2015 XC60 Washer pump issue

[Tannaton]

Oh dear my 15-plate XC60 with 130k has soiled its reliability record... the washers have given up. I did notice they seemed weaker recently, now it's a trickle or nothing at all for both front and rear washers. The tank isn't empty, I've refilled it and still the same.

So I'm guessing the pump has failed (what's the betting it's a Ford part?) or a blockage. It's not leaking water anywhere so I don't think it's a perished pipe.

I don't have VIDA access at the moment so if anyone could spare 5 mins to let me know the best method of accessing the reservoir and removing the pump - I would be grateful.

I'm guessing it's in the front of the n/s wheel arch so wheel off and wheel arch liner out?

Thanks in advance...

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Oh dear my 15-plate XC60 with 130k has soiled its reliability record... the washers have given up. I did notice they seemed weaker recently, now it's a trickle or nothing at all for both front and rear washers. The tank isn't empty, I've refilled it and still the same.

So I'm guessing the pump has failed (what's the betting it's a Ford part?) or a blockage. It's not leaking water anywhere so I don't think it's a perished pipe.

I don't have VIDA access at the moment so if anyone could spare 5 mins to let me know the best method of accessing the reservoir and removing the pump - I would be grateful.

I'm guessing it's in the front of the n/s wheel arch so wheel off and wheel arch liner out?

Thanks in advance...

does the pump sound normal ? Probably the T valve by the jets blocked , pull the rubber pipe off and see how strong the flow is ... Volvo wash fluid does not block jets and prevents Bacteria growth in the system .

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Clan

does the pump sound normal ? Probably the T valve by the jets blocked , pull the rubber pipe off and see how strong the flow is ... Volvo wash fluid does not block jets and prevents Bacteria growth in the system .

Thanks Clan I'll check that out - but it's both the front and rears not working.

You make a valid point, most washer bottles on cars 5+ years old are full of slime and mould - Tesco washer fluid seems to do this whilst in storage after being diluted.

I'm half expecting to find some slime dislodged and blocking a filter or something like that.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Thanks Clan I'll check that out - but it's both the front and rears not working.

You make a valid point, most washer bottles on cars 5+ years old are full of slime and mould - Tesco washer fluid seems to do this whilst in storage after being diluted.

I'm half expecting to find some slime dislodged and blocking a filter or something like that.

The pump has an intake filter gauze on the end , I have seen them slimed up . Is the pump whirring normally?

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Oh dear my 15-plate XC60 with 130k has soiled its reliability record... the washers have given up. I did notice they seemed weaker recently, now it's a trickle or nothing at all for both front and rear washers. The tank isn't empty, I've refilled it and still the same.

So I'm guessing the pump has failed (what's the betting it's a Ford part?) or a blockage. It's not leaking water anywhere so I don't think it's a perished pipe.

I don't have VIDA access at the moment so if anyone could spare 5 mins to let me know the best method of accessing the reservoir and removing the pump - I would be grateful.

I'm guessing it's in the front of the n/s wheel arch so wheel off and wheel arch liner out?

Thanks in advance...

Yes, remove the wheel & wheel arch liner on the nearside of the car.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Clan

The pump has an intake filter gauze on the end , I have seen them slimed up . Is the pump whirring normally?

Yes it sounds okay... just very low or no flow.

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Yes it sounds okay... just very low or no flow.

Tannaton, did you ever find the problem? My windscreen washers have become noticeably weaker recently (rear seems fine) and I probably need to investigate before they fail!

[AndyJudge]

Originally Posted by Zebster

Tannaton, did you ever find the problem? My windscreen washers have become noticeably weaker recently (rear seems fine) and I probably need to investigate before they fail!

I'd stick some milton fluid in the tank to get rid of any slime. Maybe worth disconnecting the pipes from the washers & draining it into a bucket as not sure how paint friendly Milton fluid is.

[Zebster]

Well I've been out for a look and found that both T-piece connectors were loose on the washer nozzle units (so the one in the centre plus the one on the passenger side). Easy fix, although I was careless at first and broke the fixing catch on the body of the centre nozzle unit (they need supporting when you push the connection back on!!!). But nothing a cable tie couldn't fix and all is good now. I can't imagine why they came loose.

I doubted that it was a blockage as it's only ever used the Volvo stuff they put in at service time. I also 'rodded out' all 6 individual nozzles using a fine needle and interestingly (?) the nozzle nearest the driver side on each nozzle unit is a smaller diameter than it's pair. Why?

[Tannaton]

Yes I did resolve it....

I removed the n/s front wheel and then the fixings on the front half of the wheel arch liner so I could peel it back to access the washer fluid reservoir.

The pump that services the front and rear windscreen is in the middle of the bottle and simply pulls out - there's a spigot that fits in the bottle with a seal around it.

The problem was slime clogging the gauze filter in the pump, so I removed the pump and washed it in the sink and blew the filter out with an air gun.

I then poured around 3 gallons of hand-warm, slightly soapy water into the filler neck of the washer bottle with the pump still removed so it trickled out and with it came an alarming amount of sludge and slime.

Refitted and all has been well since - but I do plan to remove the bottle completely in the near future and properly clean it out. The above was a quick rush job whilst I was changing my discs and pads.

Moral of the story - unless you are up for and capable of these sorts of jobs - don't use supermarket washer fluid, it will cost you a lot more in the long run...

Was quite reassured than on a 130k car it was a maintenance issue rather than component failure - I was expecting (pessimistically) to have to replace a Ford part...