Z8 Chrome Washer Jets Fitting Instructions on a Z3

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Jonttt
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Z8 Chrome Washer Jets Fitting Instructions on a Z3

Post by Jonttt »

I thought I would post fitting instructions on a seperate thread.

The original thread that got me into doing this is here

The Z8 Chrome Washer jets are sold seperately at £22.61+VAT (so order 2, same both sides :wink: )

Part number B61.66.8.380.122

Dealers will probably not have them in stock (not much call for Z8 parts) so they will order from Germany, payment in advance, delivery taking less than 7 days.

Here is a Z8 washer jet




First job is to remove the sound proofing under the hood to get access to the original washer jets from underneath. These simply unscrew (don't unscrew all the way out) and then pull out with the socket which is now loose in the hole.








You can now get access to the washer jets.






Next unclip the electric connector (for heated washer jets, standard on ///M but you may not have this on yours, the harness can be purchased seperately to add this function connecting to washer bottle connector - see original post linked above for more info). Also pull off the water hose. This has a metal clip, I managed to remove one side with the clip in place but the other I had to "unclip" with a small pair of pliars and reclip later.




Now you can remove the original washer nozzle. It needs to be released and pushed up through the hole. To do this you need to push the unit towards the front of the car whilst pushing up. Its pretty easy to release and I used a plastic stick as I have chubby fingers :wink:




You can then push through the hole




and remove from the top of the bonnet




Side by side you can see the differences between the two units. You can see that the connector for the water hose points in a different direction on the Z8 one. This did not cause a problem for me as the existing hose had just enough slack to reach the new position.




The main issue is that the part of the nozzle that "retains" the unit in place is very slightly different on the Z8 unit. This means that when in place the unit is not held firmly in place. It is secure but you can move it about slightly and its slightly lifted from the paintwork.

This was solved in the USA with a special retaining clip which "took up the slack" but this does not seem to be available any more :head:

I did contemplate using black silcon sealent to fix in place (as this would not damage the paintwork) but decided on a neater (from the top side) solution which may / may not work. It is not very cosmetic from underneath but is covered by the soundproofing. I used electrical tape to "strap" the unit, effectively pulling the unit into the hole. This worked better than expected resulting in the nozzles being rock solid and a nice neat finish above.

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With sound proofing back in place this solution is invisible




It will be interesting to see how permanent this solution proves but it will not cause any damage if it does not last and I can try something else.

I would be interested to hear how others who have done this conversion solved this.

Here is the finished results. I obviously had to adjust the water jets with a pin in the normal way but end result looks great with strong jets of water in perfect spots.







Time to do approx 45 minutes, fiddliest bits were removing the water hose clips (if you have to) and "securing" the units in place with tape.
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Post by estocks »

I'd be tempted to slide a roughly 1cm by 2cm strip of plastic behind the new springy clip, flush with the body of the jet device. That will pull the top down onto the paint.
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Post by Jonttt »

I found a piccy of the american "plate" which fits underneath to take the "slack".

I think they are custom made so might be able to replicate with some tin metal :wink:



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Post by John Boy »

Robert T wrote:
John Boy wrote:I didn't realise that! I must have missed something;

How long has it been that way? Do you know if there is a process to nominate? (PM any/all Mods?)
See here.

Cheers R.
TVM Robert T :thumb:
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Post by Jonttt »

jollyassassin wrote:........ Does yours then have a switch to operate them, & if so then that probably wont come with the harness will it. :( ......
Jolly, there is no switch for the heated washer jets. I assume that they work as per the heated wing mirrors on the ///M and are actually on all the time.

For info you can easily tell if you have heated jets as there will be an electrical wire running into the soundproofing under the hood with the thicker water hose.

This should connect to the connector which is on the side of the washer bottle. I believe the connector is there on all Z's (?) and so the harness just connects to this and to the washer jet. (it does beg the question why its not fitted as standard as can only cost a little to manufacture, but I guess thats marketing for you :roll: )
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Robert T
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Post by Robert T »

If they connect to the washer motor electrically, then do they not just come on when the motor is running (i.e. when you are watering the windscreen?). Would make sense assuming they heat up quickly, rather than having them on all the time?

