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DIY- Headlight Washer Leak Troubleshooting

90K views 69 replies 26 participants last post by  Archbid 
#1 · (Edited)
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:

  1. 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! ;-)
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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"
It seems that there are down sides to the headlight washer system, in that it consumes large quantities of fluid, the need for headlight washing is not consistent, and it messes up a good detail job. The removal of fuse 51 will de-activate the pump, but that's a bit tedious, so I am thinking about installing a small waterproof switch in line at the pump wiring, to provide selective activation of the system. Maybe leave it off for the warm months.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Depends what you put your car through, and how long your drives are. I find they are useful when driving at night in messy winter conditions. I live in Quebec Canada, and things get messy on our roads with all the calcium and sleet. At highway speeds, its nice not to have to stop regularly to clean your headlights in those conditions.

I think the headlight washers are part of the Cold Weather Package. Probably useless to owners who are not exposed to these weather conditions. We are stuck with these conditions for about 5-6 months here in Quebec, Canada.
 
#4 ·
dcaron999 nice post, I was looking and searching and the only serius answer are yours.

Once I read your post I decided to test my headlight washer and notice the sound on the sprayer but it did not come out.

Read the manual so many times an do the procedure but nothing, the I read on the Bentleys Manual that " To turn on headlight washer jets, turn
on ignition, lights and windshield washer system. To repeat spray procedure, turn off ignition, then back on again. Otherwise the headlight washers are disabled for 3 minutes. "

How I know whats wrong on my system ?
 
#5 · (Edited)
By the "sound on the sprayer", I assume you are referring to the pump located closest to the front of the car. If you are handy, and have access to a 12VDC source (battery charger or other), you can disconnect the wiring connecting to this headlight pump, and with thin alligator clips, test to see whether the pump is actually spinning freely and not projecting liquid at all. The pump does not require any tools to be removed from the fluid container, but be prepared to lose all you container's fluid, if you dont block the opening where the pump sits into.

If you prefer not to mess with wires for whatever reasons, you need a partner to sit in your car, and turn the ignition on and off. Do this after each washer liquid activation to allow your headlight washer pump to be activated every single time. Be careful and wear eye protection when you do this.

You may also have a blocked conduit from your pump to headlight telescopic arm and nozzles. Did you notice if the telescopic arms pop out when you acticate the system? I have a fealing they do not, and your pump is most likely defective. Very inexpensive part that can be found on eBay, or OEM parts supplier ...
 
#9 · (Edited)
Hard to say, but that is a fair chance. Did you inspect the washer pump (closest to the front of the vehicle) for a tiny crack due to ice expansion?

Find someone to assist you by activating the pump (see my first post), while you stand next to the pump, and listen for two short bursts of the motor spinning. This should occur upon the first winshield wash cycle, while your ignition key is in the position prior to starting the engine, and your headlights turned on.

If you care to inspect the pump closely, it is really easy to remove without any tools (disconnect electrical connector on top, and then disconnect the tubing leading to both of your headlight nozzles). Doing so will drain your entire fluid container. You can also inspect the associated fuse in your glove compartment to see if its burnt, but that is unlikely.

It is easy to forget about purging your headlight washer plumbing prior to winter. You should empty your summer fluid entirely, replace it with anti-freeze fluid, and activate your headlight washers for one or two cycles so that the anti-freeze liquid circulates to that area, and prevents any ice formation and thus damage to any of these seldomly solicitated parts.
 
#10 ·
I have been going nuts over this for the past few weeks. How can the washer jets leak fluid to the point where the tank is bone dry? Did a leak test on the tank,both pumps work but I noticed moisture under my passenger side headlight under the hood ( oh yeah and down my driveway every morning too). How can it leak without pump activation?
 
#11 · (Edited)
Very simple. Same problem as I had. I would lose the all fluid in the tank within a few hours. The only item stopping your fluid from leaking out completely, are you washer nozzles. The whole thing is an open circuit. The pump will not retain fluid when powered off - fluid flows right through it. The telescopic devices to which your nozzles are attached, will not retain fluid either. Only the nozzles do that, and when they are defective, and their internal pressure regulator likely has failed, air or fluid will pass right through it, even though the pump is not activated. Read 3rd bullet point on my first post again, and look at the pictures. You need to order a new passenger side nozzle for about $40.

3rd bullet pasted here for your convenience : "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)."
 
