DIY Blocked Washer Jets & Washer Bottle Clean

[Diamondblackcars]

Four month update, I put the two bottles outside just after Xmas and I covered them so that they are not left in Sun light.

Oh dear, the BMW Washer Fluid has started to Gel already.

The Fairy Liquid is still clear.

[juld0zer]

Very scientific haha!
I reckon you should put them behind your fridge to simulate the normal environment. Algae loves warm still water

[Gangplank]

My sprayers stopped working. :-(. Can hear the pump but no water comes out. I’m wondering if it will be covered by my Route66 aftermarket warranty. I guess we’ll find out... if not I may be doing this DIY soon.

[Diamondblackcars]

Well one year on and the Fairy Bottle still looks fine, the BMW Bottle has all sorts growing in it.









https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...N6aE9JbnY0eUZB

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

My sprayers stopped working. :-(. Can hear the pump but no water comes out. I’m wondering if it will be covered by my Route66 aftermarket warranty. I guess we’ll find out... if not I may be doing this DIY soon.

Were you covered under warranty or did you have a go at the DIY?

[Gangplank]

Originally Posted by Diamondblackcars

Were you covered under warranty or did you have a go at the DIY?

Good timing. It's at the local Indy shop for this. Hoping to hear back today.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by Diamondblackcars

Well one year on and the Fairy Bottle still looks fine, the BMW Bottle has all sorts growing in it.



https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...N6aE9JbnY0eUZB

That's crazy how the BMW fluid gels. I've seldom used my washers so I probably have a colony of something growing in the bottle.

Other than I don't think we can get it in the US, a possible negative is will it freeze up sooner than the BMW stuff. You need to determine the Fairy Liquid's freezing point?

May be a great marketing opportunity. You don't work for P&G by chance.

[ianc]

Banana flavored milk WTF?

ianc

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by gjm120

That's crazy how the BMW fluid gels. I've seldom used my washers so I probably have a colony of something growing in the bottle.

Other than I don't think we can get it in the US, a possible negative is will it freeze up sooner than the BMW stuff. You need to determine the Fairy Liquid's freezing point?

May be a great marketing opportunity. You don't work for P&G by chance.

You are right of course, Fairy does freeze and it is only washing up liquid that I used regularly in the 80's + 90's.

I will carry on using BMW washer fluid with anti-freeze as it was only about an hours work to pull out the washer bottle and clean the filters.

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by ianc

Banana flavored milk WTF?

ianc

its just posh milkshake

[Gangplank]

Turns out my pump went kaput. Replaced under me Route66 warranty. All good now.

[jjdajet]

Is this the same for a 2011 bmw 128i?

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by jjdajet

Is this the same for a 2011 bmw 128i?

It should be the same, I just looked on the RealOem website and the E82 Coupé and E88 Convertible 128i variants were replaced by the 2 Series F22 and F23 in 2013.

Enter your BMW Serial Number (last 7 digits of your VIN) here and you can search for your vehicle.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select


Below are the USA 128i variants, and as far as I know they should all be the same as a UK Coupe and Convertible.

E82 Coupé
E88 Convertible

BMW 1 Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_1_Series_(E87))

[BMW2C135]

Yes, my washers flow started to reduce until finally they stopped working all together. My car is a 135 2013 build so 5+years old.

I removed the washer bottle completely from the. At similar to diamondblackcars approach and could not believe what was growing inside the bottle and what it does to the superfine pump filters.

The stuff was black and slimy it was thickest on the tanks tidel point. I did take some pics and will try to append later.

My bottle approach was to empty and flash a few times with plain water but that slime was moving easily. So hot water and bleach were deployed and after more than 10 flushes with vigorous shaking it started to clear up. Mind you you have to block the fill point and filter outlets with your fingers in the process. I switched to dishwashing soap liquid for another 3 or so flushes. Eventually I was happy that the inside was now clean and free from any growth.

I went a further step and removed the filler tube from the engine bay and washed that out as well. It too had a lot of growth on the inside. Same process bleaches x5 times then dishwashing liquid x5 , before happy it was clean.

Washed filters same way they cleaned up perfectly. I also removed and waxed the low level switch as it too had copped the black slim attach..

