however is borderline stupid, wipers don’t work well on Teslas now since 7 years and counting

[@ONI1013.]

Tesla doesn’t even rain sensing wipers?? Lol

[@PopsGG]

@@ONI1013. They do not have sensors to save money. It's estimated they cost less than $10.

[@ONI1013.]

@@PopsGG “To save money”?? And that’s pathetic excuse from Tesla. For a car that’s $60-130k?? More reasons why Tesla should never be considered an “luxury” brand. What other amenities are they missing?

[@itsamindgame9198]

It is highly satisfying to see you present a technology that relies on the magic of having two of them.

[@SueBobChicVid]

I watched a Technology Connections video, in its entirety, in one sitting, and still had time for my life. Who knew that was possible?

[@sivalon1]

Enjoy it. It may never happen again.

[@LuigiMordelAlaume]

You say as you post a comment to strangers on the internet arguing that you have a life. Who exactly are you trying to convince?

[@TheSanpletext]

You mean to say you don't watch all the one hour'ish videos on one go? Do I have too much time on my hands?

[@Eliasdbr]

Why did I read it with Technology Connections' voice😂

[@stacksofslaps7442]

This video was posted a day ago yet the video is only a hour old, how?

[@roippi3985]

Some engineer: - looks at pulse oximeter - looks at windshield - *squints eyes*

[@zombie_pigdragon]

Technology? Connected.

[@andreasu.3546]

So here we are at the age old question: What came first, the pulse oxymeter or the automatic wind shield wiper?

[@erebostd]

⁠@@andreasu.3546 pulse oxymeter. First one was from 72, first automatic wipers were sold 96

[@cconnors]

"I bet I could fit a bi-metallic strip in that windshield."

[@ParrotDuct]

@@erebostd first auto wipers were sold in 1970, but also pulse oximeters were merely commercialized in 72-75 - the technique was invented in 1937! it just took a while for technology to get them small / accurate / cheap enough to make it into health care at scale.

[@Lttlemoi]

As a software engineer, thank you for spreading the gospel off RTFM. As a sidenote, the people who need to be told to RTFM also seem to be the people who don't write any manuals for the stuff _they_ make, or don't bother describing 80% of the functionality in it. Not sure what is more frustrating. Telling people to RTFM or finding out there is no FM to R.

[@NickMacKenzie]

definitely the latter

[@jdtubaman]

came to say just this!

[@KSBondi13]

I tell my college students to RTFSyllabus every single semester. They don't, but I still try.

[@alexyocky2687]

I come for the info but stay for the humor. I find myself giggling every video and it reminds me, adults need to laugh more. Thank you

[@penguinshadow6567]

"Look, I get it wet, and the car wipes! But two can play at that game-" then using a screen whipe as a transition between frames. Is exactly the kind of joke I love getting blindsighted by between detailed information in a presentable manner, and truely midwestern levels of snark.

[@U014B]

I totally didn't catch that, I though he was just making a non sequitir.

[@smorris12]

I read this comment at exactly the same time as that bit of the video!

[@Mrshoujo]

*wipe screen

[@craigslist6988]

Blindsided, as in from the side you cannot see.

[@eiew]

1:01 if anyone is looking for it

[@fghsgh]

7:24 "having two of them" Alec, please never stop doing these it's hilarious

[@joshortgies]

Haha I didn’t even get that. Thank you!

[@Kyss007]

Spit out some juice when I said that XD

[@storybook8020]

Was really hoping he would say through the magic of buying 2 (cars)of them😂😂

[@JohnDoe-nq4du]

​@@storybook8020 He's gonna need a lot more patreon subscribers to make that particular dream a reality.

[@ElectroDFW]

I totally missed that 😢

[@michaelheimbrand5424]

I had two very nice surprises recently after buying a very cheap Citroën from 1998. First, it has a rain sensor. And second, It´s by far the best working rain sensor i have ever seen. It never gets confused or start when it´s dry or forget to wipe when it´s wet. It´s 100% perfect all the time. And they did that in 1998!

[@deathpallie325]

Too bad Citroën cars are not sold in the United States of America, and I don't know of any 1990s US market cars with rain sensors.

[@Filip_Phreriks]

Citroën had always been innovative. Sometimes too much for their own good.

[@michaelheimbrand5424]

@@Filip_Phreriks They are so brilliant that they had solutions to even non-existing problems. One of my favorites is that the magnificent DS had real-time self adjusting height correction on the headlights....on a car that also has self leveling suspension. I mean, it´s a good idea for headlights to not jump up and down when you go over bumps. But then again, I have yet to see the DS jump at all on any bumps. You can actually take a speed bump way too fast in a DS with a glass of water on the dash without even upsetting the water. Gotta love them...

[@howarddavies136]

I had the same surprise with my old 306 HDI. I loved that little shitbox.

[@davidquirk8097]

I once had the privilege of working along side a Technical Author and he worked really hard to create a useable, easy to understand users' manual. He did comment that the manual would only be as good as the information that we (the Engineering Team) provided and the amount of time we were prepared to spend answering his questions. It always struck me as a bit of a shame that he didn't get to put his name on the manual that the customers got to read.

[@nintendoeats]

When I was working as a techwriter, there was a spectrum. Some departments (and specific engineers) were awesome to work with, and some would only give you single word answers after being bugged for weeks. The teams that worked with us had amazing documentation, frequently modified their product as a result of our conversations, and often learned for the first time about related things that other teams were doing. The teams that didn't engage had minimal (and sometimes incorrect) documentation, and did not get those abstract residual benefits of being in the hive mind of the techwriting department. EXCEPT that one time when there was something very complicated to be documented, the engineer was far in the "difficult" corner. I wound up having to both run and read his code to get answers to my questions. Surprise: I found some significant bugs by asking questions like "what is this interface" and what happens if you do these two things at the same time"? Communicating about your work benefits everybody, especially you.

