windshield washer trouble

[rboat88h]

Hi, new to the forum. I searched through the forums and found some similar threads, but nothing to help completely. I have a 97 pathfinder and the front and rear windshield washer were working just last week. Today the front and rear will not work. I do not even hear the pump(s) running. I filled the reservoir just to be sure and still nothing. Since I assume there is a separate pump for front and rear and I know they are on different switches I do not think both switches or pumps would fail at the same time. I checked all the fuses I could find and they all look good.

Is there a common fuse or relay that connect both pumps? If one pump dies, will the other not work? I am totally at a loss. If anyone has any other information please let me know. Thank You.

P.S. I live in the deep south so it is not a frozen ice problem.

[Slartibartfast]

Looks like the two pumps are on different fuses (at least in the '03 manual I've got on my hard drive), so a bad fuse taking both of them out is unlikely. The pumps ground through the switches, but the switches ground to the same places, so if those grounds are bad, that could explain why both washers have failed. Do your wipers still work?

 

My first check would be the pumps themselves, if you can get to them easily. A couple alligator leads (or wire scraps if you don't have gator leads) to the battery should be enough to tell you if the pumps work. If the pumps check out, check the wiring going to them for any obvious damage. You can also check the wiring with a meter to narrow down which wire(s) are bad. Looks like, for both pumps, one pin in the plug should have 12v to ground when the key is on, and the other should supply ground when the wiper switch is activated. Knowing which isn't doing its job could tell you which side of the circuit to look into.

 

If you don't find something obvious, download the service manual for your year and look in the EL section for the wiper/washer diagrams.

[rboat88h]

Thank you for the info Slartibartfast. The wipers do work, so it must be the wiring. I will start checking it. Electrical auto problems can drive you crazy. thanks again!

[Mrelcocko]

Thank you for the info Slartibartfast. The wipers do work, so it must be the wiring. I will start checking it. Electrical auto problems can drive you crazy. thanks again!

Just like Slartibartfast said check the fsm manual for your model year and go through the steps. I had a similar problem come to find out my washer amp was bad. The amp controls intermittent and washer fuctions.

 

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