First, I recommend you troubleshoot your leak with tap water in your container, because you are going to lose gallons of it in the process. You can purge the remaining water if any, when you are done, and refill with fresh cleaning fluid.
Also, for those who are unhappy with the overspray to the hood area and beyond, I hope you realize that the nozzle jets (part #8) are adjustable (there are two of them per nozzle). BMW makes an adjustment tool for this but a small screw driver can accomplish the same results.
In my case, I had two leaks (cracked pump, and stuck open driver side nozzle), probably due to the previous owner who did not care to replace/purge his summer windshield fluid when winter came around (transition from warm to freezing weather up here in Canada).
I decided to take the plunge and take the nozzle, headlight, lower trim piece, and telescopic unit out. I then switched the nozzles from passenger to driver side, and the leak pointed to the nozzle! I noticed that by blowing air through the nozzle, air passed right through on the faulty one, but was blocked on the functional one. I went ahead and blocked the faulty nozzle by pouring hot glue inside the tube, and put everything back together, while I order a new driver side nozzle.
As mentioned earlier, one of my leaks occured with the headlight washer pump (sitting at the front of the washer fluid container), the other with my driver side headlight washer nozzle. I confirmed that the tiny internal pressure regulator on the nozzle was stuck in an opened position with no way to retain the fluid. (The nozzle leaked even without the pump pushing liquid to it and exerting the required pressure for nozzle regulator to open normally under this pressure condition.)
So my suggestions to test for this headlight area leak are the following:
See embedded pictures for reference: 1st pic is the RealOEM exploded diagram. 2nd pic is the nozzle. 3rd pic is the cover. 4th is the telescopic arm.
Here's a great suggestion from member "Throck"
Also, for those who are unhappy with the overspray to the hood area and beyond, I hope you realize that the nozzle jets (part #8) are adjustable (there are two of them per nozzle). BMW makes an adjustment tool for this but a small screw driver can accomplish the same results.
In my case, I had two leaks (cracked pump, and stuck open driver side nozzle), probably due to the previous owner who did not care to replace/purge his summer windshield fluid when winter came around (transition from warm to freezing weather up here in Canada).
I decided to take the plunge and take the nozzle, headlight, lower trim piece, and telescopic unit out. I then switched the nozzles from passenger to driver side, and the leak pointed to the nozzle! I noticed that by blowing air through the nozzle, air passed right through on the faulty one, but was blocked on the functional one. I went ahead and blocked the faulty nozzle by pouring hot glue inside the tube, and put everything back together, while I order a new driver side nozzle.
As mentioned earlier, one of my leaks occured with the headlight washer pump (sitting at the front of the washer fluid container), the other with my driver side headlight washer nozzle. I confirmed that the tiny internal pressure regulator on the nozzle was stuck in an opened position with no way to retain the fluid. (The nozzle leaked even without the pump pushing liquid to it and exerting the required pressure for nozzle regulator to open normally under this pressure condition.)
So my suggestions to test for this headlight area leak are the following:
- Have a helper sit in the car, and turn the ignition to the position prior to starting the engine. Ask him/her to turn on the headlights to pull the wiper arm once. This should trigger the headlight washer spray on the first try. To repeat, turn off the ignition, and repeat this sequence. While the telescopic arms extends (part #6), grab it and hold it out. This step is optional but will prevent breaking the flimsy headlight washer cover (part #9 & #10) when you attempt to pull it out yourself. You may want to wear safety goggles and old clothing before doing this! ;-)
- Use one hand to hold the telescopic arm, and the other to pull out the nozzle (part #8) straight out with force but extreme care, it will pop off the telescopic arm (part #6), and fluid will squirt out while the arm slides back into its "resting place". Dont worry about the "disappearing arm" as the nozzle pops back onto it easily, even with the arm secluded.
- Now to test the nozzle, stick your lips on the input opening (where fluid flows in), and blow air through it. If air comes right out of the two jets, your nozzle is faulty and needs to be replaced. If air does not pass thought the nozzle, your problem is elsewhere, such as the actuator/telescopic piece itself, various junctions, etc. In this case, you need to dismantle your headlight(s), turn light, and lower trim, to access/replace telescopic device, tubing, couplings, and junctions. There are several good DIY's on this board and others, and the BMW TIS can help you also to remove the headlight(s).
- Take your time to avoid damaging anything. The telescopic device is particularly tricky to dismount from its support. Use a towel on your bumper just under your headlight to prevent scratching your paint if you need to dismount your headlight(s) to unmount/replace the telescopic device.
See embedded pictures for reference: 1st pic is the RealOEM exploded diagram. 2nd pic is the nozzle. 3rd pic is the cover. 4th is the telescopic arm.
Here's a great suggestion from member "Throck"