Headlight washers drooling
 

I'm working on nit picking problems on the car every time I gave a couple of spare hours. Latest one is the headlight washers. I got new blades, etc... pump works, problem is the little puddle of washer fluid in the front bumper under each headlight wiper arm and the fact it drains the washer reservoir in a matter of a few day, at most. Any ideas?

Might be a bad check valve in the pump or the wrong pump. Swap the windshield and headlights pumps to see if the dribbling stops. I don’t think dribbling will go all the way to the windshield nozzles.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

Second this.

Bad check valve in pump.

Jim

Follow the hose from the headlight pump towards the nozzles. You will find a whitish colored valve about the size of a golf ball. One line in, pump side two lines out to the head lights. That is the check valve.

Thanks Paul, that's what I was looking for. Had already blown through the pump and the nozzles to confurm there was no check valve in them. Will dig that out this afternoon!

Not sure which car you're working on (you might consider adding it to your signature line so nobody has to phone Ms. Cleo to know....)

On the 126 the check valve is in-line with the washer line to the nozzles. Follow the line from the pump to where it splits, usually right behind the headlight and you'll find the check valve in the form of a "splitter".

Diseasel, it's a W124, 1992 300TE. Same location and same thumb sized unit. Hoping to have a chance to get to it this weekend. Been putting out other fires all week long. Thanks.

Finally got around to fixing it. Pretty neat little device. It's just a plastic cylinder with a hole cross drilled through it at the single inlet. There is a clearance groove that feeds the split outlets. A thin rubber sleeve goes around the cylinder and covers the holes. When pressurized, the sleeve blows up like a balloon and uncovers the inlet holes, allowing flow to the washers. A snap on plastic housing covers the workings.

I'm guessing that the cold snap this winter caused the washer juice to freeze and opened the snap shut housing, pinching a small hole in the rubber sleeve in the process. I just swapped the one out of the parts car.

Just have to pull the the three lines off, simple? Yes, but they hang on REALLY good and there is NO room to work behind the headlight. If I ever have to replace it, I'm putting new hoses on with about two feet of slack so you can get it out where you can deal with it.