Hey,

I just noticed my headlight washers aren't popping out right now. I can hear the motor running, but no headlight washing action. I checked and the actually washers are not popping out.

Is this due to low washer fluid potentially?

 

Potentially, but not likely. Although why not fill the tank?...

It is likely that there is a clog / kink in the hose, or gunk in the nozzles. Or, are the pop-outs frozen?

You can gently pull out the nozzles to see if they are stuck.

Are you sure that it is the headlight washer motor running - pull the hose off and double-hit the wiper stalk. Fluid should spray all over the place. If not, there is a relay attached to the tank as well as the second motor for the nozzles.

By the way, in the shop manual (body), there is a whole section on this starting at Pg. 126. You can find the manual here: http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/2003mazdarx8/

 

The same thing happened to me a couple months after buying my car. I could hear them (the sound is obvious) but they weren't washing.

I don't have a fix for you, as the dealership replaced them under warranty, but I can confirm that you aren't crazy.

 

Well good to know I am not crazy.....not good to know they may not be working

 

So yeah,

It seems that you're washer fluid can't get too low or the head light washers stop working.

I put half a jug of washer fluid in and BAM! Washers work again.

 

well done Mike!

 

makes sense!

 

Yeah, but it seems strange that the
Whole mechanism won't even retract without fluid. It is motor driven right, not pressure driven?


Strange.

 

I don't remember my source, but I'm pretty sure it's pressure driven. There are two motors in the canadian spec washer tanks, but you still need enough volume being pumped through to have the nozzles pop up.

 

Makes sense.

I have no idea how it works, but wouldn't it make sense to have whatever is left in the tank to clean your windows instead of your lights? I would think there would be a low liquid level sensor that turns them off for this case. My two cents of reasoning.

 

I actually underfill my washer tank on purpose in the summer to prevent the headlight washer from activating. Hell even in the winter I find it to be kind of useless. They don't seem to be very good at cleaning the salt build-up off the plastic lenses.

 

the headlight washer pump still pumps when the fluid is too low, beleive me, you can hear it. it must draw from a part in the tank thats a little higher up so that it will stop using your washer fluid when you run low. it is pressure/volume actuated and the lines running from the pump to the nozzles are Fing huge, so you can imagine how much it must take to work those bad boys. and I just went through this. they stopped working one day, then the next day my low washer fluid light came on. so i topped up and its all good now.

greg

 

YEah, I noticed the actual salt didn't disappear much, but last night the difference before and after I sprayed the lights (from the drivers seat) was huge. These designed for me and my excessive winter highway driving.

I always wanted these on colbalt and the f'ing huge head lights.

 

"headlight washers"????? Whatchoo tawkin bawt Willis??? Does my 8 have headlight washers??

 

If your 8 is CDN it does, I think their stupid. They should have been made flush mounted to the bumper like beamers do it. Not sticking out. Plus once you go new bumper, they become obsolete, no way in hell are your gonna start cutting into your new mspeed bumper or other bumper just so you can maintain the washers.

useless, they should have given us all the TPMS sensors.

 

And how exactly do I activate them?

 

I have found depending on the fluid you use it can be better or worse at cleaning.

 

doulbe tap the stalk for it if u want to manually engage them

 

if you have them (made obvious by the match like thing on the front bumper just infront of each headlight) they spray on their own when the headlights are on and you use your windshield washer spray. also, i think double flicking the washer spray will make them work too as normally, they only spray once in a drive with the windshield spray.

oh and jay, the TPMS is useless too. in my experience with these TPMS setups both at toyota and now mazda, they are more of a headache then they are worth. its not like its hard to check your tire pressure on occassion and when the system has a problem, the sensors arent cheap. plus all winter you have to deal with the bright light on your dash unless you fork over the extra money for new sensors in your winter wheels.

Greg

 

If I had them i would aim them the other way so i spray at people,

like that crazy R/C car I had as a kid, where you can hit the button on the remote, out pops the hidden viper and sprays water at you.

 

You dont need sensors in your winter tires, it gets into the whole, I NEED WINTER PERFORMANCE TIRES, cause I wanna drive past 160 KM/H. The tpms sensors are really desgined sturdy, barely do I see posts about them failing on the forum. Only thing I could ask for is a digital gauge readout of the psi, but thats just for novelty sake.

 

Solution to bright light, --> black tape

 

I would rather have the TPMS over the headlight washers. If you really need the light washers, you aren't cleaning your car enough anyhow . With the TPMS never worry about tire pressure and when it got cold out sure enough it came on and one was low

 

I prefer to have neither :P

 

black tape? im sorry, but i stopped applying tape to cover up lights on my dash when i stopped driving suzuki swifts. Like i said, ive seen some nightmares that had to do with TPMS. I would rather have neither (washers or tpms) but because its like one or the other (american car or canadian car) im glad i have the washers. if any part of it stops functioning, i likely wont notice, and if i do, wont care.

and marc, its not about keeping your car clean, sometimes on a long drive in really shitty winter weather your car can get so dirty, you dont want to stop and wash the car twice before you get to your destination.





those are shots of my old lancer after a 50km drive last winter on a perticularily bad day. The car was washed the day before.

Greg