Car has dumped a lot of water - advice needed

[Berin]

I took my 997GTS out for a very short run today after being in the garage about a month and I was pulling into the drive it started leaking water.

The water was running down the inside of the front splitter, just underneath the nearside headlight. The car is not running hot and doesn't seem to have lost coolant, the coolant level is fine. It does seem to be water, rather than coolant, that is leaking.

The washers work, but the headlight washers do not.

I suspect a leak from the headlight washer, but it requires the removal, as far as I can see, of the front splitter and maybe front bumper to access. Is that likely? If not, any other ideas?

The car is under Porsche warranty, with breakdown. Should I call the breakdown service, call Porsche to book the car in, or call an independent, since I'm pretty sure warranty won't cover this? Northmore do most of the work outside the annual servicing, which is done at Porsche Reading.

thanks for your help, everyone.

 

[Gap]

If it has dumped water from the headlights, the connections should be accessible by removing the nearside headlight. That's how I accessed the coupling on my 997.2 C4 when it burst off. Were you washing them at the time - it's usually pressure, especially when frozen (unlikely today), that causes the connector to come off. There was a small blue plastic clip that had come off mine - it had lost some of its springiness so I fashioned a replacement out of some stainless wire.

Presumably, if it's washer fluid it would have that slightly 'alcoholic' smell of washer fluid rather than just plain water.

 

[Motorhead]

Martin,

If it’s a clear liquid it does sound as though the leak is from the headlamp washers, but have you checked that the aircon is working since a refrigerant leak from a condenser is another possible source?

The windscreen and headlamp washers share the same reservoir but have independent pumps, so you can verify that the headlamp washer’s pump is functioning by listening to hear it whining. It may be possible to access the washer and associated pipes and connectors by removing some or all of the wheel arch liners, but removing the front PU isn’t a difficult or lengthy operation.

If the car’s covered by the Porsche Extended Warranty I think you should firstly confirm, or otherwise, that a headlamp washer leak is covered, which will then put you in a position to decide a course of action.

Anecdotally, if the leak turns out to be from an aircon condenser it’s unlikely to be covered by the Warranty unless it’s due to a material/manufacturing fault.

Jeff

 

[Berin]

Thanks for the reply. Since I have Porsche Assist, I called them out (it's the AA now). The AA chap checked coolant again - all OK. Air con is working fine (condensers and heat exchanger were all replaced under warranty last year) and it's blowing very cold.

The leak has now stopped, and the AA chap was pretty convinced it was condensate from the AC - I don't know, since it was a lot of fluid, and not under the car where I'd normally see it but at the front. I refilled the washer fluid, still no leak. I confess to not knowing until some research that the headlamp washers don't activate till the small button on the stalk is pressed with the headlamps on, so I'm going to check that now.

 

[Motorhead]

Hopefully you’ve discovered that the headlights need to be switched-on for the washers to work Martin.

I would have thought aircon condensate would appear in the region of the bulkhead beneath the HVAC unit rather than underneath the nearside headlight unless it’s found another route?

Jeff

 

[Berin]

A further check showed it was just the near side headlight washer leaking. Since it was due an interim oil change anyway, I took it to Wrightune in Wallingford, who fixed the leak, did the oil change and also noticed the control arms were worn, so these were replaced too - I hadn’t really noticed but with new ones fitted with hindsight they definitely did need doing.


fully tested on the R19 British Motor Museum visit today and all is now good.