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Headlight Washers

Featured Replies

Hello all

I have tried to find a definitive answer to this question online but have failed to do so thus far so I was hoping that someone on here might know for sure one way or the other. 

I am looking at purchasing a 2009 S line Sportback which I viewed today but had to travel a good distance to see so it makes a repeat viewing very difficult. It has been listed as having xenon lights and it has the washer jet cutouts in the front bumper but when it was briefly tested they didn't do anything. Lights were on and the screen was washed multiple times. I had a gentle poke at the cutout and it didn't push into the bumper at all, the bumper surrounding it moved with it at the same time as if the cover was just stuck to it. Unfortunately time constraints dictated that I couldn't spend longer looking further into the situation so I just had to leave without working it out. 

Can anyone confirm that they are most likely just going to be blanks and that the car doesn't have the feature or should it 100% have them and they are possibly/probably non functional?

Does anyone else have the cutouts but not the jets?

Many thanks

 

  • Author

Cheers Paul

I have managed to contact someone who has the same model and they have confirmed that their car has just the blank covers too so it all looks good. I don't mind the car not having them it would just be annoying for it have a function that doesn't work properly. 

 

Regards

 

  • Author

Whaaa!

Turns out I do have the washers and they are non functional. I know a lot of folks would say leave them be as they are more trouble than they are worth but I'm too fussy to have a non functional feature. 

I've checked the fuse, that's ok. The water level in the bottle drops then returns when I manually pull out the washers and let go so there doesn't appear to be any leaks. Next port of call is the pump which I will order and replace as they aren't overly expensive. 

My only question regarding these are do I need the single outlet pump as below or do I require the twin outlet pump? Everything suggests that it is the single outlet but want to be sure before pushing the button on one. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VDO-246-086-001-007C-HEADLIGHT-WASHER-CENTRIFUGAL-PUMP-MONO-12V-AUDI-BMW-SALE/171819683215?epid=1016871039&hash=item2801404d8f:g:EogAAOSweW5VdY9m-AUDI-BMW-SALE/171819683215?epid=1016871039&hash=item2801404d8f:g:EogAAOSweW5VdY9

 

 

Washers are standard with xenon lights. They operate evey now and again when washing windscreen. On my a6 c6 its every 5th time 

  • Author

Mine just don't work no matter what I do. Lights on, multiple long washes and nothing. 

Hopefully it's the pump or a relay, relatively cheap fixes. 

Get a vcds scan to check for any faults 

6 hours ago, niedzial1983 said:

Washers are standard with xenon lights. They operate evey now and again when washing windscreen. On my a6 c6 its every 5th time 

That's interesting Piotr, I never knew that! 

Cheers

Steve

Hello Ross,

As I understand it, if the car is fitted with Xenon lights then it must have headlight washers, and if these don't work then it justifies an MOT fail. It would be interesting to have more experienced views on this to either conform or refute it. 

Again, as I understand it, the headlight washers can be on a 'operation cycle' and may not work every time the screen washers are operated i.e. The headlight washers may only work every X operations of the screen washers rather than every time.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

I have the washers, they are a nuisance, I keep meaning to get them disabled!! :D  Sometimes they can stick if I remember correctly. Mine only work if you double tap the stalk, so once and then again real quick.  :D

 

  • Author

Just tried the double tap method and still nothing. Do you think MOT testers allow these to slip through if they don't work? The car only had its MOT done at the end of last month. 

I know nothing of Audi headlight washers but those on my old Granada worked entirely automatically: both the headlights and the wipers had to be on for the washers to operate. Mind you that was 25 years ago, maybe things have regressed since then.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Author

Well that was simple!! Turns out that the lead into the pump wasn't attached. I know the front bumper has had a bit of touch up at some point so it must have been unplugged at this point and forgotten about. 

2 hours ago, gigglebug said:

Well that was simple!! Turns out that the lead into the pump wasn't attached. I know the front bumper has had a bit of touch up at some point so it must have been unplugged at this point and forgotten about. 

Simple is always best 😂

  • Author

Simple is always cheaper when you are paying someone to do the work too! 😀

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