front window washer not working

[COR73S]

Car:
99 Ek civic hatch

Problem:
Front window washers not working. Front wipers work fine. When I try to activate it the washers, nothing happens. No sound. Checked water level and it is full.

My rear window washer and wiper works fine also.
Have checked fuse, all good.

Any suggestions before I see professional advice?

[dahondr98]

As they share a common bottle, it has to be either electrical, such as a faulty or disconnected connector to the front washer pump, or physical, such as blocked washer jets, or dislodged or squashed tube(s). See in the Honda workshop manual (it can be downloaded off the net, if you haven’t got one – do a search in the forum) for the location of the washer tube and pump, and the wiring loom to the pump. You may need to undo the left inner fender cover (in front of the front left wheel) or remove the front bumper bar to gain access to the pump and water bottle. If the car has recently had a wax, check the washer nozzles on the bonnet to make sure they aren’t blocked with wax.:eek:

You could also check with a multimeter, if you have one (on DC volts) at the pump connector, to make sure battery is getting to it when the washer switch is operated. The pump for the front washers is the front one on the bottle, as you might expect. The workshop manual also says to try connecting the pump connector straight to battery and ground – if the pump doesn’t operate, then replace it:thumbdwn: – you should be able to pick up a cheap one from a wrecker. A multimeter on a resistance scale will show an open circuit between the two pins on the pump, if the pump motor coil is blown.

[riruiz_88]

very true^^^
or get your hands on a compressor and attach and air gun to it, then disconnect a water pipe off one of the water nozzles and put the air gun in and press the trigger. this should force gunk to come out.

[COR73S]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll take off the front bumper first to have a look to make sure it is all connected properly. All seems ok from the engine bay, but i'll have a look underneath.

I'll also check the jets and put an air compressor to it. see how I go.

If all this fails, professional advice I shall seek

peace

Update to come.

[riruiz_88]

when you activate the washer nozzles from your stalk switch, does it make a noise like the pump is running?

[COR73S]

when you activate the washer nozzles from your stalk switch, does it make a noise like the pump is running?

It used to make a single 'click' noise and that's it. But now nothing. No noise...unlike when i activate the rear. I can hear it working

[Bludger]

take off front bar.

run 12v to the washer motor, if it doesn't run, you know its the motor.

if it runs, it would be wiring, switch or fuse related.

[riruiz_88]

as said above, but if your not confident about playing with electrics it would be safe to take it to a professional. maybe contact some on this forum who knows what they are doing to help you out if you want to learn.

[COR73S]

Yeah I got a feeling it might but just loose down there or faulty wiring. I doubt the motor has konked it. Esp seeing as I don't use them that much and the rear seems to be working fine.

It's actually quite exciting for me now to learn something new about the car.

[COR73S]

Pulled off the front bar this morning to have a look. Everything seems ok. I couldn't run the front washer motor to the back motor wiring - they have slightly different connectors. Didn't have a multimeter to test whether it was the wiring. I doubt it's fuse related, as according to the car manual the fron wipers and washer run off the same fuse.

I'm guessing the motor has konked it. I'll be looking to replace it eventually, so I'll try post up pics when I do so. I should have taken a photo for future reference for other forum users.

Thanks for the help guys

[Bludger]

mate, just tape the damn connector on or something, it only needs to work for 1 second for you to know.

or, just get a wire, bout 2 or 3 meters.

run it from the battery directly.

multi meter will be useless to you because your arms aren't long enough to hold the pins in and turn the switch at the same time.

just look for some wiring lying around and put 12v to the motor directly from the battery, you';ll know for sure.

[riruiz_88]

if you do the above method, make sure you have correct polarity from battery to the pump motor. if you do, you WILL cause a fault.

[dahondr98]

multi meter will be useless to you because your arms aren't long enough to hold the pins in and turn the switch at the same time.


That's what crocodile clips (or other electrical clips, such as EZ hooks) are for!