Windscreen washers - stupid question.

[chad]

I have an electric washer pump which I can hear working but no water comes out of the nozzles.

There is water in the reservoir and the nozzles are clear.

There is no trace of water leaking down under the bus.

There is a small hole in the washer cap which I believe ought to be there but whether its blocked or unblocked makes no difference.

After crawling underneath I can't see the reservoir, either because I'm stupid or the pans are in the way, I suppose the latter could trap any leaking water.

The last time this happened was just before the MOT when the guy doing it blew air through which fixed it then. I've tried this but don't have access to an airline and it didn't work with a normal pump.

Any ideas?

 

[lemur]

Is the reservoir not inside your cab? behind the kick panel (passenger side)…. sorry if I missed something. that's where mine is though

 

[gas1man]

I'm not the expert , but I did have a similar problem and turned out you need an inline
non return valve as close as possible to the ' T ' piece up behind the dash.
Before they split to the separate washers. Hope this helps.
The water kept draining back into the bottle in mine and the motor has to be below the reservoir.

Good luck.

J & P

 

[chad]

Thanks guys, I'll have another root around tomorrow.
I've got a dodgy knee so can only roll around on the cab floor or the ground for a bit at a time.

 

[chad]

I had a chat with the guy who MOT'd it and he pressurised the tank to get it to work.

I've just done that and it works.
It doesn't make much sense to me as the motor is below the tank but then again a lot of things don't.

 

[Moseley]

Sounds like you have a restriction in the pipe work leading to the pump inlet. Did you open up the outlet hole on the tank? This is only a very small bore and the washer fluid will only flow from it with some pressure behind it. Also, you need to ensure that air can enter the bottle at at least the same rate as fluid can leave it, so make sure the vent is at least the same size as the fluid outlet.


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[Moseley]

To add, I personally don’t use a non-return valve anywhere on the system. It just means that it needs running for a few seconds longer before the fluid reaches the nozzles. The pump should self-prime as long as it is below the liquid level, and liquid can flow into it by gravity alone.


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[gagvanman]

Previous to my current system I did try a small aftermarket pump, it ran but no water. It is possible your pump is not working. Can you get a cheap Halfords one to try...