I was wondering if it is possible to disable the front light washers.  They seem utterly pointless, achieving 3 things

 

1. Waste screen wash

2. Don't really clean the lights

3. Unintentionally flash traffic, causing mild confusion

 

Any thoughts?

Edited 3 February, 201511 yr by AlbieWhite

Just pull the fuse

 

Do make sure you check you removed the correct one afterwards though, they are not the same number/position in every car!

 

To enable again, just refit the fuse.

Edited 3 February, 201511 yr by Too Tall

I agree that they are a bit pointless alright.  I always end up cleaning them myself with a cloth or even having to stop at the roadside to clean them.  They will take away really heavy and loose grime but that's about it.  I understand that there is a requirement to have them with xenons because of the potential glare caused by dirt on the headlamps but they are in no way effective for this, at least not on mine anyway.  Best of all were the actual wipers as on the likes of the old Volvos and Saabs, although the aesthetics of these would probably be seen as odd on a modern car.

 

Surely there is a more effective way - now that would be a first for Skoda if they could manage that on the next Superb!!

I find that their benefit depends on the type of driving you do, the weather and road conditions and the types of roads you travel on.

 

On a damp and dirty motorway where you are having to clean the windscreen every few miles the headlight washers will be helping as the dirt will still be wet enough to be removed by the high pressure jets.

 

If the frequency between the jets activating is extended allowing the spray from the road to dry onto the warm headlight lenses then I agree their use at this point is limited.

 

From behind the steering wheel the effect on light output at night when they are operating is quite noticeable, however in my experience from seeing them operate on other cars it really isn't as obvious, the huge plumes of water tend to be a bit of a give away too that it isn't a deliberate flash of the headlights.

 

I appreciate that some people consume more screen wash than others but despite a high annual mileage I don't find myself topping up the washer bottle anymore than normal, luckily screen wash is cheaper than most bottled water so nothing to lose sleep over.

 

It is possible to code out the washers, or even extend the intervals at which they operate (using VCDS), but as above it is better and easier to simply pull the fuse. This way you can quickly and easily re-activate them if you decide to sell the car.

I have really appreciated them on the many trips up and down to Wakefield (family funeral) recently. I only ever give the washers a quick "flick" just enough to cover the wipers in both directions and yes every five goes the HL washers come on but I found they were very effective.

On the last trip back it was in daylight and the headlights were completely covered with road muck when I got home.

I was wondering if it is possible to disable the front light washers. They seem utterly pointless, achieving 3 things

1. Waste screen wash

2. Don't really clean the lights

3. Unintentionally flash traffic, causing mild confusion

Any thoughts?

Have you got factory fitted Xenon lights? If you have and you disabled the washers you will make your car an MOT fail and illegal, if a car has Xenon lights fitted when new it also has to have light washers fitted that work as dirt on the lense will bend the light.

I have them and have no problem with them, they operate every time you first wash your screen or every 5 screen washes in a journey.

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

It sounds like something specific to Xenon lights, I've never had a problem before with lights needing such regular cleaning.  

 

I suspect if I did long journeys at this time of year I may feel the benefit more.  At the moment I give the headlights a quick once over with my ice scraper when I do the windows, which is sufficient.

 

I do have factory fitted Xenons so it looks like I'll just have to leave them to avoid MOT issues.

Pop the fuse in for the MOT and whip it back out afterwards

Yes you can code them out, that's what I did.  It's in Central Electronics, the tick box is "headlight washers installed"

 

I already ranted somewhere else about this but i'll do it again.  The old A5 electronics (I had a MKV 07 Jetta) had a delay with the washers.  You had to hold the windscreen washer lever in for a delay (factory default was 1.5 seconds but I increased to 4 seconds) before the headlight washers would activate.  Then they only did it on the 1st and 5th pull of the lever.  The new 30 bit CEC doesn't have this delay (and boy have I looked) so they always activate immediately.   That just ****ed me off so I turned the damn things off entirely.  We don't get snow here so they're less important than those of you who live in the old world.