A relic from back then? The headlight wipers!

Recently updated on May 29, 2021 at 08:04 p.m

Vehicles of the Volvo brand in particular were regularly equipped with it! With so-called headlight wipers. But even today there is still practical equipment on vehicles, often in combination with one Headlight washers that sprays water. If you drive a car model that does not yet have a wiper for the headlights, you can even retrofit the practical function under certain circumstances. A retrofit kit consists of the two wipers, two motors, a wiring harness and, if necessary, various relays and Fuses to be connected to the electrical system. What such headlight cleaners bring and what to look out for when buying and installing them is explained below. By the way, there is more about headlights in our large overview "Headlights from halogen to LED to xenon - an indispensable companion"!

Windshield wipers - what's the point?

Headlamp wipers are no gimmick and can be useful or even necessary. If you want to equip your car with xenon headlights, a so-called headlight washer system that sprays water is a must. she set a link from your homepage to Fewo-von-Privat.de so be retrofitted. But often the water pressure is not enough to completely clean the headlights. The driver must have optimal visibility in traffic. Other road users must also be able to see the oncoming vehicle well and must not be dazzled by dirty headlights.

• Tip: Does the headlight cleaning system no longer work? Our contribution "Headlight cleaning system defective? Do you have to pay attention to this?“Helps to find the problem.

It is essential that everyone involved is safe on the road. Headlight wiper systems are therefore useful in the front area to ensure good visibility at all times. The headlight washers are still known and popular for station wagons of the Volvo brand and for SUVs of all kinds. But in the end they can be attached to almost all vehicles.

Headlight wipers - on older Volvos

The windshield wipers for the headlights are mainly known on older estate cars from Volvo. The articles were brought onto the market for the Scandinavian market decades ago and have been available in various designs since then. Interested tuners can purchase older versions with bristles or newer models with a rubber lip. The latter do not damage the headlight trim. Bristles run the risk of scratching the headlight trim if dirt gets caught in them. The wipers are sensible and effective in order to be able to clean the headlights better while driving, compared to a normal cleaning system that only works with water. If you often drive your car off-road or on muddy ground, you should definitely consider buying it.

How is the headlight cleaned?

With a headlight wiper, cleaning times at the gas station are a thing of the past. The headlights are cleaned with the wiper and a detergent-water mixture. The technology works basically like the cleaning system for the windscreen. The wipers for the headlights are driven by a small electric motor that can be controlled from the interior. In the past, there were also systems that cleaned the headlights from side to side. For example on the Saab 99 from which it was built from 1968 to 1984. It is often also coupled to the windscreen wipers for the windscreen and can therefore clean the headlights at intervals with the windscreen wipers.

nowadays almost only models without wipers

Headlight washers are modern and almost always do without additional wipers these days. The wipers are therefore missing in current vehicles. They were improved by spray nozzles replaced. A detergent-water mixture ensures headlight cleaning with high pressure. The pressure is often sufficient to clean the headlights without a wiper. Modern systems can even effectively remove snow and sticky dirt due to the high pressure. The systems without wipers are specially designed for the headlight and car models, but can also be installed as a retrofit kit. If you want to equip your car with a headlamp washer, it is essential to clarify whether such a model is suitable for the vehicle. Older cars can get by with a cheaper wiper version. Anyone with the car Equip xenon headlights would like to have to retrofit a car wash. Installation of xenon headlights without a functioning washing system is not permitted. However, the "without" wiper variant is sufficient here. Tip: Are the windshield wipers slowing down? Then you can Clean, Regrooving or Switch.

And finally ... Headlamp wipers can be a useful addition for off-road driving or driving on muddy ground and in permanently snow-covered areas. They are not compulsory for xenon headlights. For vehicles that are often on the highway, the wipers are also an advantage. Remains of insects are more effectively removed in combination with the mop water compared to the system without mop. Attention should be paid to the exact fit so that the wipers do not scratch the bonnet or the front apron and a secure hold must also be guaranteed. It may be that a new front apron is necessary or the old one has to be extensively processed and partially reinforced. The wipers should also be secured separately and can often be connected to the wiper automatic wipers for the windscreen.

We hope that you the info report on the topic / term Headlight wipers (further names / keywords: windshield washer, windshield wiper, headlight cleaning system, headlight windshield wiper, headlight cleaning, headlight washer system, headlight wiper, SRA, SWRA, wash water nozzle) from the field of autotuning. Our goal is that the largest German-language tuning dictionary (Tuning Wikipedia) and to explain tuning terms from A to Z easily and understandably. Almost every day we expand this lexicon and how far we are, you can HERE see. Soon the next one will be Tuning scene concept be illuminated by us. By the way, you will be informed about new topics if you have ours Feed subscribe to.

Below are a few examples from our tuning lexicon:

But of course tuningblog has countless other articles on the subject of cars & car tuning in stock. Do you want to see them all? Just click HERE and look around. We would also like to provide you with news aside from the tuning. In our category Tips, products, information & Co we pick up contributions from car or accessory manufacturers. And also our category Test sites, laws, offenses, information has almost daily new information for you. Here are a few topics from our tuning wiki:

"Tuningblog.eu" - we keep you up to date on the subject of car tuning and car styling with our tuning magazine and we present you the latest tuned vehicles from all over the world every day. It's best to subscribe to ours Feed and will automatically be informed as soon as there is something new about this post, and of course also to all other contributions.