TESTING OF AN IMPROVED FMVSS NO. 104 WINDSHIELD WASHER PROCEDURE AND SPRAY

An improved windshield washer test mixtue was developed and the test procedure was updated to evaluate windshield washer performance using the new test mixture. The improved test mixture contains four components which are (1) a clay in fine particle size which forms a colloidal suspension in water, (2) a poly(vinyl alcohol) resin which adds tenaceous properties, (3) titanium dioxide which adds a highly visible whiteness and (4) deionized water. The selected test mixture formulation consists of low cost readily available components that are easy to prepare. The mixture is easily applied with a hand sprayer and gives a uniform coating due to the good suspension properties of the solid components. The film is sufficiently difficult to remove that poor washer systems can be identified. The test procedure is a modification of the FMVSS 104, TP-104-04 procedure for testing windshield wiper and washer systems. The most significant change is the addition of a photometric technique to determine the amount of test dirt on the glazed surface. (Portions of this document are not fully legible)

• Corporate Authors:

  Southwest Research Institute

  6220 Culebra Road, P.O. Drawer 28510
  San Antonio, TX  United States  78228-0510

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hull, R W
  • Adams, L M
  • Schuetze, C E
• Publication Date: 1977-2

Media Info

• Pagination: 63 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Cleaning; Cleansers; Equipment tests; Evaluation; Film; Mixtures; Performance; Soils; Windshield washers; Windshields
• Uncontrolled Terms: Dirt
• Old TRIS Terms: Test equipment
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00181405
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT-HS-803-397 Final Rpt., SWRI-AR-1150
• Contract Numbers: DOT-HS-6-01407
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Oct 12 1979 12:00AM