[@Andronichus]

A big shout out to TA and all they do. Back in the days of mainframe computers those things were absolutely gold and so valuable. We seem to have lost that art of carefully describing complex things and making the obscure, plain.

[@user443]

What you try to look up: Change wiper blades Owner's manual index term: Inclement weather clearing system maintenance

[@R.Daneel]

Ha! I think that might be referring to parking outside during freezing rain. You have to put your wipers up, or they're freeze to the bottom of the windshield and take forever to thaw.

[@coredumperror]

That's one thing I love about my Tesla: Wiper Service Mode is just right there in the Service menu. Easy to find. Easy to use. Easy to disable when you're done swapping out the wiper blades.

[@noahbehnke]

@@coredumperror but you have to admit, Vision based auto wipers is still crap. I'd take a proper rain sensor over slightly easier blade replacement any day.

[@user443]

@@R.Daneel In my experience, owner's manuals use the most obscure terms for normal things making it hard to lookup anything. Example: Let's lookup turn signal replacement and eventually stumble across "intermittent directional lamp disassembly"

[@darrennew8211]

I remember many decades ago spending ages looking for the software code pretty-printer that was listed under "grind out elegant listings"

[@jon1913]

As a Tesla Model X owner, I appreciate all the little jabs at Tesla.

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

Well, tesla isn't the only car company trying to make the cabin look more futuristic by moving controls into the infotainment system, or using touch surface buttons... it's also cheaper than actual knobs and buttons... But it's so annoying to the driver, especially if that driver is old enough to have the muscle memory. It's all good and convenient with cars that try to help you driving. But there will be cases where it's nice to be able to override the fancy stuff, and preferably without removing your eyes from traffic. Leave my gear selector alone, let me manually override lights, blinkers and wipers. And give me a knob for volume and climate control. Let me engage, disengage and adjust cruise control without lifting a hand from the steering wheel. I also like how Hyundai use paddles to adjust regeneration and how Audi lets you change drive mode while driving, so you can switch to ECO when you enter a town, or you see the battery level disappearing faster than you planned. Don't make me pull over so I can adjust everything for the further journey in the infotainment system. And don't try to make me try voice control... as a non-native English speaker I'm sure that I pronounce some words incorrectly, and the Danish voice recognition isn't as well trained as the English one. When that rant is out, I'll agree that it looks nice and sleek with all that touch and simplified controls... it's just not very practical.

[@mobibobobobobobobvobobo]

@@BenjaminVestergaardI think he’s more alluding to the lack of auto-wipe sensors in current Tesla models, since they moved to a pure camera implementation that, frankly, is just awful and doesn’t work. All to save a few bucks per car.

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

@@mobibobobobobobobvobobo well, tesla also made away with the radar and ultrasound sensors... all camera based now... I can't imagine that working very well for very long during a Danish winter if we have snow, because we spread salt on slippery roads. It creates a nice sticky sleet along the edge of the road, and during snowfall, that stuff builds up and you need to use sprinklers on your windscreen for it to remain clear. I've experienced that sleet build up to get so bad that the radar didn't even work after an hour on the highway, and the camera based lane assist was not exactly reliable either. That was a Hyundai I think. Edit: but I'm sure that Teslas all-camera system works pretty well in sunny California.

[@HB45175]

@@BenjaminVestergaard Tesla headlight alignment also doesnt work properly, also relying on the camera. Automatic MOT fail.

[@robertkirchner7981]

"As a Tesla Model X owner, I appreciate all the little jabs at no organization in particular".

[@immanuelkantholz9033]

I was a professional driver. It was my job to drive a vast variety of cars and trucks (real trucks, not pickups, although I got to drive those, too, every now and then). After years and years in my career not once, not a single time did I encounter a windshield wiper automatism that actually worked. And beeing a former radio-/tv-technician and also just now training to be a software developer, I'm not surprised by this experiences. With the hardware used to determine, whether it's raining, it's simply impossible for the car to know, when there's something on the windscreen blocking my field of vision at the particular moment. I don't care, if the car knows, when there's a drop of water in that extremely remote and usually unused part of the windscreen, where the sensor stupidly is located. I need my windscreen to be clear in the area where I am looking through. As long as no sensor whatsoever is monitoring my field of vision, it is logical that no automatism whatsoever will ever be able to know, when to wipe.

[@matthewwiemken7293]

I have found auto wipers to be mostly garbage as well, making this video very funny:)

[@chameleongirl7537]

I did. I read the whole manual. I also read all the announcements my work makes, the instructions for any electronic item I've purchased (even if it's just a basic toaster), and the newsletter that my local council puts out. Some days I'm almost convinced I'm not autistic. Until the next time I do something others consider out of the ordinary. I like knowing things! 😅 Which is why I like your videos, they're always fascinating.

[@Spiker985Studios]

This video was so quick, I didn't even expect to be showered with new Alec rant time

[@mattjw16]

Two Technology Connections videos in the same week? Who would have ever thought it was possible?!

[@dembro27]

That's the power of an Effortstat (set to Low).

[@marcokrueger3399]

And it is not even November! How cool is that!

[@CerebroJD]

The watch time alone would nearly make it impossible to keep up! Thank goodness for the effortstat

[@k5sss]

… through the magic of watching two of them…

[@SheepeXero]

Today, I discovered that the closed captions contains *additional* humor and I must applaud the effort!

[@yuck8928]

When I bought my first new car I spent a whole day just light-reading the entire owners manual. Something about that was really fun to me.

[@mtldax]

The shade thrown at "that car company" for their absolutely garbage automatic wipers is so on point, I love it.

