What is a Rain Sensor, What Does It Do, How Does It Work?
Rain Sensor, thanks to the developing technology, new generation vehicles are equipped with different systems that will maximize both safety and comfort. These systems are specially developed to sense and warn you about many environmental factors, obstacles and dangers that you are not aware of. In this way, both driving becomes easier and the level of safety is increased significantly. One of these systems we are talking about is the rain sensor, which has been used in new generation vehicles in recent years and has been developed and added to the models of each new year. You can find what you wonder about this piece, which has a great impact on driving comfort, in our article.
What is a Rain Sensor?
Rain sensor; It is a new generation vehicle equipment that enables the wipers to operate automatically when it rains while driving. This equipment is located on the inside of the vehicle’s windshield.
How Does a Vehicle Rain Sensor Work?
The rain sensor is a very sensitive piece of hardware. Infrared beam technology transfers the windshield to the picture diode. When raindrops start to fall on the windshield, the rays are divided and the intensity of the beam cluster transferred to the picture diode decreases. This situation is detected within the vehicle’s electronic network and thus the vehicle systems detect that it is raining. After that, the wipers are activated. Since the amount of light transferred to the picture diode also gives information about the intensity of the rain, the operating speed and interval of the wipers are also adjusted automatically. The sensitivity of the rain sensor can be changed if desired.
What Does a Rain Sensor Do?
The rain sensor is basically a system that helps the driver to keep his full attention on the road. It saves the driver the hassle of manually operating the wiper. The system provides driving safety even in thin rains that are not immediately noticeable when seen through the glass. In addition, this system offers comfort to the driver in case the rain intensity changes. In some weather, the intensity of the rain can change very quickly. In such a case, drivers may have to constantly adjust the speed of the wipers. When there is a rain sensor, this load is taken off the driver. Moreover, in some of the new generation vehicles, there is an electronic flow between the rain sensor and the headlights. In this way, when the road ahead is not comfortable due to heavy rain, the headlights automatically operate and the driver does not enter unprepared areas such as tunnels that are suddenly dark. If you want to have a vehicle with this safety and comfort-oriented system, you can examine the Toyota Corolla models.
In Which Situations Does the Rain Sensor Not Work?
The rain sensor is not a hardware that fails easily. Of course, if for some reason the vehicle’s electronic control unit is severely damaged and the electronic systems are unable to communicate, the rain sensor will not work. Apart from that, this hardware may not work properly if the sensors inside the glass that detect raindrops are covered with dust. In this case, it is sufficient to wipe the glass and clean the dirt layer on the sensors. There is also a thin layer of gel between the rain sensors and the glass. Over time, this gel layer can dry out and lose its effectiveness. This can cause the sensors to not work properly.
Do Scratches on Windshield Affect Rain Sensor Operation?
Infrared ray technology, an important part of the rain sensor, has a mathematical model that ignores fine scratches on the glass. In other words, there are codes in its algorithm that ensure that it does not see the fine lines on the glass. In this way, the problems caused by fine scratches that may occur on the glass in the operation of the system, which makes it easier to detect raindrops, are eliminated in the first place.
