Leaking washer fluid - headlight washer nozzle?

[ccdre]

My car has been leaking washer fluid at an increasing rate. I can fill up the washer fluid tank and have the low fluid light come on in a week without actually using the windshield wipers at all.

The leak is in front of passenger wheel or just behind the bumper - It appears it is likely the right headlamp washer nozzle or perhaps the tubing that connects to it.
I've attempted to locate the leak by removing the right wheel, removing the front wheel well liner. This did not get my anywhere near the headlight washers (see attached pic).

I did a search through the forums and found several posts describing the same sort of leak but did not find any write ups on actual fix.

Does the front bumper need to come off the get to the nozzle? For those that had the nozzles replaced by a dealer, how many shop hours did this take?

Thank you!

-Dre

[bodega_bladerunner]

I have this same leak as well. Somewhere on the passenger side. I haven't even bothered with it because, well fuck it lol. I'll fix it when I eventually upgrade the intercooler

[mackeroni]

My 2011 started leaking washer fluid on its first birthday from the driver's side headlight washer nozzle. The work was done under warranty, so my paperwork does not list hours or cost. I do remember the Service Writer telling me that they had to remove the front bumper cover to replace the leaky nozzle. It was cracked, and I have no idea why.

I guess these leaks can show up in multiple locations.

Good luck.

[ShocknAwe]

Best to remove the bumper. Much easier to access with it off. Pull the washer covers up with your fingers and hold them to remove the clipped on covers, then take the bumper off.

[ccdre]

Done! Nozzle replaced and so far no leaks. Best of all, didn't have to remove the bumper afterall. Once I removed the painted washer cover, the actual nozzle is pretty easy to remove by prying up a plastic ratcheting pawl using a flathead screwdriver (hard to describe but same mechanism as a zip tie).
Few pics attached.

[bodega_bladerunner]

Good shit man
How is the pop up cover removed?

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by greenc51

Good shit man
How is the pop up cover removed?

It's just clipped on. Plastic nub on each side of the nozzle body.

[dandandan]

I had a leaky driver side jet and did the following to fix it. No new parts were required in my case:

1. Remove front bumper cover (easy). Just be sure to turn your wheels to gain easy access to the three bolts in the wheel wells.

2. Remove leaky washer jet by unscrewing the two bolts holding it in place. The assembly can be threaded under the bumper to gain better access to it from the front, without having to reach in a tight space. The washer fluid in the hose will drip out so rest the hose upright temporarily. The hose disconnects by pressing the blue clip inwards towards the hose and pulling the hose off the jet assembly. Reconnect it in the reverse when all cleaned out.

3. The jet has two syringe like pistons inside. The smaller one (o ring pictured above) and a larger one in the main housing body. Both may be leaking because dirt gets in between the seals. I think the angle of the jet eventually allows dirt to enter and disturb the seals.

4. Clean out both seals starting with the larger body seal. Run hot water in all directions while rapidly opening and closing the larger seal. This can be a bit tricky as the spring is very strong. Eventually you will get to a point where you can fill up the larger seal with water, block the location where the hose normally connects and the assembly will start to hold the water pressure and stop leaking. The jet will stay open on its own with the water inside. Remove the tip to gain access to the smaller o ring seal in the part above. Be sure to clean the hose connection o ring as well.

The idea is to get all dirt and debris out of the system. It will start working as if it's new with enough agitation, soapy water, and attention to all seals.

When reconnecting, remember where the outer tip position was to avoid the cover from dangling too high. This is easy to adjust while on the car.

Saved me $100 of parts to do this and so far no leaks.

Hope this helps

[Jrman]

I think I have the same leak. I am going to remove the cover and look tonight.

[blue135]

Had same symptoms as OP, except leak was clearly behind right front wheel. So fender has to come off to get to tank. Not a lot of thought to maintenance in design. But does use up every bit of available space to allow smallest overall vehicle size.

[DarthFader]

I've had these leak on both sides of every E chassis car I've owned. They're a total joke.

If you love your headlight washers by all means fix them. If you rarely use them, might wanna code them out and be done with it.

[Skotcoop]

Originally Posted by dandandan

I had a leaky driver side jet and did the following to fix it. No new parts were required in my case:

1. Remove front bumper cover (easy). Just be sure to turn your wheels to gain easy access to the three bolts in the wheel wells.