[@squidikka]

ha ha ha elon bad

[@jimherbert007]

i have one, they are garbage

[@zoppp621]

Absolutely garbage auto wipers. My model 3 wipes when it's sunny and doesn't wipe enough when it's pouring

[@ProXcaliber]

I have a brand new refreshed model 3, and I will happily admit that they are currently absolutely garbage. There are rumors of an upcoming update to improve them, but I am not holding my breath for it. They trigger at the appropriate time for me, but often at the wrong speed (light rain, and they are going crazy, heavy rain, and they are too slow). The one remark I will commend them on, is that they are easily controller via the buttons on the steering wheel in my case.

[@CharlesAnjos]

​@@squidikkaI see a diamond nepo baby fan getting salty lol

[@TheEDFLegacy]

That Effortstat is a thing of beauty! 😂

[@retrogiftsuk4812]

No! You're wrong! Alec shouldn't be allowed to use that doodad, he should make long videos. This video would have been better if he'd bought 2 cars, just to dismantle 1 to get to the components. (Isn't sarcasm fun...)

[@ralanham76]

It should be the intro for each video So you know what you're getting in to... 😂

[@loranmoore57]

It’s against code to put an effort dial on an outlet! I should know, I’m NOT a licensed electrician.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@@loranmoore57 I disagree. There's a lot of resistance in that switch! It's something to write ohm about.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

@@retrogiftsuk4812 Alec just stuck a few labels to a demonstration gadget he made for a previous video.

[@drxoomg]

My cheap old Citroën also has a position to change them. It is activated with the car off with a single touch on the lever. And it also has a second use. When it snows and you have the car parked outside, it is used to deploy the windshield wipers and prevent them from ending up buried in snow.

[@igormarkovCDN]

I was presented a car for my 60th birthday couple of weeks ago, and for the first time in my life I did the right thing - I read the manual before starting to use the car. 😂 And I found it a very useful thing to do. So, it's never too late to start.

[@sixty2612]

You have no idea how amazing this video is for me. One day, I wanted to know how this worked on my car, but when I googled “how do rain sensing wipers work” I just kept getting pointed to manufacturer webpages that just say “automatically detects rain and activates wipers” without anything saying HOW it detects rain. It’s bothered me ever since. Thank you!

[@hamotec-hanulveen]

Hahaha, same here... so frustrating. And asking other people lead to many different, and apparently wrong answers.

[@NWinnVR]

How does a rain sensor work? It senses rain! Okay.. But how does it sense rain? It does it automatically! ............

[@alexanderthomas2660]

Ah yes. Google is completely useless these days. ChatGPT performs quite a bit better, but is still somewhat vague about the specifics. Nothing beats a well-made video like this where someone did some actual effort, in spite of the Effortstat™.

[@tubbycustard8866]

this is why i love gen AI and AI search engines, I just asked copilot which answered it perfectly. it works so well for those random questions. but always keep in mind it can just make up stuff, so trust but verify

[@itspice8737]

Honestly sucks how much worse Google has gotten as a search engine since even when I was a kid

[@lexnellis4869]

I know you do the low effort videos for yourself, but I would like to remind you, we all watched an hour long video about dishwashers and loved it. I still, to this day, get the hot water flowing to my sink before starting the dishwasher add soap on the door because it doesn't have a place for first stage soap. We love your shit, bro.

[@animeartist888]

Same. I even made my husband watch it so when he starts the dishwasher, he does the same! Now if only I can convince him to pay attention to the rinse aid getting low...

[@TheKobiDror]

The dishwasher episode was epic. I've learned so much and my dishes are really cleaner now.

[@jacksonrichardjones]

Dishwasher video actually changed my life. I’m sure my machine isn’t very high quality but it gets caked on food off all of my dishes so good now that I’m using it properly.

[@GoldonPt]

Wait what? What video is that, seems interesting and I can't find it :/

[@FlyTechGaming]

You do realize how much work even a short video like this takes? This isn’t tiktok he doesn’t use a selfie cam and record himself love for 11 minutes then say he’s done for the day. This video even though short probably took weeks of not months to put together if he did it himself. From filing to editing, to audio mixing, graphics that all takes a lot of time if you do it yourself. Not to mention the KZbin algorithm is probably top of his mind. While it’s not exactly known how it works shorter videos are far more likely to be recommended because they are more likely to be watched to completion which Netflix has said is the ONLY criteria they care about so it would make sense KZbin follows a similar format since they do similar medium. So I praise him for making such a high quality video especially if all of it was done by himself. And if you want longer videos there a simple solution give him 60,000 every year so he can afford an editor so he has more free time to make longer videos.

[@erichobbs4042]

I've always been curious about how these things work. It's so cool that it's such a simple mechanism. I own a Kona Highlander EV, and as a bonus I now don't need to look up how to change the wiper blades in the manual. Thanks Technology Connections!

[@timothyhall861]

Thank You.....As a life-long Electronic/ Mechanical/ repairman & Inventor This is a very rare occasion where I totally learned something I knew nothing at all about....Very satisfying... Thank You

[@hexandcube]

Wow, an 11-minute Technology Connections video, I never thought this would happen ever again

[@sth128]

Wetness does not need to take long

[@agbook2007]

@@sth128👀🤣

[@alexrogers777]

Bro "low effort"? This is the perfect amount of effort, I learned everything I wanted to know about the topic and finished the video!

[@Sembazuru]

It's not even "no effort November".

[@n1msu]

off topic, but significant to me. I was born in 87 and I'm from England ok and when I was a teen, there was a pretty big hit here by a band called 'Bloodhound Gang'. I couldn't understand half of the lyrics, but at the beginning of this video I saw this 'Mr Coffee' machine {never heard of it}. It instantly but subconsciously made me think of that song by them so I googled the lyrics and indeed the lyrics included a 'Mr Coffee with an automatic drip'. Mind is blown! Other than that great video as always

[@pardiano]

OMG LOL I had the same problem! Of course, I didn't RTFing manual. Finally, I got the new wipers installed by opening the hood to provide more maneuvering room. I had lots of less-than-nice thoughts towards the engineers who thought up this dumb system. So glad I saw your video - the 3-second thing works great! Now the engineers are back in the very clever category.

