• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Windshield Washer Pump not working

Wien_Sean

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Mar 22, 2003
Messages
1,507
Location
Chicago, IL
For the past month the windshield washer pump has not worked on my SVT. Originally I thought this was because the washer fluid was frozen but I have since realized that the pump isn't even making a sounds. I have looked for a fuse but I can't find one for this pump. Is there a fuse for this? How do I go about troubleshooting this?
 
pull the connector to the pump and apply 12 volts to it and see if it works. if it doesn't then i would take that as the pump died. if it does work then there is a wiring issue, or a fuse, etc.


there have been cases where the pump will split in half and fail.
 
Normally the pump is connected to the bottom of the reservoir. You just pop the old one out and plug the new one in.
 
Ok so it's flippin cold and snowy outside, so I don't want to spend tons of time on this, so I want to sure about how to get at this the first time I try. Can I do this from the top of the engine bay or do I need to go at this from the bottom? All I remember is the fill tube with the cap on the top, how do I get the whole reservoir out? Bolt or does it just click into place?
 
The pump is on the passenger side of the car. It is directly in front of the wheel. It is a simple fix. I replaced mine yesterday. $14 @ autozone. Pull the connector and wires, then put the new one in. The only issue I had is that the system took about 3 minutes to work because of being empty.
 
Ok so it's flippin cold and snowy outside, so I don't want to spend tons of time on this, so I want to sure about how to get at this the first time I try. Can I do this from the top of the engine bay or do I need to go at this from the bottom? All I remember is the fill tube with the cap on the top, how do I get the whole reservoir out? Bolt or does it just click into place?

u should be able to figure it out when looking at the reservoir. it slides in n out vertically, perpendicular to the strut mount. to replace the pump, jack the passenger side up. right in front of the tire as brought out b4, is the pump.
 
Print and mark off as you go:

Jack passenger side car up with jack (not daniels).
Either remove front wheel or turn wheels to the left.
Remove inner - fender (I believe torx screws or phillips)
Behold inside the bumper, your washer jug held on by 3 - 10mm hex bolts.

*Last step only needed if replacing whole jug.*
NOTE TO SELF: After completion, go get De-Icer = -34 protect!

Mine was all messed up from frozen stuff and a ice pick, and hair dryer....LONG STORY!
 
Ok when I get a chance to borrow someone's garage I will take a hack at it. It's -9 right now so I will make due without it. Mine was empty but I could here. Once I put some of the orange de-icer stuff in it stopped working, or some it would seem. I didn't really use it until it got really cold and started snowing a lot. Plus the nozzles are all messed up, but that I will fix when I get to the JY. The thing that sucks is the tank is full of de-icer windshield washer fluid.

Thanks guys!
 
Something you might check is the rubber lines connecting the pump all the way to the nozels. Sometimes they like to break or crack and leak fluid everywhere.
 
I dealt with the same symptoms earlier this winter. Couldn't hear the pump. Close inspection of the bottom of the reservoir led me to the fact that it was frozen. Regular blue fluid, but the bottom inch or so was white. PO must have used water as I just purchased the car this fall. After 5-10 minutes with a hair dryer on the pump area, I purged the water by pulling the line off the pump. Then, since water had gotten in the lines, I slowly traced the lines with the hair dryer. I ran the pump until I could smell the alcohol on the windshield and haven't iced up since.
 
we had a woman in the shop tonight telling us that the washers on her civic completely stopped working and she'll pay whatever is needed to get it fixed. i poured a gallon of washer fluid in her washer reservoir and sent her on her way :laugh:
 
It is a simple fix. I replaced mine yesterday. $14 @ autozone. Pull the connector and wires, then put the new one in.
Did your new motor have the connector plug, or +/- wires you had to hardwire?
Both the one I bought in Autozone in 2004, and the one I bought at NAPA this week, have straight wires.
It's been too cold to work on the car so I haven't done it yet. The lines are completely frozen, and my washer nozzles are also stopped up.
 
For everyone who is telling others to jack it up and remove all this stuff, get a piece of cardboard and lay on it. You can reach the pump. Disconnect the connector and pull the pump out. Also to save fluid, put down a container. That way you can reuse it. It is an extremely easy fix that can be done very quickly. Save yourself a bunch of hassle and do it the way I just did.
 
For anyone that is searching for a resolution to this problem, it got warm enough for the pump to thaw and begin working again.

Does anyone know of anyway to prevent this kind of thing? I have the orange fluid (good till about -20) in there. I don't remember this happening with my 95 SE and it doesn't happen that much with my mom's 99 SE.
 
I'd be willing to bet the stuff that froze wasnt the -20 degree stuff. It may have been the regular blue or even water.
 
I was totally out when put the orange stuff in. I used it once and then it didn't work the next day. When I used the washer last it was the orange stuff. It was pretty darn cold up until last week.
 
For anyone that is searching for a resolution to this problem, it got warm enough for the pump to thaw and begin working again.

Does anyone know of anyway to prevent this kind of thing? I have the orange fluid (good till about -20) in there. I don't remember this happening with my 95 SE and it doesn't happen that much with my mom's 99 SE.
thats kind what I thought was the problem:rolleyes:/// try dry gas
 
Back
Top