Just thought I would post this in case anyone likes high tech gadgets. I am not affiliated with the vendor in anyway.Basically, this is for the truely lazy, like myself, that would like their trucks to take over as much as possible. Goes along with auto head light on and off, electric lift gates, etc.
I had installed one of these units on my previous SUV 7 years ago. It was kind of cool, worked ok, but was not totally satisfied with it as I thought they could make it work better. When I installed the original unit, the system disabled the factory intermittent wiper switch controls. The factory switch could turn the system on, wiper to slow or to fast and controlled the sensitivity of the system. But you lost the intermittent wiper control. Also it did not always seem to pick the best wiper speed.
But I decided to install it on my 09 HH. They seemed to improve the system. Supposed to have better sensitivity and it has a seperate switch to control the system. Your original factory switch now retains complete manual (intermittant) control of the wipers, which is a vast improvement over the old system.
Installation is not too bad. It took me about 2 hours. There are four wires involved. All four are easily acessable by removing the steering wheel cover. Two screws and it snaps apart. I thought I would post the procedure.
* Start the car and move the steering wheel 90 degress till you can see the phillip's head screw on the right and laft side of the column cover and remove them.
+ Snap off the column cover.
* I paid for access to the TPIS system and figured out the leads positions and color coding. Inspect the harness going into the wiper switch. You will see the following leads:
Position 1 - Violet - this is your 'Cam' lead
Position 2 - Light Blue - this is your +12V lead
Position 3 - Black - This is your 'Slow' speed lead
Position 4 - White - This is your 'Fast' speed lead
These leads are a thicker guage over the other leads so are easy to spot and there is plenty of room to slice and cut. For the cut, I used those fancy twist lock connectors I saw on Two Guy's Garage rather than the crimping ones. Soldering is another way to go. For the taps I just used regular crimping taps.
You 'tap' into leads 1, 2, and 4 and have to cut lead 3 (black) to splice two leads between the side the goes into the switch and the side that goes towards the motor and connect the corresponding leads to each side from the controller harness. Following the directions that came with the unit. There are a few other leads coming out of the controller that have to be connected together, but they don't attached to any thing else in the car except to a ground.
They provide a switch to control the system. I mounted the switch in one of the blanks on the lower dash panel. It was a bit of work to get this pannel off. I had to remove the driver's kick plate (next to the parking brake) to get access to the 10mm bolts that hold it in the bottom. Then it just snaps out. I drilled out the blank and fit the switch in. The switch just ties into leads to the controller.
You then have to mount the sensor to the windshield. Make sure you mount it somewhere behind the mirror so it is not visable when you are driving, but is not on the area covered by the black dots and is under the windshild wiper sweep. Run the cable thru the headliner and down the pillar and plug it into the controller. Make sure you don't interfere with your side curtain air bag. Make sure you clean the windows thoroughly with the wipe provided so you get a clear reading.
When the switch is on the on position, the system is on and the wiper will activate when it senses rain. It will automatically adjust the speed depending on the amount of rain sensed. If you turn the switch to the off position, your wiper system is under complete manual control just like it came from the factory. All washer functions are the same either way.
It is dry season now so I cannot yet judge how well the newer sytem judges speed. It won't be until rainy season starts in July when I can truely judge its effectiveness. It seems to work well with a spray bottle and hose to test it.
Here is a few picts.
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BTW - on the previous SUV I had the dealer cracked the windshield when it went in for service. I had to order another sensor mount so I could get the system to work after they replaced the windshield. So this time I just ordered a second mount so I have it just incase - that way I don't ever expect my windshield to need to be replaced!
This is the 'Rain Tracker' system.
I had installed one of these units on my previous SUV 7 years ago. It was kind of cool, worked ok, but was not totally satisfied with it as I thought they could make it work better. When I installed the original unit, the system disabled the factory intermittent wiper switch controls. The factory switch could turn the system on, wiper to slow or to fast and controlled the sensitivity of the system. But you lost the intermittent wiper control. Also it did not always seem to pick the best wiper speed.
But I decided to install it on my 09 HH. They seemed to improve the system. Supposed to have better sensitivity and it has a seperate switch to control the system. Your original factory switch now retains complete manual (intermittant) control of the wipers, which is a vast improvement over the old system.
Installation is not too bad. It took me about 2 hours. There are four wires involved. All four are easily acessable by removing the steering wheel cover. Two screws and it snaps apart. I thought I would post the procedure.
* Start the car and move the steering wheel 90 degress till you can see the phillip's head screw on the right and laft side of the column cover and remove them.
+ Snap off the column cover.
* I paid for access to the TPIS system and figured out the leads positions and color coding. Inspect the harness going into the wiper switch. You will see the following leads:
Position 1 - Violet - this is your 'Cam' lead
Position 2 - Light Blue - this is your +12V lead
Position 3 - Black - This is your 'Slow' speed lead
Position 4 - White - This is your 'Fast' speed lead
These leads are a thicker guage over the other leads so are easy to spot and there is plenty of room to slice and cut. For the cut, I used those fancy twist lock connectors I saw on Two Guy's Garage rather than the crimping ones. Soldering is another way to go. For the taps I just used regular crimping taps.
You 'tap' into leads 1, 2, and 4 and have to cut lead 3 (black) to splice two leads between the side the goes into the switch and the side that goes towards the motor and connect the corresponding leads to each side from the controller harness. Following the directions that came with the unit. There are a few other leads coming out of the controller that have to be connected together, but they don't attached to any thing else in the car except to a ground.
They provide a switch to control the system. I mounted the switch in one of the blanks on the lower dash panel. It was a bit of work to get this pannel off. I had to remove the driver's kick plate (next to the parking brake) to get access to the 10mm bolts that hold it in the bottom. Then it just snaps out. I drilled out the blank and fit the switch in. The switch just ties into leads to the controller.
You then have to mount the sensor to the windshield. Make sure you mount it somewhere behind the mirror so it is not visable when you are driving, but is not on the area covered by the black dots and is under the windshild wiper sweep. Run the cable thru the headliner and down the pillar and plug it into the controller. Make sure you don't interfere with your side curtain air bag. Make sure you clean the windows thoroughly with the wipe provided so you get a clear reading.
When the switch is on the on position, the system is on and the wiper will activate when it senses rain. It will automatically adjust the speed depending on the amount of rain sensed. If you turn the switch to the off position, your wiper system is under complete manual control just like it came from the factory. All washer functions are the same either way.
It is dry season now so I cannot yet judge how well the newer sytem judges speed. It won't be until rainy season starts in July when I can truely judge its effectiveness. It seems to work well with a spray bottle and hose to test it.
Here is a few picts.
BTW - on the previous SUV I had the dealer cracked the windshield when it went in for service. I had to order another sensor mount so I could get the system to work after they replaced the windshield. So this time I just ordered a second mount so I have it just incase - that way I don't ever expect my windshield to need to be replaced!
This is the 'Rain Tracker' system.