[@notadamkhan]

this is a great first technology connections video i can show people. short and sweet but has all the sass, edge, and juice of a full video

[@reinhard8053]

But no "I bought a second one..."

[@AnAnonymousAuditor]

@@reinhard8053 In this case, it's the rain sensor engineers that used The Magic Of Buying Two Of Them™

[@NopWorks]

@@reinhard8053 Yeah. I was expecting "but through the magic of buying 2 of them" with some car part whipped out from under the desk throughout the video, and left a bit disappointed.

[@DCSWCCkingpin1]

My daughter writes documentation and manuals for aircraft carriers. Kudos and thanks to her and all the technical writers of the world!

[@Jedocesque]

Ask her how to change the windshield wipers on an aircraft carrier, my bridge windows are getting disgracefully smudged.

[@worawatli8952]

@@Jedocesque Some might see this as a joke, but aircraft carriers do have window wipers, but unlike many ships, it's all around the tower as they need to see everything on the deck, not just where they are going.

[@WyvernYT]

@@Jedocesque As I understand it, changing the wipers on an aircraft carrier is easy. Mention the situation to a Petty Officer and he'll tell an E-2 to do it.

[@jonathan55555]

thanks for taking the time to make it worth it to read the captions :) I own a car from one particular organization, I love the car but vision based wipers are horrible and there is probably only one person in the world that think stalks are not that useful.

[@hamotec-hanulveen]

Thank you for explaining how it detects wetness. I couldn't find that answer so clear as you told it. . Also, I now understand why sometimes when I start up the car in light rain, it refuses to wipe. I always leave it on "auto", and now I know it's because of the 'dry calibration'.

[@RichTapestry]

Why is it Alec that even your most "low effort" videos are still effortlessly amongst the best videos on the platform? Kudos!

[@KevinDay]

I was helping someone put music on a USB flash drive to use in a Lexus recently, and the manual actually had an incredible amount of detail about the supported size, filesystems, codecs, etc. Car manuals really are helpful!

[@bobmahnamahknob]

Who knew? Instructions and owner's manuals contain information about the product with which they are included. Mind blown.

[@KevinDay]

@@bobmahnamahknob That's not entirely a given in the age of cheap Chinese products with Google Translated pieces of paper intended to give the illusion of a useful manual.

[@Jehty21]

​@@KevinDayit's less about giving the illusion and more about following the law with the least amount of effort possible.

[@wewillrockyou1986]

Sometimes

[@wewillrockyou1986]

​@@bobmahnamahknob A lot of stuff doesn't come with useful manuals any more, especially when it comes to computer systems, documentation is a lost art.

[@Alexegrus]

You just explained something I used to think about every time, the automatic wind shield activator acts in a weird way... million thanks

[@0ZeldaFreak]

There is a reason why "rtfm" as an acronym exist and even has its own Wikipedia page. And yes, I do read manuals, when they exist. I had to read a car manual once and I must say, it was well organized. My mother borrowed a car and on the highway the temperature warning light came on. I don't have a drivers license and my mother got hers not a long time ago. Because the temperature gauge looked normal, she continued driving but was worried. I checked the manual and it confirmed, that in the current state, she can continue, without damaging the car. The point is, that manual was not just a printed book, it had easy to access sections, that were even color coded. What I don't like is that you don't get a PDF easily of car manuals, at least some brands. It is one thing to open it, when you need to look up a specific thing but sometimes you find some neat tricks. And it may look kinda weird when you take your car manual to the toilet at work. A smartphone is pretty normal and they don't know what you read. I find it kinda sad that a lot of manuals get replaced with a quick start guide. I too like to just try it myself first but a manual with everything written, is still nice to have.

[@insu_na]

I love that the info you were looking for was actually in the manual 😂

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Don't ignore the manuals. Or the Manuels.

[@YesIAmSmarterThanYouPleaseCope]

I was so ready for him to say "I don't know!" after asking whether it's explained in the manual.

[@Ozzie2191]

Rtfm at work

[@jbrou123]

Me: How do I fix that? You: RTFM Me: I guess I will search KZbin.

[@iaeeniaeen1898]

As a Tesla owner, I fully appreciate the shade being thrown at "any organization in particular". I do, however, have a wiper service button that is easily findable, so there's that...

[@ashliehiggins]

but that takes more effort than just pushing a stalk.

[@RolandGustafsson]

@@ashliehigginshe’s referring to the service button which presents the wipers for maintenance

[@coredumperror]

@@ashliehiggins Sure, if you have any idea how to do it. Alec specifically bashed his Ioniq 5 for hiding the method of turning on wiper service mode in the manual. Teslas put that method right there in the Service menu.

[@ashliehiggins]

@@coredumperror You're supposed to read the manual before operating the car, on two of my cars I found it out accidently and now test if every car I drive does it.

[@ABaumstumpf]

And then you get a software-update that says "Upgrade now to enable whiper-change mode".

[@PopeMatthew]

I have had my current car for like 4 years, and I just discovered this setting the other day (I'm bad about manuals), so I was wondering how it works, and lo and behold! It's like my car knew this video was coming, and inspired me so I'd be ready. So far, I've found it's mostly ideal for the kind of light drizzle that's not enough to fully turn the wipers on, but enough that one-off wipes aren't cutting it. That covers a surprising amount of the rain in this area

[@erisgath7688]

These sensors were the example my old physics teacher (2015) used for a real world application of total internal reflection. He described a slightly different operating principle which some manufacturers may employ or at least may have at the time. IR light is injected at the edge of the glass such that TIR keeps it contained within the pane, bouncing up and down like an optical fibre. At the opposite edge, a sensor detects this trapped light. Source and sensor both need to be optically bonded to the glass, obviously. Every drop of rain causes a small amount of light to escape by changing the critical angle due to the glass/water vs glass/air interface. It's quite an interesting method which allows sensing of the entire width of the windscreen, rather than just at a single point or small area, but would likely more costly, requiring 2 modules rather than one. I would assume it would be less prone to false negatives due to the larger sensing area, but more prone to false positives, especially it the windscreen ever cracked.

