You May be Using the Wrong Windscreen Wipers

The rains are upon us again and wipers are something you should be thinking about. You may find it hard to believe it but a while back people used to drive around with a cloth and when visibility was impaired either by dust or rain, they would get out of the car to wipe the windows or have a handheld wiper that they could use as they drove. A tad inconvenient methinks.

The conventional windscreen wiper system used in all modern cars consists of an electric motor, a linkage assembly, wiper arms and wiper blades. What we see are only the arms and the replaceable blades made of rubber that sweep the glass screen. The arms are usually of fixed radius and reciprocate in an arc with a few variations with some form of articulation to maximise the area covered by the blades.

Most cars require a pair of wiper arms for optimum coverage, though there are triple-arm wiper setups for broad but low windshields, like you got in a Toyota FJ Cruiser or a Jaguar E type. There is also a one arm set up like you would find on the 1984 Mercedes E class, where the single arm extends as it passes the corners, then retracts to clear the top edge. It worked very well and clears an incredibly vast area for a single blade but was too complex and expensive to justify, especially when the corners are not critical to overall visibility.

The mechanics are under the bonnet where a Dc. motor operates at a high speed with the gearing reducing output speed while multiplying the torque. The arms, therefore, have enough force to move the rubber blade across the whole windscreen, taking care of dust, rain or snow.

As they operate in harsh conditions of heat, rain and dust, replace them at least every 6 months. Worn blades will lead to poor visibility and possibly even scratching the windscreen. Visibility is a safety issue and wipers are not that expensive, best to pay for the good ones every time, at most 3k for a pair.