So, I discovered a cheap fix for the wiper washer fluid sensor. On my car, the sensor was reading that the fluid was empty despite being completely full. So, the first thing you're going to need to do is access the sensor. I had to take my bumper off anyhow. So this was easy for me. I believe you can probably get away with just loosening the bumper underneath and getting access. The plastic may be brittle so be careful if you need to put pressure on your attachment points. On the other hand, removing the bumper entirely isn't that big of a deal.


Remove the sensor by using a plastic pry tool and get underneath the grommet. Had to use some force, but there's very little you can break here so you can get a little violent. Of course, unplug the connector and deliver the washer fluid level sensor. You will be greeted with this:

You want to access the float by twisting the black cylinder counter clockwise and popping it off much like you would open up a 2 litre bottle of coke. Mine had a bunch of dirt and debris and was fighting me a bit, so you can get a little violent with it. Again, not much you can hurt. You will be greeted with this:

In my case, the failed part is the white cylinder or thefloat. It soaked up the washer fluid and was no longer buoyant. So, what you need to do next is test whether that is indeed the failed part. Take out the white cylinder and drop it in a glass of water. If it sinks then you've diagnosed your problem. The next think you're going to want to do is test whether the remainder of the sensor is working. You do this by getting out your ohmeter and testing resistance between the pins in the plug. When the float is in place along the shaft and fully in contact with the base of the sensor, you should get zero resistance. With the float lifted off of the base, you should get infinite resistance. If that is the case, then you have a bad float and working sensor.

At this point you have three options. Keep the sensor unplugged and your car will interpret this as a full washer fluid reservoir at all times. Option 2 is a new sensor which is 100 bucks. That's a lot for a stupid sensor IMHO. A third option is to buy a sensor for an Infinit Q50. I went with some Chinesium garbage on ebay for 12 bucks. Part number 289111E400. This is what you will get:

Pop the plastic cylindrical housing and you will be greeted with a float that has very similar dimensions to the SC430 float. One thing that is very important is these sensors work by a thin ringed magnet that is in the middle.

See the black ring. That's your magnet. Now, on the SC430 that magnet is in the middle. So, orientation of the float doesn't make a difference. You can put it in one way and the sensor will work. You can take it out and put it in upside...sensor will still work. On the Q50 sensor, the magnet is eccentric. The sensor will only work when the magnet is closest to the base and not the other orientation. You want to verify all of this with the ohmeter...check the resistance between the terminals with the new float and verify that it works.

Hope this helps someone save 88 bucks and make a stupid light on their dashboard go away.