[@Feynt]

I love that a proper RTFM message was given at the end. Also props for index of refraction hacks car industry. Sometimes the smartest people show up in the weirdest of places to solve the most banal of issues. We already have the capacity to turn on our wipers, have for decades. But someone somewhere thought to themselves, "Ya know, I bet I could take $0.50 in parts from our bulk purchases and make a thing that can turn on the wipers automatically..."

[@CrisperPoet]

let's be real here, that person probably said automagically, because the people who are the highly-educated types rarely think of the elegantly simple solutions.

[@janitorizamped]

​@@CrisperPoetlol?

[@WackoMcGoose]

And then they decided to use The Magic Of Buying Two Of Them to enhance its effectiveness...

[@Kalvinjj]

In an amazing quest to use 1 dollar to charge 200 additional, as always. At least until it's nothing special and everyone starts adding them.

[@andersjjensen]

@@CrisperPoet You've never been in a room full of engineers, have you? They absolutely LOATHE marketing speak and will openly play "buzzword bingo" to mock them. People who are highly STEM educated, and seasoned in their field, absolutely obsess over making solutions as elegant and simple as possible. It's the social "science", management, marketing and economics people who think in fluffy, emotional and fictitious terms.

[@nickloh912]

I love the props from the last video as evidence of low effort. But you just couldn't resist putting some effort into making the effortstat...

[@michaelslee4336]

I have a Ford Endura here in Australia, aka your Ford Edge. Went to change the blades and I could just turn the arm and it turned super easy and not connected to a seperate motor with levers, very weird. Turns out each wiper has its own motor with encoders so the onboard module tells each motor when to wipe, how fast and how far. Very clever and complicated. Saves engine bay space as well.

[@18nabeel]

Thank you thank you! I had an intuition very close to the solution but never bothered looking up how they actually work. This has satisfied my itch to know about this for years!

[@Zeppflyer]

I worked in the automotive glass supply chain in the early 2010s. Sensors like this drove me nuts because the different combinations of them meant that there were nearly *30* different windshield variants for different cars, depending on which package the owner had.

[@iunnox666]

Good to know, if I get mine replaced I'll tell them not to worry about it.

[@coredumperror]

@@iunnox666 Have fun with shitty windshield wiper behavior, then.

[@craigslist6988]

​@@coredumperrorHe's implying he doesn't care about auto wipers, probably because his don't work well anyway so he just uses manual. Tldr, that's the joke

[@tparadox88]

I used to deliver parts to a used car dealership's garage. They bought a Tesla to flip once and swore they'll never touch them again because if you replace the windshield you have to pay Tesla a couple thousand dollars to send somebody out to program the windshield.

[@Jehty21]

​@@craigslist6988just because they don't care doesn't mean that their car doesn't care.

[@MiracleChips]

I’ve worked in technical support for many years, from water heaters to security systems. 25% of my job is reading the manual for people who can’t be bothered. We sold you the info when we sold you the product, man!

[@MiracleChips]

Amendment: I always read the manual for new products I buy

[@erniecolussy1705]

For some things I will read the manual before I buy the product. This often clears up the information that the companies marketing department provides. Usually there are a few things that marketing/ advertisements says that are slightly misleading.

[@AgentOffice]

Need audio books

[@chunder393]

Why would I read it when I can call you and make you explain it to me wagie

[@NopWorks]

@@AgentOffice Audible moment

[@wyrdplae8586]

The most amazing part of this whole video is that you... you! OF ALL PEOPLE, didn't read the owners manual. I would have bet money that you kept that sucker by your bedside table for a bit of light reading each night. Jokes aside I love your contend. All the best

[@yourikhan4425]

The RTFM conclusion was absolutely great 😆

[@usvalve]

I was a technical author, and Alex's conversion to RTFM was music to my ears. From time to time a friend calls me because they can't install or fix something. I go round, ask for the manual, consult the manual and install or fix the equipment.

I know a guy who basically made this a second job. He advertised himself as a maintenance guy for any appliance in people's home, had no qualification for it, but he just got the manual for anything people brought to him and used it to "repair" them for a fee. I put repair in quotes because sometimes it was just people doing proper maintenance on their stuff because they didn't know they had to maintain itXD

[@2ndfloorsongs]

​@I don't think of this as a scam, he's actually earning his keep providing a necessary service. As someone who used to earn my living as a "field engineer" (highfalutin term for repairman with a car). From many years of experience I can assure you that 99 times out of 100 It isn't the device that needs repairing, it's the customer.

