Back in the good old days, certainly before the 1980s, it was possible to give the screen a decent soak before turning the wipers on. It is a source of constant irritation to me that it is now universal practice to activate the wipers in conjunction with the washers - particularly this morning, as I ran out of washer fluid & could only get more and more frustrated as the wipers gradually turned the screen into a murky haze.
Am I the only one to feel that there is no need to link the two functions? And do others yearn for the good old days? And why did this ridiculous practice come about?
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Agree, especially the wipers which give a few wipes for every squirt of screen wash, then just when you think it is all nice and clean, it waits a couple of seconds and does a final flick wipe which is just enough to mess up the windscreen again! Argghhhh!
Bring back the foot operated rubber foot pump for the washer jets!
StarGazer
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Oh so its not just me who finds washer/wipers irritating. I'm no good at electrics otherwise I would attempt to rewire the ones on my car so the washer is seperate to the wipers!!
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Better make sure that the windscreen washer bottle always has enough water...:-)
No matter how efficient the wipers, the very nature of the process means that there will always been the odd water drops dribbling down the screen, so a final wipe is usually necessary.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Better make sure that the windscreen washer bottle always has enough water...:-)
Yes, mea culpa, and it's the first thing I'll do when I get home tonight (then I'll give the screen a good wash). But even with plenty of water, there are a number of occasions when a good soak before the wipers get going is of real benefit.
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"there are a number of occasions when a good soak before the wipers get going is of real benefit"
Yeah, like after parking under one of those trees that drop sticky love juice all over your car, followed by a couple of days worth of road dust from passing traffic.
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I disagree. If my windscreen is suddenly obscured at 80 mph I want to clean it fast as possible with a single switch action.
Not rotate and press err pull er slide like the wife's old Corolla.
Keep your bottle topped up.
I like the smell of screenwash in the morning.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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There is never a time when you suddenly want to clean your screen but often a time when you suddenly want your wipers.
It was always good to soak the old screen and baste the insects prior to trying to scrape them off with wipers.
I agree - retrogade step in car use.
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"There is never a time when you suddenly want to clean your screen..."
Not so sure about that RF. I once drove my hideous x-wife up the M1 the morning after her Christmas party. Her constant "stomach emptying" out of the passenger window no doubt caused much need for frantic screen-cleaning among following traffic, although to be honest, I just angled the rear-view mirror down in shame and kept my eyes on the road ahead.
To be fair, she did eventually tried to refine her technique by throwing up into the pages of a Vogue magazine, folding it and then discarding it out the window. Don?t know if I?d rather be hit by raw matter or a some kind of "vomit bomb" personally.
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Its damp. NO need to moisten it on the screen.
I am glad Nicolle is a lady. Travling back from one new years party she threw up with grace down the side of the car at the traffic lights.
It was freezing however and it went solid on the bodywork.
No prolem really, it was mostly red wine and chile, and the car was burgundy so it matched well for a few days.
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Agree, but SWMBO humble Daihatsu has a rather neat system whereby the washer pump runs for a couple of seconds before the wipers start - if you've run out of water, you can cancel the wipers before they start.
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That's nothing. My younger brother once vomited explosively out of the window of my dad's car. To the man in the open top sports car behind, who was forced to turn on his windscreen wipers, sorry. I can tell you where my brother lives if you want...
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I like the smell of screenwash in the morning.
I prefer coffee.
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Agree with completely with Mike H.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=24...1
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In really cold weather I've had occasions when the washer jets were frozen so an attempt to wash and wipe the salty spray merely resulted in spreading it into a complete layer. On one really bad day I had to resort to stopping on the hard shoulder to use snow off the ground to clean the screen. I suppose the solution ~ pardon the pun ~ is to carry a bottle of screen wash mixture and a cloth in the boot.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Agree totally with L'escargot; in my opinion, linked washers/wipers are a safety hazard in the winter.
Here's a posting I made earlier (this May):
"I do not want windscreen washers linked to the wipers. No matter how much screenwash you have in the bottle and despite heated jets, the washers will still sometimes freeze in winter (usually on the motorway). I want to see that the washers still operate without risking the smeared salty opaque mess that you get when they have frozen."
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Cars with headlamp washers that activate with the screenwashers can be a real pain in winter (when the roads have been salted, and you need to have headlights on). As they generally go through a programmed squirt cycle, you can't limit the amount of fluid used. I've emptied the whole 10 litre container on fairly short motorway journeys. You end up trying to remember to turn off the headlights then having to remember to turn them back on again - not good practice.
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The only gripe with my dad's Fiesta Mk5.
My worry is of the wipers scratching the screen on the first pass. Soaking the rubber beforehand is essential IMHO to avoid this.
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Mike Farrow
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The only gripe with my dad's Fiesta Mk5.
... and my Mk4 Escort come to that: push back once for wipers, again for washers, then wait for the pipework to prime.
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Mike Farrow
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The system on the Citroen CX was good. One big wiper with the washer consisting of a long perforated tube on the wiper arm so the fluid was delivered directly in front of the blade. Only a pain if the little holes became blocked by gunge.
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I'm feeling smug as my Range Rover soaks the screen then starts wiping. It also has heated washer jets which are invaluable in the winter.
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\"Nothing less than 8 cylinders will do\"
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I agree 100% re seperate washer and wipers being a better system.
Re vomiting many years ago one mate vomitted down the side of the other mates car on the way home from the pub, when they got to the poorly one's house they had a cuppa, the poorly one was feeling a bit better so he got the hose out, hosed down the side of the car, went back inside, later the other guy went out to get in his car, lovely and clean down the side though full of water and diced veg inside, the poorly one had just hosed over the car forgotting the window was down!
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Re vomiting many years ago one mate vomitted
I'd rather you hadn't brought that up!
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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I know what you mean, but I do have to say that normally I prefer it. So much easier for my tiny mind than having to do two things. And whilst there are times when I would prefer not, they are few and far between.
Although the one about having linked in headlamp washers does annoy me - a lot.
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On reflection I can only assume that market research has indicated that the majority of drivers prefer linked washers/wipers. Unless, of course, the automotive industry doesn't do market research.
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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On reflection I can only assume that market research has indicated that the majority of drivers prefer linked washers/wipers. Unless, of course, the automotive industry doesn't do market research.
Probably the latter. No-one has yet come up with a good reason why they went over to the current system in the first place.
Re headlight washers, at least on my Saab 9-5 the headlight washers only run for the same time as the screen washers, the wipers kicking in when the squirting starts. More to go wrong, but I do thingk that wipers are preferable to just a high powered wash.
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"There is never a time when you suddenly want to clean your screen..."
Yes there is. Apart from the vomit scenarios, I often get agricultural produce etc. splashed on car and when that low sun is in your eyes and you are in the middle of an overtake- boy do you want a fast wash!
Come to the High Peak of Derbyshire where even the cows are free range.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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