Car windshield washer motor: operating principle, possible malfunctions and replacement instructions

The windshield washer motor is a part subject to wear, mostly due to frequent use. Moreover, this element should always be sound, because often on it depends safety on the road. If you unexpectedly splash the oncoming car, visibility will deteriorate sharply.

The device and the principle of operation

The windscreen washer serves to clean and wet the surface of the glass, which must be clean when driving. In the summer of the frontal during the movement at high speed, insects are broken, and in the winter it gets dirty by the mud emanating from under the wheels of other cars. Structurally, the washer consists of the following parts: a tank in which water or a chemical is located, a pump that pumps out liquid from the container, piping and injectors. With the help of the latter, the liquid is fed to the glass. The nozzles are oriented so that the water hits the middle of the glass. The pump creates the necessary pressure, pumping fluid through the hoses to the very nozzles. Washer is for the windshield, rear and headlights. Structurally, they differ only in the arrangement of the nozzles and the length of the hoses.

Washer pump assembly

This is an electric motor with an impeller or impeller on the output shaft. All these elements are combined in a compact housing with inlet and outlet fittings. Different models may differ markedly. However, the principle of work for all is the same - pumping the liquid out of the tank and feeding it to the nozzles, and then - to the glass.

Most Frequent Washer Failures and Causes

About problems with the motor, first of all, there is no supply of liquid. It should be noted that the safety of traffic largely depends on the purity of the glass. Most of the breakdowns can be the following:

• Clogging jets or filter, as a result of which the necessary pressure is not created;
• Violation of the integrity of pipelines - water simply does not reach the nozzles, and its level is constantly falling;
• The motor of a washer of a windshield is faulty - the characteristic hum at button pressing is not audible;
• Short circuit, fuse blowout, breakage of the electrical circuit;
• Wear of the working impeller in the motor, its corrosion - it arises because of scale and deposits in the tank.

Trouble-shooting

Any troubleshooting should begin in finding out the reasons. Diagnosis in this case is from simple to complex. First see the fuse in the power circuit. If it burns again, you should look for the cause of the short circuit. Then it is checked whether the motor itself is working on the glass washer. If it works, and the liquid does not come from the injectors, then the pump is faulty, or the liquid does not reach the injectors. If the engine is silent, it must be removed for repair or replacement.

Replacing the motor

The element is usually installed on the tank itself. Thus, the replacement of the windscreen washer motor is reduced to the removal of the reservoir. It should be noted that on some models of the car the pump is easily removed from the tank, without requiring the removal of the latter. But this is not always possible, because often access to it is difficult.

Washer reservoir location

In most cases, the washer reservoir is under the hood, but this ends the similarity. Many modern manufacturers tightly fit the engine compartment, because of which you have to use literally every cubic centimeter of volume. At some cars the tank of a washer is in area of a forward rack, on the left or on the right, and at others (especially last years of release) - in front, in area of a bumper. A niche is used between the wheel and the front beam. In the first case, the liquid is poured through the neck directly into the tank. In the second - through a special filling pipe. The first variant can be considered on an example of removal of a tank of VAZ. This is the simplest option.

Withdrawal of the WHA pump

The reservoir and motor of the glass washer (VAZ 2107 including) is in direct accessibility. Depending on the model, it is located on the right or on the left. Before removing the pump, it is necessary to disconnect the electrical wires and the hose leading to the injectors from it. The windshield washer motor here is of vertical type and is inserted by the inlet fitting into the container. There it is tightly fixed, and a special bushing prevents the leakage of water. Often it is because of its leakage that liquid is not fed to the front. As a second example, we can consider how the motor of a washer of a glass is removed from the car "Opel Astra".

Motor Opel Astry: dismantling

Here, the removal procedure is much more complicated. Because the tank is deep down, you need to remove the front bumper, or the front wheel arch liner. After that, you can get the container itself. Usually it is fixed with three bolts. Otherwise, the procedure for removing the pump is the same.

Disassembling the washer pump

As already mentioned, usually the element is not collapsible and must be completely replaced. However, in some cases, the pump can be disassembled for preventive maintenance. The body itself consists of two halves. At the top there is a motor, in the bottom - an impeller with a fence and an outlet branch pipes. Most often, the reason for the failure of the mechanism is the ingress of water into the motor and subsequent rapid corrosion. Here, in a number of cases, rust can be removed and its working capacity restored. The motor on the glass washer sometimes stops working due to the erasing of the conductive brushes. If the design allows, they can be cleaned, and sometimes even replaced. Also, the cause of the malfunction is jamming the output shaft of the motor due to the wear of the bushing, or the breakage of the impeller. Here, most likely, only replacement will help.

Features of the mechanism for the rear window

On cars with a body a hatchback and the versatile person clearers of a back glass are established, as because of features of aerodynamics, it is polluted very quickly. For the washer there is a separate tank with its motor in the back of the car, closer to the glass. Sometimes the tank of the increased size under a cowl is put. There is also a second pump - especially for the rear window. The liquid is fed through the entire vehicle to the rear. The motor of a washer of a back glass is used precisely same, as well as for a frontal. The methods of diagnostics and repair do not differ from each other. Determine the failure can be without additional devices.

How to avoid a pump breakdown?

First, the windscreen washer motor should never run idle. Since it works in water, its housing is cooled during operation. In the absence of a washer fluid, it will spin idly and quickly overheat. This is fraught with burning of the windings and wedging the motor with subsequent replacement. Secondly, you must not allow the motor to work too long. It is better to turn it on frequently, but not for long, not more than two seconds. Often, this is enough to knock down or soak the dirt, which will then be swept off by the wipers.

Conclusion

As you can see, the windscreen washer motor is a small, but extremely important part of the car. Quick diagnostics and repair of this unit along the way will save considerable time and improve traffic safety.