[@LRM12o8]

Being an IT specialist opened my eyes to reading manuals/documentation. As a kid/teen I loved to dig around and test out different stuff an felt like a genius when I figured it out all by myself, but nowadays I understand that that's actually a stupid approach, where you're just stumbling around in the dark trying random things, only to invent the wheel again after hours of trial and error when you could have simply read some instructions and built your wheel in a few minutes. And that's just in the best case! Quite often you will not achieve anything, or you mess up some settings and don't know how to revert it back, or in the worst case, you end up breaking something that may or not be repairable. It's really mind boggling how people always think not reading the manual would be the smart thing to do! 🤦 I'm seeing this confirmed right now with my switch from Windows 10 to Linux on my gaming PC that I've made 10 days ago. I've always been using Windows, but got really frustrated with Microsoft's shift away from a user-focused UX towards pushing their own services and third party programs/services on a commission onto the user, regardless of the user's preference settings. Because of that, I've been considering jumping OS for years, but dreaded the experience of having to re-learn using a computer from the ground up on the new OS. I tried Linux a few years ago, tried to get everything running on my own and it was horrible, so I went back to Windows. This time though, I religiously stick to instructions from how-to's and forum posts and it's been nothing but smooth sailing and I can't even imagine going back to Windows anymore! Granted, there are other factors at play, like choosing a flavor of good old, well supported Ubuntu, rather than a fairly new distro that was Arch-based if I recall correctly and the fact that software and game compatibility (as well as the availability of good online instructions, I reckon) has improved tremendously since then, but sticking to existing guides/solutions, rather than just reading the basics of what I'm trying to do and then attempting to make my own, highly custom solution (with barely any knowledge of the OS) definitely plays a big part in the switch to Linux being a complete success this time!

[@traveller23e]

@@LRM12o8 man [whatever] is a beautiful thing. I remember once having trouble on a Win10 machine connecting to the internet, and the help button in the settings page literally opened an Edge tab with a Bing search for "Windows 10 help connecting to the internet" (or similar terms). I couldn't help but laugh, it was so bad.

[@WyvernYT]

I was impressed years ago when I got onto a unix system (real unix, as linux hadn't come along at that point) and was poking at the manual when a thought occurred to me. I typed "man man" and sure enough, some elder nerd had taken the time to explain how to use the user's manual! Bliss. :-)

[@Samoth47]

Oh my god Alec, you literally helped me save a loooot of time and money by publishing that video! I have had an issue with my Renault Zoe R135 automatic windshield wiper sensor from since I got it (used). By taking a photo of the sensor I was immediately able to see that the sensor is fine, but that the optical gel is nearly completely gone, probably from a shady windshield replacement in the past. It seems to be fairly easy to buy a new gel pad and replace it by my own, so thanks both for the (as always) excellent in depth view and explanation of this sensor, and for saving me quite a few bucks! EDIT: After thinking about the solutions and looking at the photos I took, I realized that it could be that the sensor was not completely clipped in. After disassembling the plastic housing around the rear view mirror, I was greeted with a semi-clipped in sensor. Reattaching the other side re-sealed the gel without any bubble, and the sensor seems to function as normal! I'll just need to see with the next rain.

[@JasonHenderson]

We have this problem with brand new cars. If you get a tiny speck of dirt on that gel at all, or like a fingerprint or if you drop it on the ground and then try to install it it will not work. Source: I put this piece on cars all day.

[@BryTee]

I was also wondering how windshield replacement was going to affect this. I'm sure it's not just a "shady" replacement company, but any company as getting the right kind of gel and the correct amount, must be tricky.

[@JasonHenderson]

@@BryTee You're close, they come with the little gel layer already on them and a little plastic cap covering it that you must carefully remove without touching the gel. Ours are manufactured by hella, and we get them I think for $12 a piece. When we get one that doesn't work they just swap the whole sensor out. But I bet at the dealer these things are over $100.

[@Samoth47]

@@JasonHenderson @BryTee In this case I'm happy to report that the sensor was just not clipped in on one side! I have to assume that the technician who installed the sensor didn't clipped it in fully and that over time it detached. The gel was apparently undamaged as I tested the sensor and everything seems to work fine! No bubble or anything after checking with a photo.

[@mxskelly]

My 2005 Buick LeSabre had automatic wipers and I'm surprised it was on such a relatively old vehicle and not any of the newer ones I've had since. It also had a sensitivity adjustment on the stalk which was interesting. Useful too because sometimes it would get a bit too sensitive and trigger when sudden darkness was encountered, like under an overpass, tunnel, etc. It worked really well overall and I rarely if ever had to use the manual modes

[@TheTarrMan]

This was absolutely fascinating to learn about. Thanks for sharing. As a car guy who always gets asked for help with other people's car problems, it always irks me with a blind autistic rage the most when I ask "what did the owner's manual say, did you read it?" (like trying to find the fuse box locations) and they say "no". Please read the owner's manual. It's important.

[@hotkeymuc]

I actually know the guy who invented that sensor! 😁 He's exactly the type of nerdy, enthusiastic engineering guy you expect.

[@RichardBrooklyn]

Can we please get him a job at Tesla?

[@DM-rc4yu]

@@RichardBrooklyn Why are we mean to him already? Perhaps he's a good guy.

[@Blondul11]

@@DM-rc4yu good one 🤣

[@RichardBrooklyn]

@@DM-rc4yu he can give them the rain sensor stuff, then leave, quick in and out. 2 days tops.

[@craigslist6988]

​@@RichardBrooklynmake sure to promise Elon is securely away on vacation for those days

[@drt1605]

Be thankful you had a full hardcopy manual. My dad got a summary plus a web address with full manual which is bigger than Wikipedia 😢

[@vadnegru]

Sometimes it's good thing, sometimes i wonder why they bothered with a paper and not just slapped QR code somewhere on the box. On another hand, maybe they think if someone needs quick start guide the can't figure out how to scan a code.

[@horrorhotel1999]

Oh no, now he can ctrl+f for the info he is looking for and find it quickly - I am disgusted !

[@zombie_pigdragon]

@@horrorhotel1999 both is good- it wouldn't kill the manufacturer's documentation department to use the same file they generate the print run from to generate an online version.

[@Red-jt8dh]

I work on my mother's car all the time and every time I need info or don't understand something, first thing I do is go to the manual, there's always a lot of useful info in them, I tell everyone with a car to at least skim through it to learn a bit more about their cars, very useful!