Reassembled everything, placed some new tape around the various wires and positioned the tank added some clean water and tested windshield and headlight washer pumps. Amazing flow improvement so went ahead and fitted the wheel arc cover. I was cautious and gentle when I pushed the plastic rivet pins through as I managed to find all three and refitted them.

I haven't added and washer fluid yet...will try plain water for a while.

I really is a simple exercise to clean the filters albeit it took me almost 2+ hrs with all the tank and tube flushing and not really rushing.

Truely amazing what can grow in a dark warm water tank. Brings back Hugh school science experiment days!!!

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by BMW2C135

Yes, my washers flow started to reduce until finally they stopped working all together. My car is a 135 2013 build so 5+years old.

I removed the washer bottle completely from the. At similar to diamondblackcars approach and could not believe what was growing inside the bottle and what it does to the superfine pump filters

It's good to see that the thread also helped someone else

[acediac]

Just wanted to say thanks to the thread for this DIY.

My washer jets were shooting black sticky stuff and getting stuck too, and there was a pizza dough yeasty smell from the filler neck.

I put some chlorine in to kill the algae but there was no getting around the solid bits inside clogging the pump filter so I had no choice but to take everything out. I was going to try someone's suggestion of suctioning out the bottom gunk, but when I saw the bottle it was full of algae all along the walls so it would have caused problems again eventually. So I took the whole bottle out, and bathed it in a chlorine solution, scraping any stubborn algae stuck to the inside walls by manipulating a soft wire hook through the opening

The information in this thread made removal quite straightforward, it just took awhile because I was being careful.

Here are a couple of extra tips:

• The thing that gave me the most trouble actually was the side marker. I have a 1M and there is no spring to push against like some of the other cars. It turns out it is just held in by clips, so just squeeze and pull straight out, starting from the rear first. I have included a picture of the clips for those who need it.
  
• To get the headlamp washers to work, turn on the ignition fully, turn on the lights and the first time you pull the washer stalk it will spray the headlamps (but only the first time until you power down again)

In my case I think the washer fluid was just plain water, but I hardly ever use the washer so it must have been festering for awhile. All these years owning cars and I have never encountered this problem before! Now I know I need use up the fluid every now and then and top up with some additives that will kill algae!

Anyway, thanks again everyone!

[Diamondblackcars]

Originally Posted by acediac

Just wanted to say thanks to the thread for this DIY.

My washer jets were shooting black sticky stuff and getting stuck too, and there was a pizza dough yeasty smell from the filler neck.

I put some chlorine in to kill the algae but there was no getting around the solid bits inside clogging the pump filter so I had no choice but to take everything out. I was going to try someone's suggestion of suctioning out the bottom gunk, but when I saw the bottle it was full of algae all along the walls so it would have caused problems again eventually. So I took the whole bottle out, and bathed it in a chlorine solution, scraping any stubborn algae stuck to the inside walls by manipulating a soft wire hook through the opening

The information in this thread made removal quite straightforward, it just took awhile because I was being careful.

Here are a couple of extra tips:

• The thing that gave me the most trouble actually was the side marker. I have a 1M and there is no spring to push against like some of the other cars. It turns out it is just held in by clips, so just squeeze and pull straight out, starting from the rear first. I have included a picture of the clips for those who need it.
  
• To get the headlamp washers to work, turn on the ignition fully, turn on the lights and the first time you pull the washer stalk it will spray the headlamps (but only the first time until you power down again)

In my case I think the washer fluid was just plain water, but I hardly ever use the washer so it must have been festering for awhile. All these years owning cars and I have never encountered this problem before! Now I know I need use up the fluid every now and then and top up with some additives that will kill algae!

Anyway, thanks again everyone!

I am glad it worked out for you, thank you for passing on your tips as it wil help others.

I have had my 135i for 12 years, so far mine has only clogged up once but it is likely to happen again, I was the same with my previous car that I owned for 9 years and this one I never used the water bottle to clean the windscreen either as it makes the car dirty

I do clean the windscreen with the wipers every time I get in the car now though so it may prevent it happening again, I only drive about a 1000 miles a year so a lot of the time the car is not being used