#14 ·
@dcaron999: Since you have experience with headlight washers (and with removing them), how would you attempt xenon headlight housing removal from a car equipped with headlight washer system? I'm only interested in this washer nozzle part, since lower headlight trim removal is needed for the whole headlight removal? Would you just take off nozzle like in your steps #1 and #2 and from that point continue like the car didn't come with this system at all (i.e. do you think that in that case there would be no other obstacle to remove lower headlight trim the same way it's done on cars with no headlight washers)?

I have naver done anything on e46, nor have I owned one... I'm interested in specific one and it is equipped with xenon+headlight washers and one of the first mods would be FX-R retrofit (or ZKW lens on Bosch projector retrofit) any of which requires headlight removal. I have done a lot of simple DIYs on my E36 but have never touched E46. I am in no way expert, but I've done a thing or two on my E36...
 
#15 · (Edited)
Just as a quick fyi I had the same problem right when I picked up my car. My dealer was able to fix it for me by putting a new pump in for free (+1) but they unhooked the line from the front of the windshield washer tank (its in the front right corner down towards the base of the tank- just a little black clip with 2 small lines running into it) and I had no leaking until the part came in.

I will say that because I never got into the pump itself, they may have done more to prevent the leak, but this will at least cut off the power to the headlight washers so that you can stop the leak at the pump and still use your windshield washer until you get it fixed.
 
#17 · (Edited)
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.


When referring to the jet, I assume you mean the nozzle in the 2nd picture. Grab it with both hands, and be careful to pull it straight out with good force. You need to grab the back of it, right next to the tube, and use both thumbs and indexes, to help you control your movement, with sufficient force. It's really easy to break the decorative plastic tabs off of the cover (pic#3), so remove it prior to pulling out the jet. Take your time and look and analyse everything before actually doing the work ...
 
#19 ·
The passenger side unit developed a leak, so had a garage cap the headlight washer system off. However, as of next year it'll be a legal requirement for them to be working if you have xenons. So i got to fix my leak. Is it a bumper off job, to re-connect the tube from the washer bottle to the headlight washer? And to plug the power feed to the washer unit?
 
#20 · (Edited)
No need to remove the bumper! Worst case scenario is when the telescopic arm has a leak, and you need to dismantle your headlight to get access to the arm, sitting underneath it. See first post pictures for reference: 4th is the telescopic arm.

See exploded diagram in 1st post to help you identify the tubing junctions. The electical connection is also relatively easy to access without having to remove anything. Your mechanic probably disconnected the electrical connection, and capped off the fluid output ... Can you provide pictures?
 
#21 · (Edited)
The previous owner did not care to replace/purge his summer windshield fluid when winter came around (transition from warm to freezing weather up here in Canada).
Impossible to edit my original post, so Im adding this recommendation:
To avoid damage to the dealicate headlight washing system due to seasonal weather transitions and freezing temperatures, owners with headlight washing option should use winter windshield fluid all year round, even during summer. Simply stock up on the liquid during winter.

It's too easy to forget to empty your summer fluid, and replace it with winter fluid. One can easily forget to purge the summer liquid, when suddenly, your car is exposed to freezing weather.
 
#24 · (Edited)
First off, the outlet with the red cap is pointing in the wrong direction. See orientation of my functional and connected pump, where my finger is pointing in the pic below.


Now for a view from the top ...


When you remove the cap off your pump, your tank will emtpy itself, so may you want to extract your washing liquid first. The pump can be removed by lifting it straight out of the container, without any tools, and barely any force. You then must find the main flexible black tubing and connect it back to your pump outlet. You'll notice on the above picture that there is a plastic black lock ring on a white female junction, which slips over the male pump outlet connector. This black tubing leads to both of your telescopic arms and nozzles. See part #1 on diagram in my first post.

I hope this helps you with your issue ...

You most likely have a leak with your passenger side nozzle, just like I had, so you want to order and replace that ...
 
#25 ·
dcaron - C'est merveilleux!!!

Thank you for the write up, great work. I have a slow leak, turns out to be the O-Ring around the pump/tank.
The system works perfectly, except for the slow leak.
My input on this topic:
If your pumps work and you are still losing fluid, check the seal between tank & pump. Apparently the dealer sells the O-Rings separately, I will be going this week, fingers crossed!
I also found this nice photo DIY that is helpful, the guy repaired his pump, but you can buy them for under $10 online!
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=891184&highlight=washer+pump+seal
 
#26 · (Edited)
So my headlight washers don't spray. It does not leak, but what I noticed is that I can hear that cylindrical pump running when I spray.
I am assuming the front one is the headlight washers and the rear one is the windshield?

