[rollaball]

What does intermittent wipers mean? My wife tried to tell me the wipers would go faster when the car is moving at high rate of speed and slower when the car was stopped or going slow. I’ve put the intermittent wipers on and timed them at 70mph and it’s four seconds at dead stop it’s also on a delay of four seconds. What gives, should they just say slow, medium and fast and maybe they shouldn't market the xb by stating “intermittent wipers”. Sounds like grounds for class action suit.
Also has anyone tried to change the wiper stalk on a xb2 so it could have variable speed intermittent wipers? I so someone did this on gen1 with wiper stalk from a Pontiac vipe.

 

[scion]

Intermittent... to stop or pause during a cycle. Every foreign brand I have ever owned worked the same way with a "Fixed" pause cycle. My Chrysler has "Speed" sensitive wipers that shortens the cycle time the faster the speed. I prefer the "variable" intermittent system where you get to control the cycle speed.

I am sure that you can get what type you want if you are willing to pay someone to install a different system.

 

[rollaball]

Well that sucks. So it's called intermittent because it stops for four seconds?
Does anybody know if this will work on the xb2.

http://www.clubxb.com/forums/f17/diy-variable-intermittent-wiper-install-13897.html

 

[Octos]

Yeah, the intermittant wipers kind of stink if it is medium rain. I don't know if it warrants a class action. Don't we have enough litigation in this country as it is???

 

[TartanJack]

Intermittent wipers simply are a contrast to a simpler wiper design that just has an "on/off" switch. When on, they are a constant speed. In older cars and in several (many?) cheaper models, most of which are not sold in the US, the wipers are constant speed on or they are off.

The xB wipers have several setting for different speeds, so they are "intermittent."

The other more complex type is "speed variable" or "speed sensitive" wipers, that have a computer program that coordinates with the speedometer to sense how fast one is moving and further speed up or retard the wiper intermittent settings. This is a VERY complex system and can be expensive to install.

Having once driven the old "on/off" style wipers in the rain and several cars with the computerized speed ones, I actually like the regular intermittent wipers, as they are consistent and you know what they are doing. I find the more complex ones distracting as they change speeds on their own.
I like consistency from the drivers POV. To much automated autonomy bothers me.

 

[Geezer]

Class action for what? They're intermittant wipers...period, not variable speed intermittant wipers. They work just as they're advertised. Besides, the only people who get anything out of class action lawsuits are the attorneys involved.

 

[rollaball]

Well I’ll stand corrected if intermittent means the wipers run at three different speeds. Of course it’s got to be better than tying you shoe laces around the wipers and pulling them manually. But by that same terminology that means my 76 chevy nova also had “intermittent wipers” since it had two speeds. Not sure if chevy marketed that car as having intermittent wipers or not. I just think the word intermittent implies variable speed, which of course is what I want looks like someone did it on Gen1 with a 35-dollar part from a Pontiac vibe. Could this work on mine?

 

[TartanJack]

The early Ford Model T's had hand operated wipers!
They "ran" off a crank in the cabin.

 

[TartanJack]

Wiki on the windscreen wiper:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windscreen_wiper

Relevant part for this discussion:
In 1969, the first intermittent wipers were introduced with an adjustable delay between wipes, making it possible to select the degree of wiping action required. Robert Kearns is the recognized inventor of this system although it took years of effort and legal action before he was compensated. In 1970, Saab Automobile introduced headlight wipers across the product range. These operated on a horizontal reciprocating mechanism, with a single motor. They were later superseded by a radial spindle action wiper mechanism, with individual motors on each headlamp. In March 1970, Citroën introduced rain-sensitive intermittent windscreen wipers on the SM model. When the intermittent function was selected, the wiper would make one swipe. If the windscreen was relatively dry, the wiper motor drew high current. This caused the delay device to delay the next wipe longest. If the motor drew little current, it indicated that the glass was wet, causing the delay device to minimize the delay.