[@Red-jt8dh]

also I in no forms am a mechanic, I just learn as I go, the manual and youtube have been my biggest teachers

[@ShanePKing]

I once smashed a widescreen changing out the blades because I stopped the wipers the first way you described. Half way through the change I had to turn the ignition on for some reason and when the wipers realigned they hit the hood and came smashing down into windscreen without any blades attached. I’m in favour of reading the manual. Also, cool video. I like how the redundancy is your favourite part; screams Engineer.

[@fastfiddler1625]

I have to say. My Mazda has amazing auto wipers. While I mess with the sensitivity in certain misty conditions, I almost never take it to manual. Their blind spot monitoring is also the best I've ever seen. It detects cars racing up from behind you and warns you early before you might even notice them, including motorcycles. It also doesn't warn you about cars YOU'RE passing unless they suddenly match your speed and stay there. What a concept, cough Ford, GM, Toyota, etc.

[@haifai3916]

Every time I buy a new car I read the entire owner's manual front to back. It helps a lot!

[@brkbtjunkie]

Thank you so much for covering this, when I tried to look up how one worked, the best answer I could find in the internet was “it works by sensing rain”. Gee thanks.

[@TheMadTube]

I worked for Acura 20 years ago when they introduced automatic wipers on the MDX. The early models had issues with the sensor interface to the glass. They were prone to false operation because of vibration. We diagnosed them by lightly tapping the glass. The faulty ones would go nuts with the lightest touch to the glass.

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

My Ford Ranger has Auto wipers, they have been programmed very well and work perfect 99.9%, they even slow down when you stop at a red light instead of continuously wiping, as soon as you take off the brake they wipe instantly, quite smart

[@NamesGolden]

My Ford ranger has absolutely nothing automatic, even the transmission. It's awesome.

[@radbaron]

It might be tied into the Auto-Start system. My Edge will turn off the A/C as well if its activated, until it starts getting warm again.

[@JasonHenderson]

My neighbor's Honda Odyssey will automatically turn on the back wiper if the front wipers are on when you put it in reverse.

[@galaxyanimal]

@@NamesGolden Same. I do got power brakes & power steering though, but no electric mirrors or locks.

[@-PORK-CHOP-]

@@radbaron No Auto stop / start on my one, I always thought if the wipers were switched on the headlights should just come on automatically for safety

[@linux2420]

I absolutely love the manual with my car. It's got full illustrations of every single part, step-by-step instructions on how to do literally everything, full wiring schematics, full descriptions of how every component works, literally everything.

[@Zcooger]

What car is that? Impossibru with the schematics.

[@bwofficial1776]

And it's only probably 100 pages long. I have an old car like that. It even has 1980s first aid instructions and how to use the dealer accessories.

[@reallyWyrd]

Technical writers are cool. They should get more respect. 🙂

[@Summer-xu8qu]

Sir, that's not a manual, that's a tutorial for how to build the car from scratch

[@TheRailroad99]

Times have changed. I miss old user manuals. Even consumer electronics had schematics in them. Nowadays I'm surprised if I can get schematics for industrial equipment

[@paulmaxwell8851]

I just bought the manuals for my wife's 2002 Toyota Camry. It's a three-volume shop manual set: electrical, diagnostics and specifications, and repair. Total pages: I'd estimate about 1400. Great bedtime reading! Of course, I'm a bit of an oddball.

[@danielgruszczyk2232]

Loved everything about your video. You explained the problem well and made it easy to understand even for non technical users. And I loved the vibe, kind of like from 80’s or so. Needless to say, new sub here. Great job!

[@chillsdale]

As a fairly new owner of an Ioniq 5 (December 2023) that hasn't had to change the wipers yet, and is also an idiot for not reading the manual yet, thanks for taking the time to do it for me!

[@Dukefazon]

7:23 - "By the magic of having 2 of them" :D

[@brendanmassaro9595]

I was wondering how this joke was going to be incorporated

[@roypennock8046]

I actually expected the "Two of Them” kitten meme but then I remembered this was Technology Connections, not Cathode Ray Dude! 🤣🤣

[@pinaricyt]

Loved the video and the explanation. Not at all how I thought the rain sensor worked. Thanks! The Beta videocassette sleeve certainly brought back fond memories! Hahaha

[@gustavoramiror]

I read the manuals of all the things I buy. So... I think everyone should do it too. I always learn a lot of new things about my cars. 😊 loved the video.

[@Eric-zs6rd]

I haven't seen your channel for a while but I wanted to say I can tell you've been working on your fitness and you look good! I know as men we don't hear compliments often, so I wanted you to know it's visible and you're doing a great job

[@majorbrahms3531]

wow! TWO technology connections videos in a week? gather the children!

[@Orion_5764]

I recently bought a 2013 Audi S4. And turns out it has automatic windshield wipers. I had no idea but it is definitely a massive bonus. At the beginning. I was not so sure about it. I wasn't used to it but now I'm just a little patient. Certainly takes a second to ramp up or ramp back down like you said, but I simply have not touched the windshield wiper stock since I got the car

[@REXOB9]

Excellent explanation. Just got my first car with rain sensitive wipers.

[@TrepKing95]

Having just purchased a vehicle that is equipped with Rain Sensing Wipers I can appreciate the mention that the system is "effective but not perfect". I constantly find myself arguing with the auto setting when it starts to rain heavily.

[@Nimelennar]

I more tend to argue with it when it's not raining much at all. As Alec said, the workaround to "not wiping enough" is to either dial the sensitivity up, or just put it on continuous wiping. If it's wiping too much even at lowest sensitivity, you have to basically turn the wipers off and manually trigger them each time. And salt/sand on the windshield will make this worse every time. I wish there was some way to trigger an old-school "intermittent" mode. Or at least give the wiper control some feedback that "no, that's still too sensitive; even lower sensitivity than that."