What I tried is to disconnect the rear one, run the front one and watch the fluid level drop but it does not.. The pump runs but doesn't seem to take any fluid. Any idea where my issue lies? This mean a broken pump?
 
#27 · (Edited)
Most likely a broken pump, blocked tubing, or blocked output on your container. Be prepared to lose a lot of your fluid while doing the tests below, You may want to save it first (by suction tool or other manual pump).
#1 - Try pulling out headlight pump (by exerting weak vertical pull), and see if liquid drains out of the washer liquid container. This will ensure your container is not the issue, and that debris is not blocking the passage to the headlight pump.
#2 - Try disconnecting headlith pump output tubing. Fluid should free flow out immediately.
#3 - Try activating your pump, without output tubing attached to it. Fluid should spray out into your engine bay. If it doesnt, you need a new pump, and strainer (see OEM part numbers listed below.

WASH PUMP HEAD LAMP CLEANING DEVICE, part # 67128377430 .

Strainer for wash pump, part # 61678374382.

Bought mine off ebay for $14 in late 2010 (AutoLampsPlus), but they dont carry it anymore. Stills works after tow Candaind winters.
Found another store (Deutsche Parts) that sells one for $27 here. Unsure about quality ...

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/BMW-E46-E90-...Accessories&hash=item20b67cfed6#ht_4691wt_948
 
#28 · (Edited)
to jeepo - I found this thread, which describes your issue exactly ...

http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=3583

I posted/trimmed down the text here for your convenience ...
I had the same problem. It's the easiest fix, took me 5 minutes to fix. I would turn on the wipers and hear the headlamp washer motor run but neither of the jets came out. If you look at the windsheild washer fluid resevoir, there are two cylindrical black motors, one closest to the front bumper, and one opposite. The one closest to front bumper is the one for the headlamps. Get someone to help you because you need them to activate the wipers for you to check whats wrong, (if you want to save washer fluid, just unplug the black cylindrical motor attached to the windshield washer fluid resevoir thats furthest away from the front bumper, that motor is for the windsheild wipers).

What I did was I unplugged the hose from the headlamp washer pump and put my finger over the now open pump outlet (It will be pouring out washer fluid anyway so you'll have to put something over it to stop it). I then had the person in the car activate the wipers to turn on the headlamp washer pump (If you turn on your lights with your key in position #2 right before ignition, the first activation of the windsheild washer will activate the headlamp washer pump). Now what happened was the pump activated, but I felt NO PRESSURE on my finger what so ever (The pump is really loud and will vibrate just incase your not sure if it working or not).
This is an indication of a stripped gear or something in your headlamp washer pump.

To install the new pump is very easy ( *** As soon as you pull the old pump out of the windsheild washer fluid resevoir it will POUR OUT FLUID LIKE CRAZY so you have to do this quick but read further on). Unplug the hose that runs into the old headlamp washer pump. Pull the old headlamp washer pump straight up and out of the windsheild washer fluid resevoir (it takes almost no effort at all) and QUICKLY drop the new one right in place of the old one and QUICKLY plug the hose that runs into the headlamp washers back into the NEW PUMP. The hose will ALMOST CLICK into place. Then simply activate the headlamp washers and watch them work in all their glory!

Its not a problem with the jets because its HIGHLY UNLIKELY both fail at the same time because they are clogged or otherwise. Its also not a kink in the hose because the single hose that plugs into the headlamp washer pump splits into two seperate hoses, one for each jet. If there was a kink, at least one of the jets would work becase there is only a few inches in the main hose before it splits and you would see the kink that was stopping the flow to both jets.

Hope this helps anyone with the same problem, good luck!!
 
#31 ·
Right and Left Telescoping Self-retracting Assemblies ?

Hi guys,

Ref: 2005 330i E46 sedan w/ winter (headlight washer) package

I'm new to E46's, but have lots of hands-on mechanical experience elsewhere so I jumped right in when my both headlight washers were not working.

Fwiw...... I heard the headlight washer pump working, but nothing from the headlight squirters, nor did either headlight squirter doors open.......so there must have been a loss of fluid pressure that opens the squirter doors. Investigation found the passenger side push-in hose telescoping arm plastic connection was seriously fractured.......probably due to plain water freezing in the plastic connector.

Strangely, with the above, my washer fluid container held fluid and my windshield washers worked fine and also held washer fluid without any leaks anywhere. I'm told the headlight washer pump allows fluid to pass through at all times and the only thing keeping the 5.3 liters of reservoir fluid from draining out the check valves in each headlight squirters.