Cheers R.
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Post by Jonttt »

Robert you may be right, would make more sense.
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Mike Fishwick
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Nozzles

Post by Mike Fishwick »

I'm pretty sure thatI did not have to do anything unusual when I fitted Z8 nozzles - but my bonnet had been painted twice (a good story!) so maybe the additional thickness of paint made up for the different metal thickness between the Z3 and Z8.
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Brian H
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Post by Brian H »

Just had a look in the BMW Electrical Troubleshooting Manual (1998 - Z3 & M (7mb file)) for the Windscreen washer jet heaters. Fuse 24 (10amp) feeds a Thermal switch for the heated jets, this in turn regulates whether they are on or off. The manual located the thermal switch as being located in the front LH wheel well.

Fuse 24 also feeds the passenger airbag cut off switch & Mirror control switch.
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Jonttt
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Post by Jonttt »

Ardchyle wrote:Just had a look in the BMW Electrical Troubleshooting Manual (1998 - Z3 & M (7mb file)) for the Windscreen washer jet heaters. Fuse 24 (10amp) feeds a Thermal switch for the heated jets, this in turn regulates whether they are on or off. The manual located the thermal switch as being located in the front LH wheel well.

Fuse 24 also feeds the passenger airbag cut off switch & Mirror control switch.
So they come on depending on temperature?. Makes even more sense ie if cold enough to freeze the heater keeps the water from freezing ready for use if needed :D

Is this the same for the heated wing mirrors then ie temp control auto switches on/off
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Brian H
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Post by Brian H »

Jonttt

I cannot seem to find any specific referance to a heated mirror :rtm: :shrug, i can see the circuits for the power mirror i.e. left right up and down but nothing that relates to a heated mirror. Perhaps its just on all the time?

Was this an option or is it standard across the range?
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Titan
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Post by Titan »

Ardchyle wrote:Jonttt

I cannot seem to find any specific referance to a heated mirror :rtm: ..... Perhaps its just on all the time?
Was this an option or is it standard across the range?
AFAIK the heated mirrors work in conjunction with the heated rear screen.
When the hard top is off, I press the HRW button and the mirrors clear.
However, this could be psychosomatic and I am falsely relating cause and effect.
It could be that they would have cleared on their own if there is indeed a temp sensor in the circuit ...... :?
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Post by Jonttt »

I was always led to believe that they are always on, there was a debate on here some months ago about how they worked.

Again I think they are standard on the ///M (I didn't know they had them or heated washer jets until reading on here as I've never had reason to see them actually working).

When I think of it all the cars that I've had with heated wing mirrors including my current 5 series do not have a manual on/off switch, I just assumed they were on a low current all the time the ignition was on?
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Post by calbens »

My heated wing mirrors are linked to my heated seats!
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Post by Brian H »

More intrigue, I think i've found the diagram that explains all on the heated mirrors (sorry to hyjack this thread jonttt).

I have looked at various diagrams from 1998 - 2000 and all seem to be the same, it shows a thermo switch and heating element in the back of the mirror, perhaps we have all got them!! I'm curios now.

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Post by Jonttt »

calbens wrote:My heated wing mirrors are linked to my heated seats!
Calbens, also makes sense, whats interesting is that no one seems certain how/when the heated wing mirrors or washer nozzles actually work :rtm:
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Post by Robert T »

Ardchyle wrote:More intrigue, I think i've found the diagram that explains all on the heated mirrors (sorry to hyjack this thread jonttt).
I've just studied the same diagrams - and if you look at the page before, it joins to that one and all the wires come from the little joystick control - there is no separate supply for heating. The other thing that is puzzling me is that there is only one motor, so the solenoid shown must move a gear that allows it to shift between up/down and left/right. So whilst the diagram shows a thermoswitch and a heating element, it is not clear how it gets its power.

The washer nozzles are clearly shown as being controlled by a themo-switch and it is described as being on the front RH wheelwell.

It is not clear from the diagram if any of the parts are optional. For example not all cars have heating elements in their mirrors.

Cheers R.
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