I'm finding that one of the gizmos and gadgets that the MINI's have that I'm constantly showing to others is the headlight washers. I always get asked to put them into motion and do their thing, so others can get their giggles.
But last night during a few friends checking the car out, it ran dry and made a dried out whine. I've never really got into liking to use them. They always spray down too much of the car. Angers me after I'm done washing the car and get spray all over. Apparently the dealer can set them to activate after a certain number of times that the regular windshield washers are used. Right now the headlight washers activate everytime the windshield washers are being used.
It's annoying. One way I want to solve this issue, is not to fill up the headlight washer resevoir. Would I be doing damage to the system if it was always dried up and wanting to spray? I don't feel the need for those washers at all
Or if there's a way to shut them off totally, that would be better.
Any opinions?
Cheers,

 

Very good question! I agree with madman totally, a very cool but usless option. I have had the same worry, and thought, before winter, places that have sprinkler systems purge all the water from the system to avoid water freezing in the lines. They run the system all day, and for most of the day, the system is spurting nothing but air, so I would think that leaving the tank in the mini system dry would not hurt them. But can it really hurt the pump??

 

MINI-MadMan:

It sounds like something is wrong with your headlight washers. They are supposed to activate the first time the windshield is washed after the ignition is switched on and then every third time thereafter. I don't believe this interval is one that is supposed to be dealer adjustable.

This still doesn't solve the issue of the amount of fluid used. Out here in western New York we're having a "normal" (i.e. lots of snow & cold) winter this year. This means lots of road salt is being used which results in a nice crusty coating. The heavy spray from the headlamp washers does an adequate job of keeping things relatively clean. It would be nice though to have them activated by a separate switch so they could be used only when necessary.

 

running the washer pump dry may damage the mechanism - tell the dealership about your incorrect frequency (once per three windshield washings is correct), they should be able to pinpoint the issue. For now, keep a gallon of washer fluid handy

 

A separate switch for them would have been nice. But I don't know if I'd be killing the pump/system by running it dry all the time. But they do activate every time that I use the windshiled washers. Annoying
I think it was here that I heard they were an adjustable option somehow, by the dealer, as to how often they would work. Think the highest was every 6th time the windshield washers were activated. Maybe I'm wrong, or it was something else totally unrelated. My memory isn't what it used to be.
Or maybe it is a problem all together. Will have to jot it down for something to bring up with the service tech the next time I take the trip out to my dealer, I guess.
Thanx for the opinions guys.
Cheers,