XF headlight washers

[Paulprior]

My passenger side front washer isn’t working, the nozzle comes out but no water, I have put a needle down the nozzles and also tried compressed air but no change, I understand that the nozzles come forward on the water pressure so it must be reaching the unit but can’t figure why I don’t even get a drip coming out, any thoughts, or how to access them, headlight removal maybe ?

[reddiesel]

Paulprior said:

My passenger side front washer isn’t working, the nozzle comes out but no water, I have put a needle down the nozzles and also tried compressed air but no change, I understand that the nozzles come forward on the water pressure so it must be reaching the unit but can’t figure why I don’t even get a drip coming out, any thoughts, or how to access them, headlight removal maybe ?

As they work by water pressure you can simply pull them out without damaging anything . They can be very susceptible to gumming up with cheap windscreen wash . Obviously if the other side is working fine then at least it isnt a pump failure .

[Paulprior]

Yes I have pulled them out, but I need to investigate further to find the problem, it’s just a matter of how to access them

[reddiesel]

Remove the passenger side wheel and loosen the wheel arch liner . Loosen the Bumper and remove the headlamp unit . The washer unit should be held by three screws by removing the pipe the washer unit should come out through the hole in the bumper . If I were you I would have a bucket of water on hand because if you hold it in the water and extend it this should give you a syringe effect by drawing the water into the washer . Hold your finger over the pipe connection and depress the ram part back in to force the water back through the nozzle which should clear any blockages . Pumps are a known issue with these

Edited by reddiesel on Tuesday 8th February 20:35

[Paulprior]

Thanks reddiesel, just for understanding what’s the purpose of making the bumper loose ??

[reddiesel]

You will make the bumper loose simply by default when you remove the Bolt from the wheel arch liner to remove it

[reddiesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1yt5i6hoU

This will give you a better idea of the Bolt set up .

[Evercross]

reddiesel said:

Remove the passenger side wheel and loosen the wheel arch liner . Loosen the Bumper and remove the headlamp unit....

Firstly, there is no need to remove the wheel for access. Secondly, if it is a pre-facelift model there is no need to remove all the bolts from the wheelarch liner as it is not connected to the bumper, but removing the bottom one gives access to the TPMS antenna, which should be popped out of its mounting in the undertray so you don't strain the wiring when you move the bumper forward.

Best way to remove the front bumper is with the front half of the undertray still attached to it.

The washer is part of the headlamp unit on the pre-facelift and is easy to remove and clean out off the car.

[reddiesel]

Evercross said:

Firstly, there is no need to remove the wheel for access. Secondly, if it is a pre-facelift model there is no need to remove all the bolts from the wheelarch liner as it is not connected to the bumper, but removing the bottom one gives access to the TPMS antenna, which should be popped out of its mounting in the undertray so you don't strain the wiring when you move the bumper forward.

Best way to remove the front bumper is with the front half of the undertray still attached to it.

The washer is part of the headlamp unit on the pre-facelift and is easy to remove and clean out off the car.

Firstly I chose to remove the wheel in order to give me better access , whether the OP just turns the steering wheel is his affair . He apparently is an Engineer so presumably he will be well versed in deciding the course of action which suits him . As regards which Model he has I dont know . If its the facelift version then I have posted another example beneath of the same operation I outlined in my initial post . Nobody has mentioned Bumper removal merely loosening . I think you can assume that both I and the OP recognise the washer on pre facelift cars is part of the headlight though the OP thus far hasn't found it that easy to remove . Unfortunately that vital bit of information is missing from your contribution above .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3dXzCfhtSE

[Paulprior]

Sorry, I forgot to mention it’s an early 2013 model.
The video links are great to show what I will face, I was expecting to remove the headlight, but looking at things maybe wheel off and wheel liner out is better, any views or preferences?

[Evercross]

reddiesel said:

Firstly I chose to remove the wheel in order to give me better access , whether the OP just turns the steering wheel is his affair . He apparently is an Engineer so presumably he will be well versed in deciding the course of action which suits him . As regards which Model he has I dont know . If its the facelift version then I have posted another example beneath of the same operation I outlined in my initial post . Nobody has mentioned Bumper removal merely loosening . I think you can assume that both I and the OP recognise the washer on pre facelift cars is part of the headlight though the OP thus far hasn't found it that easy to remove . Unfortunately that vital bit of information is missing from your contribution above.

