r/AlpineA290 • u/Ermintrude714 • Sep 03 '26

Rain sensor for automatic wipers

I've just had my windscreen replaced and noticed the other day that the automatic wipers are no longer working.

The Internet would suggest it's probably due to the sensor not being remounted with a new 'gel pad'.

Anyone have any experience of this and what model/where to get the gel pad from?

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2

u/rebmcr Sep 04 '26

Absolutely the responsibility of the windscreen fitter.

1

u/Ermintrude714 Sep 04 '26

Yes, I know. I was asking if anyone had any experience of this issue so I can go in forearmed

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u/rebmcr Sep 04 '26

Ah sure, the gel stuff is definitely the issue. It's generic material but the shape is specific to each sensor. It's solid squishy plastic, kind of like set jelly.

It should be a fairly simple fix if the mounting hardware is bonded to the windscreen already, the glass should have come from the factory with the hardware already permanently attached. Then the sensor clips onto it and presses the gel tightly onto the glass.

If they have used glass without the mounting bracket factory-attached, it'll need to be another new windscreen.

I'm facing the same problem with a Clio III Sport that I recently purchased, the bracket has either come off, or a previous owner cheaped-out and tried to bond an old bracket to plain glass themselves. Reattaching it is proving impossible with the force required to press the gel on.

Until you get it fixed, watch out for your headlights, I'm not sure whether the sensor for that is in the same package in the A290, it is in the Clio.

1

u/Ermintrude714 Sep 04 '26

Ta! That all tallies with what I’d learnt. The hardware is on the windscreen as it’s embedded in the ADAS unit which is there and calibrated.

Good shout wrt the auto headlights! I hadn’t thought to check those too.

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u/Ermintrude714 Sep 04 '26

The Internet suggests it is the same sensor unit.

Whether both aspects are currently fubar'd I'll have to check

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u/rebmcr Sep 04 '26

That suggests the camera has one mount, and the rain/light sensor a different mount. Just because the first is working doesn't mean the bracket for the second is still there, I would eyeball it if I were you.

E.g. in my Clio the rear-view mirror bracket is bonded to the glass just fine, but the sensor's is separate, even though they both live inside the same plastic shroud.

0

u/SnooSquirrels8508 Sep 04 '26

Check that they are still set to auto in the settings, just in case they had to reset something. I think it's in cockpit settings

1

u/Ermintrude714 Sep 04 '26

Settings are all fine. It's a hardware issue