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B7 head light washers not working


Milo
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They are typically telescopic pushed out under pump pressure with spring return. Could be a pipe blown off or blockage fuse, wiring or pump. Had it been winter another favourite is they freeze up.

Can you hear the pump running when you request the washers?

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  • 1 year later...

I appear to have the same problem :grin:

  • Bottle full
  • Main beam on (and tried on dipped)
  • Washed screen 20+ times ( in case the 5:1 windscreen v HL wash is correct)

Nothing...

So my understanding is there's two pumps under the washer bottle, one operates front and rear windscreen function and the other operates the HL wash.

How do these pumps interact? As in if the HL does on work every 5th wash of the windscreen pump, how does the HL pumps "know" to activate?

If I want to poke about, is it ok to lever the HL washer covers on the bumper out and wedge them open with some blocks of wood to check jets and pipe connections.

Failing anything else I have a thing called Audi mot insurance, which suggests they will cover faults that potentially lead to an mot fail. Being German its ambiguous, would you say these terms would (or would not cover a fix since HL washer function is an mot pass / fail?).

http://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/audi/production/PDF/OwnersArea/MOT_Summary_of_Cover_PDF.pdf

Any thoughts appreciated +++

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If the 'every 5 washes' thing was true, it'd fail the MOT anyway, as they don't give it 5 tries to work, in theory at least anyway, in practice, i've never ever heard of anyone failing an MOT for non functioning headlight washers.

All the cars i've had with headlight washers have always washed the lights every time you use the windscreen washers, if the headlights are on.

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If the 'every 5 washes' thing was true, it'd fail the MOT anyway, as they don't give it 5 tries to work, in theory at least anyway, in practice, i've never ever heard of anyone failing an MOT for non functioning headlight washers.

All the cars i've had with headlight washers have always washed the lights every time you use the windscreen washers, if the headlights are on.

The headlight washers run every time you wash the screen with the lights on - provided you wash the screen for long enough. If you just give the screen a quick burst then the headlight washers won't run, you need to give the screen around 5 seconds wash for the headlights washers to do their stuff.

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That's what the other research mentioned. It's some Germans idea of one button two jobs. If you don't want to feck the nice wax and clean, make sure you deploy windscreen wash for less than 4.9s :grin:

Thing is, the obvious clue is look for water (since you can hear a pump motor, or maybe pumps in tandem), but by the time you over lap the HL wash time criteria the windscreen water is everywhere and makes the search difficult).

Provided I use gentle effor,t am I okay to pull out the HL wash covers and spring mechs? Rather hoping its just a gunking up issue.

The MOT is a fail without HL wash on Xenons, if the tester bothers to test. Well that's what I've read, and if they weren't required why have them?

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I appear to have the same problem :grin:

  • Bottle full
  • Main beam on (and tried on dipped)
  • Washed screen 20+ times ( in case the 5:1 windscreen v HL wash is correct)

Nothing...

So my understanding is there's two pumps under the washer bottle, one operates front and rear windscreen function and the other operates the HL wash.

How do these pumps interact? As in if the HL does on work every 5th wash of the windscreen pump, how does the HL pumps "know" to activate?

If I want to poke about, is it ok to lever the HL washer covers on the bumper out and wedge them open with some blocks of wood to check jets and pipe connections.

Failing anything else I have a thing called Audi mot insurance, which suggests they will cover faults that potentially lead to an mot fail. Being German its ambiguous, would you say these terms would (or would not cover a fix since HL washer function is an mot pass / fail?).

http://www.audi.co.uk/content/dam/audi/production/PDF/OwnersArea/MOT_Summary_of_Cover_PDF.pdf

Any thoughts appreciated +++

The problem I had above was to do with front of the car being pulled to bits for the cambelt etc change and not being put back together properly. It miraculously stopped working after the service and the cheeky buggers tried to charge me for sticking it on the VCDS system. It went back to have the front pulled off again and that sorted it (I think it's written up on the paperwork for 2011 from memory?). 'Twas working for the 2012 MOT +++

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The MOT is a fail without HL wash on Xenons, if the tester bothers to test. Well that's what I've read, and if they weren't required why have them?

It's not quite that simple:

- if you have Xenons then you don't need either headlight washers or headlight levelling to pass the MOT; BUT

- if you have Xenons and headlight washers are fitted then they must work, AND

- if you have Xenons and headlight levelling then it must work (but if the tester isn't sure if it works then he MUST give you the benefit of the doubt).

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- if you have Xenons and headlight washers are fitted then they must work,

It was MOTed in Sept 2012 so I presume they were working.

There's MOT protection on the car for the Sept 2013 test so it should be covered in any event.

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