Anyone interested in modding so washers work without starting the wipers?

I find this to be insanely useful in the winter. I have a mod that works on Gen2 legacies and outbacks, and for a 2005 forester, I think it'll work for a gen 3.

ok, How is this useful in the winter? I live in the pacific northwest so we do not get real winters, Just curious...

1 hour ago, whynot said:

How is this useful in the winter?

When overnight snow/ice freezes the rubber wiper-blades to the glass, they can get damaged when the wiper mechanism tears them away from their frozen home.

Spraying the washer-fluid first, allows the snow/ice to melt before the wiper-blades move.

ok, Never thought of that, I just always break them loose with an ice scraper. all 2-7 days per year we get that kind of weather. 

the struggle is very real for those of us that have winter longer than we have summer...

but yeah, i typically use the ice scraper to break things free before using the wipers

OK enough of the "why".

What is the "how" Dave?

To me it's not about the ice, it's the dry windshield with all the dirt and salt on it that gets a dry 'screeeee' before the juice hits it.

Also, you can get it all nicely soaked before the wiper hits it.

Let me find the info again...

 

nm.

Edited November 27, 20187 yr by brus brother

How did you figure that out Dave?  How did you know which one would change that...?

So you're literally just "scratching" that line (trace) between 133 and 183?  That's it?

Edited November 27, 20187 yr by idosubaru

8 hours ago, idosubaru said:

How did you figure that out Dave?  How did you know which one would change that...?

So you're literally just "scratching" that line (trace) between 133 and 183?  That's it?

I was pondering how to do this and found some instructions for an older model, took mine off and it was similar enough I could find the trace.

You can either cut the trace (it's really a flat copper wire, you have to cut the wire) or desolder the resistor coded '183'.

1 hour ago, CNY_Dave said:

I was pondering how to do this

Very cool.  With more time Id love to learn how boards are designed and what various circuits do, powerful and nifty stuff.  Good job, thanks for figuring that out and spreading the word. 

So where are these wires located?

13 hours ago, bork said:

So where are these wires located?

On a circuit board that is on the wiper switch itself.

They are traces on a circuit board.

The switch comes out fairly easily.

You could snag a switch cheap and mod it and swap it, if you put in a forester switch you also get the option of having the rear wiper on all the time, not just intermittent. Not useful very often, but once in awhile I use it.

I just put an intermittent switch in my '00 OBK, I should have done this first. Probably too lazy to pull it back out now 

 

 

For those wondering. My primary interest is for salty road spray. That salt cakes on, and you have to get it quite wet to get it off. If the wipers come on too quickly, the salt doesn't dissolve yet, and you end up using quite a bit more fluid than would otherwise be necessary.

I'd also like to figure it out for the rear, as the wiper begins sweeping before the fluid can trickle down more than a few inches....

On 11/28/2018 at 4:12 PM, Numbchux said:

I just put an intermittent switch in my '00 OBK, I should have done this first. Probably too lazy to pull it back out now 

 

 

For those wondering. My primary interest is for salty road spray. That salt cakes on, and you have to get it quite wet to get it off. If the wipers come on too quickly, the salt doesn't dissolve yet, and you end up using quite a bit more fluid than would otherwise be necessary.

I'd also like to figure it out for the rear, as the wiper begins sweeping before the fluid can trickle down more than a few inches....

That would be nice.