Manipulating one end of the bumper away from the car is a bad idea as it twists the bumper, which can dislodge or damage the shock sensors for the Pedestrian Safety System, leading to even just a speed-bump traversal causing the bonnet pyros to trigger!

Best to loosen both ends and the middle of the bumper (a bolt each side in the engine compartment just inward of the headlamp units, then the two bolts plus screw above the radiator grille) and the front part of the undertray (two screws into the front subframe) and easing the whole thing forward.

I have fitted 'stealth' DRLs to my pre-facelift car, which was factory fitted with the Aero kit (and the woefully unreliable and stupidly expensive to replace 'blade' DRL units which I have replaced with plain chrome blades). I have installed LED strips behind the stainless steel mesh below the main headlights, and I have got removal and refitting the bumper to replace them (they last about 12 months) down to a 10-minute job.

Edited by Evercross on Thursday 10th February 17:53

[reddiesel]

Evercross said:

Manipulating one end of the bumper away from the car is a bad idea as it twists the bumper, which can dislodge or damage the shock sensors for the Pedestrian Safety System, leading to even just a speed-bump traversal causing the bonnet pyros to trigger!

Best to loosen both ends and the middle of the bumper (a bolt each side in the engine compartment just inward of the headlamp units, then the two bolts plus screw above the radiator grille) and the front part of the undertray (two screws into the front subframe) and easing the whole thing forward.

I have fitted 'stealth' DRLs to my pre-facelift car, which was factory fitted with the Aero kit (and the woefully unreliable and stupidly expensive to replace 'blade' DRL units which I have replaced with plain chrome blades). I have installed LED strips behind the stainless steel mesh below the main headlights, and I have got removal and refitting the bumper to replace them (they last about 12 months) down to a 10-minute job.

Edited by Evercross on Thursday 10th February 17:53

I must admit I had none of the issues you mention but I completely understand your reasons for using the method you do . Its been years since I heard of a Pedestrian Impact System being triggered other than in a collision . In the early days of the X150 back in 2006 there seemed to be a spate of Warranty Claims centred around oversensitivity which Jaguar often contested . Now almost 16 years later , the System seems largely problem free and I am pleasantly surprised by that . I suppose now the next 20 Posts on the Thread will tell us otherwise

[Paulprior]

Finally got around to trying to fix this, I have the headlight out and removed the washer unit, if I connect to an air gun on low pressure the arm extends and does nothing else, just as it does on the car, if I raise the air pressure a bit more I get air pulsing out of both nozzles evenly, raise pressure agsin and I get a normal air blast coming out, so it seems there is something in there that needs a bit more pressure to actually squirt, dilemma now is if this is faulty or old it be low pressure from the pump, any thoughts on how to determine which one ?

[reddiesel]

My money is on a failing pump Paul , £10 to £20 depending where you source it from . I dont believe the jets are blocked .

[Paulprior]

I replaced the pump last year after cleaning out everything I could and it worked, try again this year before the MOT test and both are not working, both push out but no spray, refit the original pump and I am back to where I was last year, drivers side now sprays but not passenger side, I removed the pump and put an air line on the hose and everything works but I need to apply more pressure before the passenger side sprays, so I either need more flow / pressure or to get the passenger side to work easier / earlier, has anyone else had this problem??

[Peelaaa1]

I know this is 1 year later but did you get this working?.
Mine does the same. Never both working or none at all or just 1 working,

[Paulprior]

Hi, yes I did, first thing is to try with the engine running as the voltage to the pump will be higher so it pumps more water, a year ago this fixed my problem, this year I had no water from any headlight, with engine running I got the RH one working but not left, tried new pump, no change, eventually decided I had to change the LH nozzle arm, when removing you could see it had been leaking, this probably lost enough pressure so it wouldn’t come out the jet, it’s not as simple as a straight open nozzle otherwise the jet would operate before the arm is extended, anyway, after replacement the log one is very powerful, but the rh one is now weak, it seems they need to be reasonably balanced, so replace as a pair rather than individually
Good luck, you need to remove wheel arch liners, loosen bumper, remove headlight, then it’s easy, check out YouTube for headlight replacement
Good luck