2. Remove leaky washer jet by unscrewing the two bolts holding it in place. The assembly can be threaded under the bumper to gain better access to it from the front, without having to reach in a tight space. The washer fluid in the hose will drip out so rest the hose upright temporarily. The hose disconnects by pressing the blue clip inwards towards the hose and pulling the hose off the jet assembly. Reconnect it in the reverse when all cleaned out.

3. The jet has two syringe like pistons inside. The smaller one (o ring pictured above) and a larger one in the main housing body. Both may be leaking because dirt gets in between the seals. I think the angle of the jet eventually allows dirt to enter and disturb the seals.

4. Clean out both seals starting with the larger body seal. Run hot water in all directions while rapidly opening and closing the larger seal. This can be a bit tricky as the spring is very strong. Eventually you will get to a point where you can fill up the larger seal with water, block the location where the hose normally connects and the assembly will start to hold the water pressure and stop leaking. The jet will stay open on its own with the water inside. Remove the tip to gain access to the smaller o ring seal in the part above. Be sure to clean the hose connection o ring as well.

The idea is to get all dirt and debris out of the system. It will start working as if it's new with enough agitation, soapy water, and attention to all seals.

When reconnecting, remember where the outer tip position was to avoid the cover from dangling too high. This is easy to adjust while on the car.

Saved me $100 of parts to do this and so far no leaks.

Hope this helps

Thank you for this. Mine was leaking really bad on the drivers side and ever so slightly on the passengers side. Really didn’t want to spend $100+ for each side. So I removed both sides, repeatedly open and closed them while submerged in soapy water, dumped the water probably close to 10 times waiting to see no dirt in the water. It was quite a pain to remove the actual nozzle itself. Best way I figured out was to pull up he nozzle out with the cover on, hold it open(need strong hands) then pry the tab up using a 90 degree pick. And I do see what you mean now by adjusting them. I shoulda taken pictures but I was getting impatient at that point. My leak was so bad I had literally filled my reservoir and not even a week later I got a lower washer fluid light. Took me a while just to figure what the fluid was all over my garage because it only leaked after the car had been sitting for 6+ hours. Maybe it leaked when it wasn’t under pressure? I don’t know but I hope this helps.

[pdesjardins]

Originally Posted by DarthFader

I've had these leak on both sides of every E chassis car I've owned. They're a total joke.

If you love your headlight washers by all means fix them. If you rarely use them, might wanna code them out and be done with it.

Hey DarthFader can you please explain what you mean by “Code them out”?

Thanks!

[fe1rx]

Originally Posted by blue135

Had same symptoms as OP, except leak was clearly behind right front wheel. So fender has to come off to get to tank. Not a lot of thought to maintenance in design. But does use up every bit of available space to allow smallest overall vehicle size.

It is not necessary to remove the fender to remove the tank, although at first glance, it sure looks like it is.

Originally Posted by pdesjardins

Hey DarthFader can you please explain what you mean by “Code them out”?

Thanks!

Coding out the headlight washer pump won't fix a leak. The fluid siphons itself out through a leaking nozzle, regardless of whether the pump runs.

[SamelCamel]

Originally Posted by dandandan

I had a leaky driver side jet and did the following to fix it. No new parts were required in my case:

1. Remove front bumper cover (easy). Just be sure to turn your wheels to gain easy access to the three bolts in the wheel wells.

2. Remove leaky washer jet by unscrewing the two bolts holding it in place. The assembly can be threaded under the bumper to gain better access to it from the front, without having to reach in a tight space. The washer fluid in the hose will drip out so rest the hose upright temporarily. The hose disconnects by pressing the blue clip inwards towards the hose and pulling the hose off the jet assembly. Reconnect it in the reverse when all cleaned out.

3. The jet has two syringe like pistons inside. The smaller one (o ring pictured above) and a larger one in the main housing body. Both may be leaking because dirt gets in between the seals. I think the angle of the jet eventually allows dirt to enter and disturb the seals.

4. Clean out both seals starting with the larger body seal. Run hot water in all directions while rapidly opening and closing the larger seal. This can be a bit tricky as the spring is very strong. Eventually you will get to a point where you can fill up the larger seal with water, block the location where the hose normally connects and the assembly will start to hold the water pressure and stop leaking. The jet will stay open on its own with the water inside. Remove the tip to gain access to the smaller o ring seal in the part above. Be sure to clean the hose connection o ring as well.

The idea is to get all dirt and debris out of the system. It will start working as if it's new with enough agitation, soapy water, and attention to all seals.

When reconnecting, remember where the outer tip position was to avoid the cover from dangling too high. This is easy to adjust while on the car.

Saved me $100 of parts to do this and so far no leaks.

