[cogogo]

Interesting. I now know why my windshield wipers quit for a sec when my vw auto stop/start kicks back on.

[Maxion]

Not a car engineer, but those motors can be pretty high A, so this could also just be a feature that helps the starter get as much power as it can while cranking.

[bluGill]

Ignition switches were turning off the wipers and other such extras in the 1980s. Probably longer but I'm not old enough to remember

[HeyLaughingBoy]

Some accessories are disconnected while cranking so the battery can supply as much current as possible to the starter.