[TylerDR]

Hey Guys,

I’ve more or less wrapped up a lot of the work I got into recently. I’ve driven my car very significant distances and have had zero problems. It’s extremely hot here and I’m sure the cooling system is working overtime but all is well.

Yesterday I noticed a small puddle below the very front of the drivers side bumper. I could tell it was blue although very faint.

I smelled it and tasted it (I’m fine), it wasn’t sweet. Then again I’ve never tasted coolant before. The other thing was I don’t use blue washer fluid, I only use rainX because it extends the life of my wiper blades. That solution is orange. I totally forgot that I took my car to a shop to have the oil changed and even though nobody mentioned it I’m assuming it’s normal procedure for them to fill the washer fluid. They obviously use the cheapest kind.

My suspicion is the driver side headlamp washer assembly is leaking and dripping to the very front of the bumper which is why I can’t see it.

-What could I have done that would cause that to happen if that’s the case? I did replace the headlights the day before but I actually felt like I did it properly. No cracks or weird sounds. If you’ve done it you know on the drivers side you’re mostly going by feel because the air box restricts your vision from the engine bay. Still felt good about it.

-Also is this something that could do real harm to my car if the leak reaches other components? If so I’d address is immediately. Will the location be accessible through the panel that gives you access to the headlights? I’m sure you can see it but should I need to replace it will that be enough?

Thanks in advance.

[e90yyc]

The headlight washers have been known to leak, so this is probably what's wrong. Still worth digging a bit deeper before replacing anything though.

There's a few ways you could go about this. It all depends on whether you actually like having the headlight washers or are okay with simply disabling them.

1. Pull the headlight washer fuse.
2. Code out the headlight washers (this is what I did)
3. Confirm the problem and replace the faulty washer jet

As an aside, removing the airbox is dead simple. I replaced my alternator the other day with a unit I rebuilt, and was done in under ten minutes. Removing and reinstalling the airbox accounted for about 1 minute of the job.

If you want to double-check your headlight install, my suggestion would be to go back in, remove the airbox, and verify all is well. I don't think that's your issue though: as long as you didn't reef on anything you're not supposed to, I really don't see how you could cause the jet to leak.

Given the location of the washer jet, I wouldn't be too worried about fluid leaking onto anything important. If you can't see the color of what's in your washer tank but would like to compare it to what's leaking, just put a paper towel in front of your washer jet, spray, and then take a look.

I recall reading you've done some work on your cooling system, so I'd scrutinize this more closely. Leaking coolant (that has dried) leaves a white residue that should be fairly easy to spot on the black piping.

[TylerDR]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

The headlight washers have been known to leak, so this is probably what's wrong. Still worth digging a bit deeper before replacing anything though.

There's a few ways you could go about this. It all depends on whether you actually like having the headlight washers or are okay with simply disabling them.

1. Pull the headlight washer fuse.
2. Code out the headlight washers (this is what I did)
3. Confirm the problem and replace the faulty washer jet

As an aside, removing the airbox is dead simple. I replaced my alternator the other day with a unit I rebuilt, and was done in under ten minutes. Removing and reinstalling the airbox accounted for about 1 minute of the job.

If you want to double-check your headlight install, my suggestion would be to go back in, remove the airbox, and verify all is well. I don't think that's your issue though: as long as you didn't reef on anything you're not supposed to, I really don't see how you could cause the jet to leak.

Given the location of the washer jet, I wouldn't be too worried about fluid leaking onto anything important. If you can't see the color of what's in your washer tank but would like to compare it to what's leaking, just put a paper towel in front of your washer jet, spray, and then take a look.

I recall reading you've done some work on your cooling system, so I'd scrutinize this more closely. Leaking coolant (that has dried) leaves a white residue that should be fairly easy to spot on the black piping.

Yeah no doubt removing the air box will give me a better visual. I’ve done it a few times now and was required when replacing my upper coolant hoses. It’s like I’d rather not give myself more opportunities to break things haha. It’s a higher mileage e90 and the plastic bits are so brittle.

As far as the color, the dried puddle is actually blue, I’m referring to the one on the ground.

To be honest, the headlight washers annoy the shit out of me. For one they increase the amount of fluid used exponentially. They also come on and soak the front of my car/hood when I might be trying to use a really quick spray to get something off my windshield. That’s annoying for someone like myself who fanatically cleans their car. The spray is unpredictable I’m finding as well. I’ve heard people say it comes on after three sprays, five sprays, or if you hold it but I’ve found that it randomly will occur. The duration is also frustrating as it has a preset amount of time the sprayer comes on. Seems to me like five seconds, so it’s five seconds worth of fluid I drain.

I don’t remember if I specified but I just replaced the bulbs not the whole headlight assembly. I’m sure that’s what you meant but wanted to make sure I mentioned it. That would be a completely different issue where I could see a very high likelihood of me breaking something.

Either way kind of a bummer now. Every time I get to a point where I can do things I’ve been looking forward to (new rotors, new pads, new coils, interior trim pieces, etc) some stupid little issue comes up.

Appreciate your input.

[e90yyc]

Just disable them then I’d say. Easy no matter whether you pull the fuse or code it out.

Check and monitor coolant levels if you are still unsure.

Good luck!