Washer pump

Here's one, My windshield washer pump isnt working at all so I checked the voltage with a meter at the conector that plugs in the pump and I get 11-12V when I push the fluid switch. Then I take the pump out and bench test it with 8-11V from a power supply I have and it works fine. I checked the connector and Im 100% positive that the leads are making a connection to the pump but it still doesnt work. I think that some how it is dropping the voltage when power is suplied and it detects a load, anyone know why this is happening?

thanks, Chris

Reply to
Chris C.
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When you say it isn't working at all, do you mean you can't hear any motor whine?

Mine quit working but the pump motor was working. The plastic gear was stripped which meant no water flow, but everything was OK electrically.

So, if you have the same problem, you should hear a motor whine when you try to wash the windshield.

Reply to
Tommy Wood

Sure. You have a poor connection in the circuit to the pump. The reason why you still see voltage at the pump terminals with the pump disconnected, is that the resistance of your voltmeter is practically infinite compared to the resistance of that poor connection. Get the wiring schematic from the factory manual, the one that shows the connector locations, and test for voltage drop at each connector along the way until you find the bad connector or wiring segment. In order to do this, you can either just plug in the pump itself or a test light that presents some load to the circuit, so the bad connection will drop some voltage. With no load, there will be no drop across the bad connection.

Reply to
Mark Olson

Thanks I tested it again using a 12v L.E.D.as a load and the voltage across the wire pair was 1 and a half volts. Is this a correct voltage on a small load like an LED?

Reply to
Chris C.

No. The voltage should still be 12v nominal. The LED isn't anywhere enough of a load to drop the voltage. A Voltmeter will read the voltage regardless of a load; it will read it with no load. If you only have 1.5v, you've got a break in the circuit to the wiper.

Bill Funk Change "g" to "a"

Reply to
Big Bill

It only reads 1.5V when there is a load, when there isnt I get 11.4V-11.8V chris

Reply to
Chris C.

So.... what is it that we're working on..... different years get different goodies.

Reply to
Jim Warman

If the load is an LED, it shouldn't drop the voltage from 11+v to

1.5v. The LED just isn't that big a load ; only milliamps. The voltage should read over 12v; the 11.4v says there's a problem either with the battery or the wiring. Or, you're not checking the voltage right.

Bill Funk Change "g" to "a"

Reply to
Big Bill

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