Headlamp washer leaking?

GlynH · #1 25th April 2013, 07:45 PM

Recently the washer fluid warning lamp came on one night and so I filled up from a garage forecourt...a bloody quid for water but don't get me started!

The following day the warning light was on again and I thought that the float or whatever sensor it uses might have been faulty.

Anyway I had to fill it with water outside the house (in daylight this time) and as fast as I was pouring it in it was running out the front of the car somewhere!

Difficult to say where from exactly as the undertray was in place but I figured the sensor was OK and just doing its job reporting the low water level which I thought might have been caused by the cold weather and something might have frozen/split as it has not been used for a while. I do have Audi windscreen wash in there but not sure of the dilution ratio.

Took the car in for an MOT today and although the warning light is still on luckily there is just enough water for a few squirts before the level drops too far.

I am told that the problem is a leaking o/s headlamp washer and am guessing the front bumper has to come off to check/repair/replace?

Is this an easy task? I have had the front bumper off my D2 S8 without issue but the W12 seems a much larger affair.

Any hints/tips/etc. would be much appreciated.

Seems like I am posting a few questions tonight but it would be nice to get these pesky little jobs sorted as I would like to drive it more having just spent £732 on a failed MOT, new n/s/f & o/s/f front & rear suspension arms followed by a valid MOT Certificate!

Only had the anti-roll bar (or C-Links - are they the same thing) replaced in February as the front end was knocking over bumpy ground. It improved things but I was still aware of a knocking and when starting out in the cold and/or wet the whole front of the car was creaking over sleeping policemen!

Sounded like it was coming from under the dash...having said that I guess it could have been the sleeping policemen groaning having just been run over by 2 tonnes of Audi's finest!

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

PsYcHe · #2 25th April 2013, 08:01 PM

My PF D3 did this a few times, should be easy enough to get to if you drop the under tray at the front.. well, it was on the 4.2

Architex_mA8tey · #3 25th April 2013, 11:54 PM

W12 headlight washer system looks like this Glynn -

bumper parts are as follows if it helps at all -

.

limoncello · #4 26th April 2013, 12:09 AM

to get it of you need to unclip the wheel arch housings, undo the bolts each side then gently move the bumper cover forward so as not to trash the washer system attached, you can do it withouth removing the wheels, but its easier if you do

darrenjoe90 · #5 26th April 2013, 07:13 PM

Neil if this is the picture for the headlight washer system on a W12 then how does it control cleaning just one headlight at a time as the pump looks like it is connected to both pipes together ?

Architex_mA8tey · #6 26th April 2013, 08:57 PM

ahhh . . . are you saying I've put up the wrong picture or that you dont understand how the headlamp washers work Darren?

I think from memory they do go up and down one at a time so that you don't lose lights/visibility on both headlights at once, but if it is the wrong diagram then vagcat has it wrong lol. maybe each washer pops up on some kind of signal from a controller or relay? anyone got any ideas?

Somerandomguy · #7 27th April 2013, 06:03 AM

You could take the fog light grilles off first as you can access the bottom of the headlight washer mechanism this way.

Obviously it depends where the leak is, but i have had 2- one of the was where the t piece join is, which is on the drivers side and can be seen through the fog light grille, the other was on the passenger side where the pipe joined the mechanism. Blth were loose connections and simply pushed/cliped back in place.

Both cold have been fixed through the fog grilles if i had actually looked before pulling the bumper off. If you havent seen the pipe efore to know what to look for, its black corrugated stuff, about 8mm diameter

Otherwise, limoncello has described the process to remove the bumper, the only thing i would add is have a helper so it doesnt drop on the floor and use a cloth on the floor too so you dont scrape the paint.