If this plastic connector was all broken-up and virtually severed by water freezing inside it...... why didn't the 5.3 liters of windshield/headlight washer reservoir drain out on the ground ? Curious indeed.......but I can assure you the windshield washers worked fine for the past 2 months as I used them many times.

Moving on........

I pulled both headlamp assemblies out.... a real pain in the arse locating and removing the headlight assembly bottom two 8mm hex securing bolts.

At the headlight the squirter assemblies are in good working order. As mentioned earlier in this thread by dcon999, I blew through them with my mouth in the direction of fluid travel and the internal check valve would not allow my breath to pass through so as to keep the 5.3 liters of reservoir fluid from draining on the ground. But when I applied a air nozzle to them they allowed the pressurized air to flow from the nozzles easily. Good..... no need to buy new nozzle assemblies.

I looked at several on-line parts diagrams and chose RealOEM site.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=61_1087&hg=61&fg=45&hl=12
...... and surprisingly nothing said "right" or "left" for the telescopic headlight washer arms.......so I bought:

A. Two (2) Headlight Washer Cleaner Telescopic Extending Arms......item #6 in this diagram.
Again.......no mention of "right" or "left". Kind of strange I thought........but maybe they were the same part as they both carried the same part #
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=389403&d=1294763965

B. Three (3) hose connectors, just in case I broke some....... item #2 in the same above diagram.

C. Headlight washer pump...... item #4 in this parts diagram
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=61_1083&hg=61&fg=45

This afternoon, feeling I had what I needed to make full repairs I removed both headlight assemblies, main fluid reservoir, both washer pumps (windshield & headlamp)...... degreased, washed and cleaned all surfaces... ready to reassemble. I lubed all "O" rings with silicone grease and their mating surfaces to ensure a proper and easy fit.

I started with the drivers (left) side and all went well until right at the end where I wanted to push the squirter assembly into the telescoping self-retracting arm....... problem. The new self retracting arm has a alignment female slot facing down ......but the old (original) squirter I took off the car had the alignment slot facing up. WTF ??

I couldn't believe my eyes. I again asked myself...."Is there a "right' and a "left" to these telescoping arm assemblies ? I went back to the parts diagram to see. No..... no "right"...... no "left"........but that's not what I had in my hands. Parts don't lie when you try to assemble them.

Also, the clips that lock the telescoping assembly into place on the bottom of the headlight housing were facing the wrong direction. Frustrated and certainly not having the right part, I simply removed the male protrusion on the squirter and
heated the plastic clips and pushed them in the right direction so they would "click" into their respective slots......and I installed the squirter assembly on the telescoping arm..... but all this certainly begs the question:

Is there a "left" and "right" to these telescoping self-retracting arm assemblies ?

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

My best......... Mike in Maryland
 
#68 ·
Is there a "left" and "right" to these telescoping self-retracting arm assemblies ?

Hi guys,

Ref: 2005 330i E46 sedan w/ winter (headlight washer) package

I'm new to E46's, but have lots of hands-on mechanical experience elsewhere so I jumped right in when my both headlight washers were not working.

Fwiw...... I heard the headlight washer pump working, but nothing from the headlight squirters, nor did either headlight squirter doors open.......so there must have been a loss of fluid pressure that opens the squirter doors. Investigation found the passenger side push-in hose telescoping arm plastic connection was seriously fractured.......probably due to plain water freezing in the plastic connector.

Strangely, with the above, my washer fluid container held fluid and my windshield washers worked fine and also held washer fluid without any leaks anywhere. I'm told the headlight washer pump allows fluid to pass through at all times and the only thing keeping the 5.3 liters of reservoir fluid from draining out the check valves in each headlight squirters.

If this plastic connector was all broken-up and virtually severed by water freezing inside it...... why didn't the 5.3 liters of windshield/headlight washer reservoir drain out on the ground ? Curious indeed.......but I can assure you the windshield washers worked fine for the past 2 months as I used them many times.

Moving on........

I pulled both headlamp assemblies out.... a real pain in the arse locating and removing the headlight assembly bottom two 8mm hex securing bolts.

At the headlight the squirter assemblies are in good working order. As mentioned earlier in this thread by dcon999, I blew through them with my mouth in the direction of fluid travel and the internal check valve would not allow my breath to pass through so as to keep the 5.3 liters of reservoir fluid from draining on the ground. But when I applied a air nozzle to them they allowed the pressurized air to flow from the nozzles easily. Good..... no need to buy new nozzle assemblies.