Hope this helps

Same for me. Removed them and cleaned them in hot, soapy water and reassembled and all was good.

-Sam

[NorthernDancer]

I think a very light coating of Vaseline on the "O" rings would be helpful.

[DarthFader]

Originally Posted by pdesjardins

Hey DarthFader can you please explain what you mean by “Code them out”?

Thanks!

I used Carly to code off the headlight washers. I had a leak every morning under the front bumper in the area of the headlight washers. After coding the leaked stopped. That was 4 years ago. I did it to both my cars that were leaking.

Coding won't help if the leak is in the main pump behind the right front wheel.

Bimmercode also works and is cheaper. I used Carly because at the time it was cheap.

[makke]

Sorry to be reviving an old thread, but am in a bit of a bind and hoping someone can help. I was losing washer fluid, dis-assembled the wheel well covers, removed the bumper cover, and traced the problem to leaking headlight nozzles. I then followed the instructions in this thread to remove them and clean them in soapy water. Now that I have them re-installed, the nozzles are not popping up.

I have run the washers quite a bit, because I understand that headlights only run every 3rd or 4th activation with lighting switch in the On or Auto positions. I've hypothesized that there is air somewhere in the lines from me disconnecting them, so I've added water to the fill spout and flushed at both headlight nozzle locations. Fluid seems to be coming out as expected.

At this point I am not sure what to do... It seems like waaaay too much of a co-incidence for the headlight pump to have failed during the time I had the nozzles off, especially since the car was not operated. Is there some trick I am missing?

Thank you in advance.

[makke]

Did some more troubleshooting. Pulled out the glove box and checked the fuse diagram. The same fuse is used by both the windshield and headlight pumps. Windshield pump works, so can't be the fuse.

Pulled out the washer tank, disconnected the connectors on both the windshield and headlight washer pumps, then checked the incoming voltage with a volt-meter while operating the stalk. Clearly see continuous 12V to the windshield pump every time the stalk is pulled. See two brief 1 sec 12V pulses separated by 1 sec on the headlight pump the first time the stalk is pulled after inserting the key and putting the car into accessory mode. Nada after that, no matter how many times the stalk is pulled. Not sure the duration of the pulses is long enough to activate the nozzles or push whatever air may still be in there after removal and re-assembly.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

[makke]

OK, SOLVED. Hope my adventures help someone else in the future.

Spraying for 1 sec is normal behavior, but is not enough time to push air out of the system. The pump just compresses the air, but does not overcome the springs in the washer nozzles. So..., needed some way to run the pump longer. The connectors on the headlight and windshield pumps are indexed differently -- cannot simply install the windshield connector on the headlight pump. However, the connector is just 2 wires, 12V. Well, the battery is 12V...

Using a multi-meter, made sure I knew which contacts gave +12V as opposed to -12V. Found some 16 gauge wire I had lying around from home improvement work, connected one to the plus terminal under the hood, the other to the ground terminal. Then, VERY carefully, touched the wires to the leads on the headlight pump (+12V, not -) and forced it to run for a few seconds. Voila! That pump sounds like an elephant...

The rest of you were probably smarter than me and re-installed the nozzles with water in them...? Otherwise, I am surprised no-one else had the same problem. The good news is that they are no longer leaking either. Thanks to all of you for that -- saved me almost $200 in parts. Yeah, inflation... So all I have to do tomorrow is put the tank back in, re-install the bumper cover, reinstall the two wheel well liners, re-install the bottom cover, and put the wheel back on.

Stupid headlight washers!

[GoJuice]

I saw this thread since my sprayers repeatedly leak. I have replaced with OEM and aftermarket and both seem to fail every 1-2 years. I took out one of mine and used the piston to siphon soapy water in/out to clean the insides and TONS of dirt and debris came out. I also noticed that in the mix was bits of ground up plastic and decided it was worth investigating so I cut a sprayer open.

I noticed the spring was corroded from water infiltration. After flaking off, the grit would abrade the plastic around the O-Ring and allow washer fluid to leak past into the chamber with the spring. This just makes the problem even worse. It would have been better if the spring were stainless steel.

I've seen youtube vids where guys that are not me are able to take these things apart, but i have never been successful and have tried multiple times. If i could, an easy fix would just be a new O-Ring and stainless spring. This is the last time i want to touch the damn things so after i replace them, I'm just coding out the headlight sprayers. They are now just plugs to stop fluid from potentially leaking out slowly via siphon.

Disclaimer: I have a 335i, but believe they would share this same part and design.