In the late 20th century, rain-sensing windscreen wipers appeared on various models, one of the first being Buick's Park Avenue Ultra. As of early 2006, rain-sensing wipers are standard on all Cadillacs, and are available on many other main-stream manufacturers.

 

[Eric]

I don't know if this is Robert Kearns' original patent, but I found this here.

An intermittent windshield wiper system includes a wiper control module and a wiper switch which allows an operator to set a time delay between consecutive wipes of a windshield wiper. The wiper switch includes an input setting that allows an operator to set the time delay according to the operator's needs and weather conditions. The wiper control module records the time delay and controls a wiper motor to repeatedly actuate a windshield wiper with the operator-set time delay between consecutive actuations of the windshield wiper. In one embodiment, the control module includes a timer for measuring the time delay, a memory for recording the time delay and a motor control for controlling the wiper motor. A method of controlling a windshield wiper for a vehicle is also disclosed.

More related patents:

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/result.html?query_txt=intermittent wipers&sort=relevance

 

[rollaball]

Ok I get it, intermittent means I get three different speeds? Right?
I looked at the patent site before made this post, thank you Eric.
So I control the speed when put the wipers on the intermittent setting which is the first setting on this 08 xb? Which is a four second delay and nothing else. Shouldn’t the first setting be called slow, instead of intermittent?

 

[Geezer]

Intermittent just means wipe...pause...wipe...pause...wipe...pause, etc. In addition to the intermittent mode you get two additional speeds, fast and slow.

In the old days wipers were "vacuum operated" and usually had two official speeds, slow and not quite as slow. When you stomped on the gas it killed the vacuum and the wipers stopped until you backed off. Now that was high-tech in the good old days...none of that hand cranking Model T crap!

Wait a minute...

HEY KID!! GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!

Anyway, you need to remember this kind of information. It might earn you big bucks on Jeopardy some day.

 

[rollaball]

Intermittent is a bigger word than slow. The first wiper setting on this car has a four second delay which is the slowest setting of the three to chose from. Right or Wrong?
The reason the fine people at Toyota called the first setting on the wipers intermittent instead slow is because they could and can by your terminology it has a pause to it. “wipe..pause..wipe..pause etc.” It pauses I get that part of it.
What I’m trying to say is the title “intermittent wipers” implies it’s something which it is not i.e. “variable speed intermittent” or “speed sensing intermittent” or something else. Instead the salesman stating this vehicles wipers have three settings (or speeds) he can state it has “intermittent wipers” which leave the customer thinking it something other than what it is (three settings).
Be my guest to call your first setting on your wiper stalk “intermittent”. I’m going to call mine slow. Then I’m going to change the title of my second setting (which Toyota calls slow) and change it’s title medium. I think I’ll just leave the title for the third setting the same as it was given by it’s maker “fast”.
Fell free to call your first setting “intermittent”. Because it “pauses, it pauses, it pauses, you get it, you get it, wipe … pause … wipe … pause”. Just make sure you check the back of jacket when you leave the dealership.
In fact go ask someone on the street instead some nuts like us that go on to car sites very day. “So the car they have listed here states that it has intermittent wipers what does that mean?” How would your sister-in-law answer that?

 

[TartanJack]

There is a technical meaning for the term.

Otherwise, to the average person, that meaning means nothing.
Therefore, slow, medium, and fast works just fine for most.
Or: Mist, light, and heavy rain.

Or . . .
Whatever ranks you want to name.

 

[rollaball]

Yes there is a term, it’s called brainwashed and Toyota has done a fine job here.

The real reason I started this thread to find out if anyone had tried a different wiper stalk on the XB2. I know that the wipers stalk from the 2004 Pontiac vibe works on the XB1’s and gives viable speed at round 40 to 60 dollars. Anybody tried this on the xb2?

http://www.clubxb.com/forums/f17/diy-variable-intermittent-wiper-install-13897.html