I looked at several on-line parts diagrams and chose RealOEM site.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=61_1087&hg=61&fg=45&hl=12
...... and surprisingly nothing said "right" or "left" for the telescopic headlight washer arms.......so I bought:

A. Two (2) Headlight Washer Cleaner Telescopic Extending Arms......item #6 in this diagram.
Again.......no mention of "right" or "left". Kind of strange I thought........but maybe they were the same part as they both carried the same part #
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=389403&d=1294763965

B. Three (3) hose connectors, just in case I broke some....... item #2 in the same above diagram.

C. Headlight washer pump...... item #4 in this parts diagram
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=EV53&mospid=47725&btnr=61_1083&hg=61&fg=45

This afternoon, feeling I had what I needed to make full repairs I removed both headlight assemblies, main fluid reservoir, both washer pumps (windshield & headlamp)...... degreased, washed and cleaned all surfaces... ready to reassemble. I lubed all "O" rings with silicone grease and their mating surfaces to ensure a proper and easy fit.

I started with the drivers (left) side and all went well until right at the end where I wanted to push the squirter assembly into the telescoping self-retracting arm....... problem. The new self retracting arm has a alignment female slot facing down ......but the old (original) squirter I took off the car had the alignment slot facing up. WTF ??

I couldn't believe my eyes. I again asked myself...."Is there a "right' and a "left" to these telescoping arm assemblies ? I went back to the parts diagram to see. No..... no "right"...... no "left"........but that's not what I had in my hands. Parts don't lie when you try to assemble them.

Also, the clips that lock the telescoping assembly into place on the bottom of the headlight housing were facing the wrong direction. Frustrated and certainly not having the right part, I simply removed the male protrusion on the squirter and
heated the plastic clips and pushed them in the right direction so they would "click" into their respective slots......and I installed the squirter assembly on the telescoping arm..... but all this certainly begs the question:

Is there a "left" and "right" to these telescoping self-retracting arm assemblies ?

Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

My best......... Mike in Maryland
Hello there, It's been long time since MRC.ENGR posted the strange fact that Headlight washer telescopic nozzle washer (self-retracting assembly) are shown one-fit-all on RealOEM diagram - BMW part. no. 61 67 8 362 823. Today I encountered exactly the same problem Mike had. When I wanted to put spray nozzles (squirters) into the retracting arm, the slot on the new arm was on the wrong side (on the bottom side). I did not remove the male protrusion on the spray nozzle (squirter) as Mike did, but I cut in the new slot on the upper side of the telescopic arm. I installed everything back, but I still have a leak - I'm not sure from where. Next time I will replace the spray nozzle and will check the supply hose connection to the telescopic arm, as I did not tighten anything - it just clicked in place and is held by the hose clip.

All the best, pit330i
 
#32 ·
Checked my pump today.. I unplugged the hose that comes from the actual pump and saw fluid pouring out. Then I had someone in the car actually activate the pump and it ran but the water didn't come out any faster or stronger.. this indicates to me the pump is dead?

Can someone comment on this for me?
 
#33 ·
#1. Fluid should not be coming out of the pump unless the pump is running. The fact that there was fluid coming out.....probably a blown seal that was damaged when the water in it froze this winter.

If the pump never froze over the winter, then the seal is gone......either way it appears the pump needs replaced. 2 min job. 30 mins if you clean up everything like you should and apply silicone grease to all sealing surfaces......which nobody tells you to do.........but a real good for the rubber bits and sealing.

#2. When the pump was activated did you hear the pump running ?

Overall I'd say your pump needs replacing.

Hope your spring loaded extension arms, plastic connectors and spray heads are ok.

Cheers...... Mike
 
#41 ·
on my car the headlight washer motor died (well the impeller in the motor broke) so i need a new motor, but i suspect that the telescoping arms (part 6 in the diagram on realoem.com) are leaking as well and if this is the case im not going to bother wasting my money.

My question is does some fluid leak out of anyone else's telescoping arms at the when you manually pull the nozzle out?
I put an arrow on the attached picture where the fluid leaks out of
 
#44 ·
I replaced both pump seals/strainers recently and the leak is still there!
I presume the tank itself has a crack or is it possible brand new seals wopuld also leak?
The system seems to work fine, just intermittently leaks fluid!

Any tips for further trouble shooting when the obvious fix fails?
 
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