[@ratchet1freak]

@@Nimelennar you might need to dive deep into the settings of your car, my car's sensor doesn't work (as in wouldn't wipe at all beyond the initial wipe when turning them into a higher sensitivity setting) and I could change them to time-interval deep in the settings Of course that won't let you switch between them easily

[@25566]

​​@@NimelennarThey all suck and wipe too little especially when it's bot raining a lot. it should use the camera as a secondary sensor

[@Nimelennar]

@@ratchet1freak Thanks, but my car doesn't have a settings menu. The most technologically advanced feature my car has is Bluetooth. I think I might be able to get the rain-sensing sensitivity tuned at the car dealership, but it's not worth the hassle.

[@Jehty21]

​@@Nimelennarwhat car model do you have? You sparked the inquisitive part of my brain and now I want to find out if your car has the option to (somewhat easily) change that setting.

[@cdstoc]

Alex, we've been saying RTFM since at least the 1980's. I've gone through the manual for every car I ever owned and always find something new, unexpected, and useful there. You found your wiper hack. On my 2017 car I found how to get into and start the car even if the battery in the key fob dies.

[@Mlckey]

I love your videos and this one in particular hits home with me! I work at Rivian and for a while my line installed the rain detectors and I always wondered how they worked. Thank you!

[@computernerdinside]

My old Buick LeSabre had auto wipers, and it surprised me how well they worked even for how old the car was. That car had lots of nice features that I wish were more common, like a heads up display, turning lights (not talking about flashing signals) and more.

[@Reldez_1]

Hot damn! Quarter of a million views in like 8 hours. Really happy to see this channel be this healthy! It deserves it.

[@radbaron]

This has to be the cleanest Technology Connections video I've watched in a long time. Some Ford vehicles will allow you to move the wiper assembly to any position on the windshield when it's off, then reset to zero position when the vehicle is started. Can't wait so see how fast old Ioniq5 gets traded in for a new Ioniq5 (now with REAR WIPER!)

[@Cory182]

I'm glad I got my IONIQ 5 before they start including that ugly rear wiper! 🤣

[@frederf3227]

Through the magic of buying two of them...

[@dpall38]

I have been driving since 1978 and never had a problem knowing how or when to use the wipers. I used the sensor located between my ears to control my wiping events. Come to think of it that same sensor controls both my wiping events with great precision.

[@haseebtubing]

Thank you. Your videos are some of the best ones on KZbin.

[@petergerdes1094]

It's not even November and you couldn't be bothered to find the TIR angle for your example. I love it! More videos less effort!

[@H-S.]

It's No-effort Not-november. :)

[@Dzointek]

My old Alfa Romeo had the sensor pretty much exacly where the length of the wiper blades ended, so even at the lightest drizzle, the wipers gathered a streak of water right at the sensor, making it go faster and faster. It was just one of the dumb ergonomic shortcomings of that car and I loved them all.

[@jakubSwaps]

Man, I just love this channel. Genuinely such a highlight of my week every time.

[@coryb4902]

I don’t usually comment but this video has already been super fun and refreshing to me, then at 7:28 I laughed so hard my dog jumped up and barked at me. Just a perfect example of why I love this channel so much

[@atticstattic]

I appreciate this closelier look

[@radbaron]

I was surprised he missed that one as well.

[@devinbaeten13]

Wish my car (the one you were definitely not referencing) had this…

[@autobootpiloot]

Don’t. I have sold a car because of shitty automatic wipers and went back to old school. These days even old shitboxes have automatic wipers so I spend a lot of money each time e buy something new to change the software and give me old school adjustable interval wipers.

[@aspecreviews]

​@@autobootpilootMy 2002 Prius doesn't have automatic wipers or automatic headlights. My 2012 Accord has automatic headlights but no automatic wipers.

[@argentonath]

@@autobootpiloot They aren't universal yet. I've never owned a car with automatic wipers, and that includes the new car I bought last year.

[@AnthonyPompa]

I'm so happy with the timing of this upload. I borrowed my mother's car since mine needs repairing, and I noticed it had automatic wipers. I wanted to know how they worked. However, I was driving so I didn't look it up on the spot and forgot I cared. I got home and saw this in my notification tab. Thank you, Alec. The itch was scratched, metaphorically speaking.

[@freyathewolf4909]

Exact same situation here, down to the borrowing of my mom's car because mine is broken. I was so curious. When I saw this I got so excited!

[@Black3ternity]

Thanks for always answering the questions I am having in my brain.

[@Steets]

I'm really hoping the EFFORTSTAT™ becomes a recurring gag.

[@AmaranthineTech]

Your info about getting the wipers in the up position, that is actually common because it's used in the winter time for "winter mode" wipers where you turn off your vehicle and leave them in the up position so that if they are covered in snow, it's easier to break them out. I say common, but once I found out about this years ago I thought it was new too. Using this winter mode to "change" the wiper blades though seems to be a useful feature for me to try in the future. 😁

[@Bull1the1Great]

I bought a new Hyundai i20 recently and was wondering this very same thing . Also that trick with the wipers is awesome!

[@1873Winchester]

My car doesn't know when it's wet, it's from 1990 and it's ECU manages to do it's job on 128 kb of space. Gotta say I prefer simplicity over more features.

[@brunosardine1]

I audibly groaned when I heard "Total Internal Reflection"... Optics was a very 'fun' course that I don't want to relive

[@anilykabarry4380]

I was the other person to recommend this idea! My old beat-up car had near-perfect automatic wipers, though it would, as you point out, freak out sometimes (or just not be enough). The adjustment on the stalk was very helpful! In frustrating me, that is; it never appeared to do anything! Oh well. Thanks for another video! Is it November already?

[@Specz187]

You sir have answered a lot of questions i wonder to myself on how things work.

[@rbs427]

Although I’m a Tesla fan, you’re spot on with everything you said. That was so funny and informative. Thank you for all your great videos!