[SOLVED] Rain Sensor Retrofit WITHOUT Screen Change!!!

[smiddyboy1]

I'm sure this post will interest a few of the people who have attempted to
retrofit a rain sensor, or even those who are thinking of doing it.

There are soso many posts and questions regarding it. Here is a few of them
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Link 5

I've read literally hundreds of posts and the general consensus was that without the correct lense a new screen is the only way forward,
but not now!!!! An MBCLUB Exclusive

A new screen was never really an option for me as I've saw some of these guys at work plus the charge of an excess for my "cracked windscreen", and there was nothing wrong with the screen in the car as it stands.

I met with Wully and both of us got our heads together and pulled together
our contacts some of which were in the glass industry. Long story short there was a few emails back & forth and finally a contact in Spain was able to supply these:

(Light sensors for C class both pre & post facelift)



This was the lense I had


This is what I have now, WITHOUT a new screen


Removing the old lense was the scary part, when I was doing it all I was thinking was I'm gonna end up with a new screen after I break this one!!! But thankfully it all went ok in the end with a little patience and a lot of breaks to compose myself.




This stuff was mega tuff

And after I cleaned the screen with IPA


Then it was time to fit the new combined sensor, basically you have one shot at this and it went ok with only one very small air bubble on the screen but its not in line with the rain sensor so should be fine.


Finished results are



This part didn't need to be changed but it was so much easier to remove it as it then allows more access to remove the light sensor


Just need to get the wiring loom and fit this


Wully got the last loom in the country (Thanks Wully ) and it's on back order from Germany so when I get that its just a bit of coding to be done and the rain sensor is done- Simples!

Wully has coded his sensor and has been praying for the rain all day so we've got him to thank for the washout today, but has reported that it all works as intended! I'm sure he will be along next with his write up.

[Wully]

Now i wonder if it's going to rain tomorrow!

Remember when i had this:-

[whitenemesis]

Excellent result

Are you going to share the supply of parts info for the more brave members?

[smiddyboy1]

Originally Posted by whitenemesis

Excellent result

Are you going to share the supply of parts info for the more brave members?

Of course I will , thats the point of the forum and me doing the write-up
The only thing being is the guy who got us them doesn't want the hassle that comes with it, he's pretty much up to his eyes with work and is mainly out doing mobile fitting.
I did ask him at the time would he be able to get more should anyone else want one, his answer was yes as long as I did the posting etc... So if anyone wants one let me or Wully know and we will see what we can do.

[LimitedSlip]

Great stuff

[smiddyboy1]

Finaly got the wiring loom from the dealers



And it comes with these connectors already on it

The Blue 3 pins is fine and connects to the OCP, the Black 4 pins plug with 3 wires connected has to come off and replaced with a 3 pin plug (Part No A029 545 55 28)
The wires on the loom are already crossed over in pins 2 & 3 but when you change the plug swap the 2nd & 3rd pins so that the wires are straight through.

So you should now be left with this

From left to right the wires should be
Pin 1 Red
Pin 2 Brown
Pin 3 Violet
But as long as the pins aren't swaped it shouldn't make much difference.

Pin 1 live
Pin 2 Ground
Pin 3 Signal
I initally plugged it in with the pins 2 and 3 crossing over and got a fault code, swapped them over and everything was fine.

The plug connectors have numbers on each pin should you can't really make a mistake there.

The loom was then plugged into the spare connector of the OCP (Violet)


And after a bit of coding it seemed to work but I was testing it with spraying water from a bottle and it didn't seem to be working properly.
Yesterday was sunny so I couldn't test it but today was a different story. The wipers would wipe once, twice, come on constant and stop all depending on the amount of rain hitting the screen. So everything is working as it should. I just wanted to make sure before I posted the update.
The wiring loom is from a pre-facelift model. The loom for the facelift comes as a complete roof harness and costs circa £30 and would need to have the roof lining down at the front to swap the loom over whereas the loom I bought cost £7 and worked perfectly.

I hope this help anyone who is planning on retrofitting the Rain Sensor.

[merc-c]

Cheers Guys
what is the cost for all the parts

[dieseldave]

Excellent

I would be up for a rain sensor, but I can't PM massage as I have less than 30 post count. Could you PM me with some contact details. Many thanks

[Administrator]

Originally Posted by merc-c

Cheers Guys
what is the cost for all the parts

Originally Posted by dieseldave

Excellent

I would be up for a rain sensor, but I can't PM massage as I have less than 30 post count. Could you PM me with some contact details. Many thanks

Smiddyboy1 has been approved to post his contact details up

[smiddyboy1]

Anyone can contact me by PM or smiddyboy1@hotmail.com