SL500 headlight wiper-washer

I have a 1997 SL500. The headlight washers work when the headlights are on, but do not shut off - it empties the washer tank. If I shut off the lights, the washer pump stops and the wipers are not parked. How do I reset this or is there defective parts that need to be replaced?

Reply to
high falls doc
Loading thread data ...

I had the same refusing to shut off problem with my '94 SL320. Since these wipers are just gimmicks in the same class as electric toilet paper dispensers, I simply unplugged them at the power connection behind the headlights.

Canoli

Reply to
canoli

Hah, I made the same suggestion in the Saab group (my previous car was a Saab) and I got flamed pretty bad. Let's see if the MB community is different. (I think they are)

Ximinez

Reply to
The Spanish Inquisition

I also (plugged and then) unplugged them on my 83' 280sl.

After I got the car I notised that a plug was unplugged. I plugged it.

2 days later all the "wiper fluid" was gone!

"The Spanish >

Reply to
mb

The headlamp washers and wipers are NOT gimmick. They are compulsory safety equipment in Scandinavian countries for many years and for the vehicles fitted with HID headlamps. They're for GOOD reason!

My personal experience is that they are very valuable, especially during the winter driving or inclement weather where large amount of dirt and grime reduce the output and scatter the light in wrong direction. When the light scatters, I have two problems: the approaching motorists flashed at me, thinking I used the main beam; and the fog or snow reflected the 'misdirected' light back to me, aggravating my stress. Colorado has many roads and a main highway coursing through the mountains between 3000m and 4000m with long drop awaiting the unfortunate vehicles. So, having clean headlamps makes difference. The black ice is almost impossible to detect so I want to have clean headlamp output to give me bit more time to react accordingly. Many times did I have to come out to scrub the headlamps on my former American car during the winter months in Colorado.

My parents' Mercedes-Benz had those washers and wipers, and they were divine!

snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net wrote:

Reply to
OM

For me they remain gimmicks because I'm in SoCal, not Scandinavia nor Colorado, and there are no winter snow storms to worry about. Also, I don't use the car in the rain, given the caliber of drivers around here.

Freeway wannabe Grand Prix drivers bumper to bumper at 80mph are bad enough, but in the rain they become downright scary.

Canoli

Reply to
canoli

If people are that bad down in SoCal, DON'T drive! It is a really waste of money and environment to own a car that one will drive very little, especially in the rain. Utterly pathetic!

When he or she is loiter> >

Reply to
OM

Ah well, everything is a trade-off: speeding on the open snow and mud-filled roads of Colorado or creeping along the jammed but dry freeways of Southern California.

I don't know what the best selling car is in the mountains, but in Orange County, every other car is a Mercedes, or so it seems. If one must play stop and go, at least you can be comfortable. And here, at least, headlamp washers are not very high on the 'necessaries' list.

Canoli

Reply to
canoli

OM said: It is a really waste of money and environment to own a car that one will drive very little, especially in the rain. Utterly pathetic! ___________________________________________ As that old song said "different strokes for different folks". You will find hundreds of thousands of cars in Southern CA that are driven ONLY in good weather....which of course is almost all the time here. And I would think the environment would benefit since the collector car is hardly driven instead of pounding down the freeway every day racking up thousands of miles. Disconnect the wires. Problem fixed.

Reply to
Rockman59

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.