A couple of nights ago my low WW fluid level light started blinking on once in awhile, letting me know I was low on fluid (boy, those headlamp washers really use it up, btw). So, I pulled over at WM and put in a gallon of the usual bug-cleaning formula fluid. However, when I went to test the WW system afterward, the pump sounded weak and the fluid barely “oozed” out of the WW jets, eventually stopping completely (I posted about this issue in an unrelated post earlier). However, the headlamp washer system operated normally when I tested it. My theory at that time was possibly a blown fuse to the WW pump, although I really didn’t want to have to get into the lotus position and try to crawl down underneath the steering wheel to check it out at the time.
In an attempt to figure out what was going on, though, I went ahead and drained the fresh gallon of fluid out of the reservoir by repeatedly activating the headlamp washers. The next day, I tried the WW pump again, and was surprised to hear it running once again, although about an octave higher in pitch than normal and kinda “wavering”. I assume this is probably the normal sound when the pump is running w/o any fluid in the system. (?) So much for the “blown fuse” or burnt-up pump motor theory. Hoping that it was yet another case of “Jaguar heal thyself” I went ahead and put in another gallon of fluid. However, when I tested the WW pump this time it was totally dead again.
Any idea what is going on here? I’m wondering if something in the submerged part of the pump assembly has someone become exposed so that the fluid in the reservoir is somehow causing the pump to short out (w/o blowing the fuse, oddly enough) . When the system is dry and everything has dried out, the pump begins to function again. Is this possible?
Can it be debris in the pump that only clogs it when wet? I don’t know what you could run through to clean it… acid, maybe.
Or the motor is failing and the windings fail completely when hot.
The higher pitch when dry is normal, no load means higher speed. A new pump would help in any case, but I’d give it a try. You can also remove the pump and try having a look. A short in the device, not so sure: maybe a bad contact. A simple test light would help in that direction.
A few years ago when I was working at the shop, I needed to remove a customers WW fluid reservoir.
I found a one inch thick layer of four or five different species of Bacteria.
The bugs probably didn’t get a chance to get into the pumps, so the owner wasn’t aware of it.
I was the only one in the shop that found that remarkable.
Now I think if the other techs had found this unremarkable. it might be a common occurrence.
While stripping one of my Series III XJ6 parts cars I tested the windscreen washers and although I could hear the pump working, there was no fluid being sprayed in the winscreen despite the reservoir being about half full. When I removed the reservoir I observed that the fluid inside was a thick gelatinous goo and not a watery liquid. Once I disposed of the nasty goo, flushed out the reservoir, and filled it with tap water, the pump worked fine and sprayed onto the windscreen as it should.
Hmmmm … I wonder if I bought one of those flexible fiber optic scope viewers if I could snake it all the way down into the main reservoir to see what things are like in it, or would there be some part(s) of the system that would get in the way of it (?)
As far as flushing things out, I wonder if I ejected the fluid again via the headlamp washers if I could just pour a gallon of hot water mixed with vinegar in it, or possibly Simple Green degreaser instead, and let it soak overnight, then eject those contents through the headlamp washers – if that would work ? btw, how much labor is involved in /r/ring the pump? I would think the main reservoir would have to be pulled first, and would that also require a lot of labor and removal of other parts?
I don’t think it’s worth all that. Try to isolate the issue before having a look, then remove it if it takes less than a few hours. If it’s dirty, clean it, if it’s broken, replace it: you’d have to remove it in any case.
If I was suspecting a bacterial bloom in my WW tank, I would first suck it out with some type of vacuum pump.
Don’t try to fix it by running it through the WW pumps.
That will only end in tears and not cure the problem, which is a slime clog.
Instead I would use a bleach bath and extract the tank contents a few times.
Then after the tank is clean, run some more bleach mixture through the pumps.
Removing the tank is a last resort since on my 94s required removing too many other parts.
A shop vac might be the best course of action since the slime won’t come in contact with the pump.
Yes to most. Bleach is corrosive. Be extremely careful to flush it out completely, and then some more. Thorough flushing might help. But I’d remove the whole thing first and do the job the right way. Vacuum pump, meh. But shop vac and a thin nozzle dor the big chunks, tes. If there are any - if hard to remove… lots of water.
Certainly not full strength bleach but 5% to 10% then quickly flush.
Etoh would be fairly expensive.
Removal for me would be a last resort.
It would require at least removal of the right side inner wheel well and front access panel.
I periodically have to flush our RO system because of biofilm. I have a very sensitive detector to tell me when there’s a problem… the Keurig machine stops working. It has a very fine mesh screen where the water is drawn out of the reservoir and the biofilm clogs it. The bleach is very dilute.
I flush my espresso machines’ tank and use bleach once a month or so. Never had any biofilm, gross! Makes sense that bacteria works that well in the washer bottle, would adding alcohol help?
Got it. Will vodka do, or should I drive down to Tijuana and get some Everclear?
Actually, the source of the problem is the RO system, water from which is used in the Keurig. RO water has no chlorine, so biofilm can be a problem in the RO tank and feed lines to various faucets & refrigerator. I too wash the Keurig reservoir regularly.
Sorry for diverging. This is obviously off-thread.
However, the headlamp washer system operated normally when I tested it. My theory at that time was possibly a blown fuse to the WW pump, although I really didn’t want to have to get into the lotus position and try to crawl down underneath the steering wheel to check it out at the time.
