reedreed
Well-Known Member
Great! thanks a lot!
Consolidated Notes: E3/E9 Headlamp Washer System
- Thread starter Markos
- Start date
is it possible to convert a head washer lamp system from E24 to E9?
I have to smile.....
All the calories spent on putting in a headlight wiper/washer system on a car that no current E9 owner/driver would willingly take near the rain or inclement weather. LOL
Keep up the good work! Awesome....
All the calories spent on putting in a headlight wiper/washer system on a car that no current E9 owner/driver would willingly take near the rain or inclement weather. LOL
Keep up the good work! Awesome....
It's all about the chase!
What can I say, I’m drawn to rare parts and factory options. I’ve always been fascinated by headlight wipers, an accessory that is quintessentially “Euro”.
Far more collective energy is spent on headlights in general. I wonder what percentage of people actually drive their e9 at night?
DerSchwede
Well-Known Member
I can confirm that all 3.3 L/Li had the headlight wipers installed as a standard feature, exaclty like the drivers-side power-door-mirror. The only options (which you had to pay for) for those models were:
A/C
LSD
rear sway bar
self-levelling suspension
the rest was in there - take it or leave it. (velours/suede upholstery and a manual gearbox were no cost options…)
The function is triggered every 5th time when you turn on the low-beam (I think it was, haven‘t driven mine for a long time)
Then there were countries, where national legislation made headlight wipers mandatory from the early/mid 70ies - for all car manufacturers, so there you will find it on all cars sold there in period.
A/C
LSD
rear sway bar
self-levelling suspension
the rest was in there - take it or leave it. (velours/suede upholstery and a manual gearbox were no cost options…)
The function is triggered every 5th time when you turn on the low-beam (I think it was, haven‘t driven mine for a long time)
Then there were countries, where national legislation made headlight wipers mandatory from the early/mid 70ies - for all car manufacturers, so there you will find it on all cars sold there in period.
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The system triggers when city lights or headlights are on and the wipe wash stalk is pulled towards you as for normal windshield washing. However, the headlamp wipe wash has a ~30 second lock-out time after each activation during which it will not activate.
Sweden was the one country that required headlight washing starting in the early-mid 70s. It didn’t have to be wipers, some manufacturers implemented it with pressure washers, but not nearly as effective since the pumps at the time were not as powerful as modern washer pumps.
DerSchwede
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the clarification Luis! I remember that the 3.3L had the wiring messed up at the relay when I bought the car in the 90s and it tended to activate the headlight wipers every time those were turned on - very annoying!
I know that when I grew up in Sweden in the 80s, all cars had the wipers, it was mandatory from 1973/1974 and in the eighties the legislation also started to accept the high-pressure solutions then introduced, seen on E32/E34 for instance. Other cars, like XJ40, W124, Volvo 700/900 and SAAB 9000CD still had wipers until the mid/late 90s. When Sweden joined the EU in January 1995, some national regulation had to be adopted to be aligned with the EU directives etc. and hence Sweden had to give up the cumpulsory fitment of headlight wipers / spray nozzels taking effect during 1994. After that, many car owners got rid of the old wiper systems, since they tended to seize after many winters with a lot of road salt…
Very cool to see them in operation. Shouldn’t there be a spray of washer fluid or did I miss something?
You missed it. This is a gap in the notes but you can see it fire in the video, and the aftermath of droplets on the bumper.
Does anyone have the original part number for the dual pump bracket? My system was in working order, but now I cannot get the second motor to activate and spray water on the headlights... Bothe are working as they were tested separately... I suppose that something could be wrong with the 61 31 1 358 491 control unit?
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DaveBeddows
Member
I almost installed one of these in 1996 when the parts were attainable at a good price. Instead I just bought a box of moist baby wipes and a rain hat for the wife.
Philippe, you mean the Baby Wipes and the Rain Hat of course. Check your local Target.
DaveBeddows
Member
Sorry Phillippe. I never ordered the parts. In 1995 Bimmer Autoparts sourced out a complete kit to add/convert the E3. It was about $600 back then for everything. I never ordered it as I could not use wipers with my headlight guards and protecting the Cibie lenses with guards was a higher priority considering the car wasn't likely to see foul weather very often. If I see or hear of any cars in my neck of the woods that have them I'll post info.
Hi Philippe,
The power (+) for the washer pump motor is routed and delivered to the pump from the right side headlight wiper motor. There is a rotating cam inside the motor which acts upon an electrical contact for the washer motor +. It's the blue wire, I believe, from motor to headlight washer pump.
If the washer motor works when powered up independently, then it must be not receiving power from the wiper motor contact.
The black relay control box you ask about regulates how long the wiper motors receive power (usually two cycles) and locks out further activation for about 30 seconds. It would not directly interfere with the washer pump functioning.
The power (+) for the washer pump motor is routed and delivered to the pump from the right side headlight wiper motor. There is a rotating cam inside the motor which acts upon an electrical contact for the washer motor +. It's the blue wire, I believe, from motor to headlight washer pump.
If the washer motor works when powered up independently, then it must be not receiving power from the wiper motor contact.
The black relay control box you ask about regulates how long the wiper motors receive power (usually two cycles) and locks out further activation for about 30 seconds. It would not directly interfere with the washer pump functioning.
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Hello Luis,
Thank you very much for your input... I installed the system in 2006 or so and then sold the car on 2010. It was working perfectly. I just got the car back... The problem before was that the motors would work together but the additional pump would not... So, I decided to take the control unit apart and look for any traces of corrosion or burnt circuit paths and found none except slight corrosion/gunk on both sides which I cleaned... Then, I unplugged each connector for the motors and they were clean. Just added some dielectric grease and put back together... After that, I gave it a go and voilà now it works as it should...
Now your information is excellent! I can see that you have studied this system better than I... It is nice to actually see it working since most don't and are set up just for looks... Here I thought that the function for the additional pump was controlled by the control unit/relay... I learned something today, thank you. Did you ever installed the system in your car? I would like to see photos... Thank you.
Thank you very much for your input... I installed the system in 2006 or so and then sold the car on 2010. It was working perfectly. I just got the car back... The problem before was that the motors would work together but the additional pump would not... So, I decided to take the control unit apart and look for any traces of corrosion or burnt circuit paths and found none except slight corrosion/gunk on both sides which I cleaned... Then, I unplugged each connector for the motors and they were clean. Just added some dielectric grease and put back together... After that, I gave it a go and voilà now it works as it should...
Now your information is excellent! I can see that you have studied this system better than I... It is nice to actually see it working since most don't and are set up just for looks... Here I thought that the function for the additional pump was controlled by the control unit/relay... I learned something today, thank you. Did you ever installed the system in your car? I would like to see photos... Thank you.
