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      01-25-2015, 02:46 PM   #1
TheBlondeFella
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How to disable headlight washers?

So I'm thinking of trying to disable my headlight washers.
Is it as simple as removing a fuse and if so, Any idea which one it is and where the fuse box is located on a 2008 e93?
If not, can the headlight washers be coded out?
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Last edited by TheBlondeFella; 01-25-2015 at 02:56 PM..
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      01-25-2015, 03:24 PM   #2
windymissile
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Mentioned plenty on here. Do a search.
You will have to check the fuse card for your car. Just pull it and away you go. You may need to stick it back in for mot.

WM
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      01-26-2015, 06:25 AM   #3
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Daft question, but why?

Do you prefer stopping and getting out on a freezing night in the rain and doing them by hand with a dirty cloth and a bottle of cold water?
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      01-26-2015, 06:33 AM   #4
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Switch the lights to off position,and pull on the trigger once.this will only spray on the windshield
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      01-26-2015, 06:48 AM   #5
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I had a guy code them out when I switched to my lci Msport
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      01-26-2015, 06:54 AM   #6
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yep can be coded out
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      01-26-2015, 11:37 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by windymissile View Post
Mentioned plenty on here. Do a search.
You will have to check the fuse card for your car. Just pull it and away you go. You may need to stick it back in for mot.

WM
+1

It's an MOT fail: if fitted they must work
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      01-26-2015, 12:12 PM   #8
windymissile
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They are just a massive hassle. They clog and stick. They freeze and stick. They waste all your screen wash.
If your mot tester can't see your reason of thought, you should be going somewhere else. But it's not worth a fail for the simple act of sticking a fuse back in.

WM
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      01-26-2015, 02:45 PM   #9
TheBlondeFella
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Quote:
Originally Posted by doughboy View Post
Daft question, but why?

Do you prefer stopping and getting out on a freezing night in the rain and doing them by hand with a dirty cloth and a bottle of cold water?



Quote:
Originally Posted by windymissile View Post
They are just a massive hassle. They clog and stick. They freeze and stick. They waste all your screen wash.
If your mot tester can't see your reason of thought, you should be going somewhere else. But it's not worth a fail for the simple act of sticking a fuse back in.

WM
This is excacly why I was thinking of 'getting rid of them'.
Up until this week I just thought they were a pain as they seemed to drain the small reservoir far too quickly.
However this week I noticed that both of them were a little loose sitting in their respective parts on he bumper. I currently have to holes where the covers should be since finding out how much they were to replace if they popped off completely. After doing a little more research this issue seems to be quite common and yes my reservoir is always kept topped up.
I was thinking about turning them off and sticking the covers permanently to the bumper so they had no way of flying off.
i don't get why turning them off would be an MOT failure either.
As for getting out of the car to clean the headlights., well I've never needed them on any of my previous cars so I don't see why I'd need them now. Anyway without a wiper blade running over the lights I can't see a light spray of water doing much on its own anyway.
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      01-27-2015, 06:34 AM   #10
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Do you have Xenon lights?

WM
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      01-27-2015, 06:37 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by windymissile View Post
Do you have Xenon lights?

WM
all e92 and e93 come xenons standard.
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      01-27-2015, 06:39 AM   #12
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Yup I think so.
What makes them so special you need to have water squerted on them or you'll fail an MOT? I don't get it. Are there no cars out there with xenons that don't have washer jets?
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      01-27-2015, 07:34 AM   #13
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Pulled the fuse on mine after i lost both washer covers. This was at completely different times and locations so it unlikely to be a thief.

Car passed MOT, but maybe regs have changed in the last 6 months.
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      01-27-2015, 08:16 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by creativ101 View Post
Pulled the fuse on mine after i lost both washer covers. This was at completely different times and locations so it unlikely to be a thief.

Car passed MOT, but maybe regs have changed in the last 6 months.
which fuse please buddy as i'm gonna do the same
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      01-27-2015, 09:14 AM   #15
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When the lights are on, if you pull the washer trigger quickly it doesn't activate the headlight washers. If I don't want them to activate I just press the stalk quickly a few times, and job done.

Only thing is that the wipers are not activated when you do that either, so you have to use the wipers also. Only time it bothers me is when iv'e just cleaned the car, and don't want soap / water marks all over the bonnet!
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      01-27-2015, 09:34 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gaza01 View Post
which fuse please buddy as i'm gonna do the same
Each car is different. You will have to check your fuse card in your glove box.

WM
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      01-27-2015, 09:35 AM   #17
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Xenon's produce a lot more heat on a focused area, so it's a requirement that the headlights are kept washed of muck, it also stops anything on the headlight altering the beam pattern.

There should be no Xenon's without headlight washers and self levelling, it's an MOT requirement.

However, I would probably also pull the fuse, just to stop them squirting fluid all over my car, and just keep them clean.
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      01-27-2015, 10:57 AM   #18
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You can pull a fuse, search on here and you will find it or check the fuse box in the glove compartment and see if the card shows it, can't recall.

Alternatively you can code them off.

Also I believe they are coded by default to spray on every 3rd windscreen wash or something like that. Coding can also decrease the frequency as an alternative.

I've mine coded off, drives me nuts when the car has been cleaned and you get bonnet spray!!
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      01-27-2015, 05:05 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Digitalize View Post
Xenon's produce a lot more heat on a focused area, so it's a requirement that the headlights are kept washed of muck, it also stops anything on the headlight altering the beam pattern.

There should be no Xenon's without headlight washers and self levelling, it's an MOT requirement.

However, I would probably also pull the fuse, just to stop them squirting fluid all over my car, and just keep them clean.
Mot states something along the lines.... If fitted must work. So if they aren't fitted then they dont need to work.

I retrofitted xenon projector headlights to my old octavia vrs. As the bumper didnt have cut outs for washers it passed the MOT without issue


Its like the spare wheel scenario. Bald spare wheel.... Mot fail.
Remove bald spare for mot and as theres no spare it cant be tested and car passes


Completely rediculous imo
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      01-27-2015, 05:24 PM   #20
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If you pull the stalk a short way then your windscreen washers come on but the headlight ones don't, so no need to pull any fuses out.
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      01-28-2015, 01:24 AM   #21
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I'm a fuse tugger

I didn't want the uncertainty of losing a washer - and yes, I do use a high concentration of fan jet washer fluid.
Two minutes to pull a fuse out gives me peace of mind that my washers will remain intact. If I want, I can pop the fuse back in, and these days I don't do enough long night journeys to worry about reduced light output.

Nobody has ever accused me of being sensible though.

Each model e9x is different so if you want to pull the fuse, you HAVE to look on the card next to the glove box fuse box.

MOT's - there are lots of anomalies. We see chavtastic cars with HID headlights. These are technically illegal and should not pass an MOT, but they obviously do in places. Likewise, if Xenon's are fitted, they MUST have self adjustment, either on the car's suspension (like fitted to the E61), or on the lights themselves. They MUST have washers too, and of course, they should work. I would suspect that most MOT testers wouldn't bother testing the headlight washers, if only to stop half a gallon of water pooling where they want to work each time!

Mike
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      01-28-2015, 10:40 AM   #22
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They dont have to have headlight washers or self levelling

Its not a stipulation to pass an mot, it is a grey area. Mot guidelines state 'if fitted must work' which is slightly different to 'must be fitted'
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