Windscreen Washer Pump

[Ralph1Malph]

Hi All,
I've had a bit of a search and not come up with much, but I seem to be replacing front windscreen washer pumps every 6-10 months.
I'm about to replace the fourth one in 2 years. I assume its an electrical fault.
Interestingly, 'genuine' seems to last the longest at around 8 mths. I fitted two non genuine with the first lasting only weeks.
Has anybody encountered this before? If so, any idea where to look?
It's never fuses, always the pump.

Cheers
Ralph

[DiscoJeffster]

Hi All,
I've had a bit of a search and not come up with much, but I seem to be replacing front windscreen washer pumps every 6-10 months.
I'm about to replace the fourth one in 2 years. I assume its an electrical fault.
Interestingly, 'genuine' seems to last the longest at around 8 mths. I fitted two non genuine with the first lasting only weeks.
Has anybody encountered this before? If so, any idea where to look?
It's never fuses, always the pump.

Cheers
Ralph

What product are you putting in the water out of curiosity?

[BradC]

Geez. If you were in WA I'd grab one for a teardown. I think I've changed one in 30 years, and that one was older than me when I changed it.

[DiscoJeffster]

I changed one in the D4 along with the jets after using Bars Bugs washer fluid that went funky and blocked it all up.

[Ralph1Malph]

What product are you putting in the water out of curiosity?

I do mix it up. Whatever windscreen juice I can get. So I guess a variety of different ones from multi suppliers. Last bottle was from supercheap I think, currently an aldi bottle?

[SimmAus]

Wow…never heard of this before;
I would assume the motor is burning cos it’s either sucking or blowing too hard (insert joke here)

Have you checked the inlet / outlet sides/lines to see if they are clogged / pinched somewhere?

[Xtreme]

I've heard (but not tried) that a small amount of Coca Cola works well in the washers. Has anyone tried it?

[BradC]

I've heard (but not tried) that a small amount of Coca Cola works well in the washers. Has anyone tried it?

To clean them out? If you use tap water in the washer bottle I can see that. A gradual deposition of alkaline deposits over time. In the washer bottle I'd have thought sugar and phosphoric acid wouldn't be great though.

I've filled mine with DI water for years because I have loads of it handy.

I have a slightly blocked jet on the passenger side, so I'll need to address that at the next service.

[LuckyLes]

Hi,
Check the voltage at the motor, your partial blockage may be low pressure due to motor running slow. If the voltage is low, the current increases and will burn the motor out if low enough.

[pedro54]

Look for a blocked jet. I have replaced 3 pumps during the last 3 years, bought 2 the last time so I have a spare. It appears jet is blocked, so never use the washers when in reverse, which could cause the pump to fail.

Peter