Front washers dont always work

[Clio2053]

I picked up a 182 ff last week and it seems the front washers dont wanna work, i here the pump and see the washer fluid come out the rear washer but nothing out the front washer and the front wipers still move as they should. When i use the rear washers the rear washer works fine and also wipes too

Does that happen to be some sort of by pass valve that mayve gotten blocked stopping the washer fluid to the front washers.

I have had the front washers working but only when its been raining heavy so not sure y they worked then🤷‍♂️ but didnt work before or after in the dry

 

[hopgop1]

I could be wrong, but I believe 1 pump does both front and back, other pump does the headlight washers, so if fluid comes from the back when you do the front it's probably the pump itself not switching properly. Had it on my old 1.2.

 

[Clio2053]

I could be wrong, but I believe 1 pump does both front and back, other pump does the headlight washers, so if fluid comes from the back when you do the front it's probably the pump itself not switching properly. Had it on my old 1.2.

Ahh okay that could make sense, the pressure coming out of it seems slightly low but nothing that id call bad
Any ideas if both the pumps are the same?

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Sounds like the pumps knackered.
I fitted one of these not long ago and it's been spot on. Also check there are no kinks anywhere, especially where the tube comes from the pump itself into the bonnet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068M0ZTK/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[Clio2053]

Sounds like the pumps knackered.
I fitted one of these not long ago and it's been spot on. Also check there are no kinks anywhere, especially where the tube comes from the pump itself into the bonnet.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068M0ZTK/?tag=cliospnet01-21

Thank u ill probably get one of these ordered, from what i can see theres 2 pumps and the one on the left doesnt appear to make any noise but i do have my headlight washers blanked off, would that one be for the headlight washers?

 

[hopgop1]

Thank u ill probably get one of these ordered, from what i can see theres 2 pumps and the one on the left doesnt appear to make any noise but i do have my headlight washers blanked off, would that one be for the headlight washers?

Should be, I believe both pumps are the same so you could swap them over if the other was working.

 

[Clio2053]

Should be, I believe both pumps are the same so you could swap them over if the other was working.

Ill experiment and find out, r the pumps clipped in do u know?

 

[hopgop1]

Ill experiment and find out, r the pumps clipped in do u know?

Can't help with that, can't imagine they're hard to get out of the washer bottle.

 

[Clio2053]

Can't help with that, can't imagine they're hard to get out of the washer bottle.

Thats alright, ill order parts cause id rather not do the job twice, give it ago and hopefully nothing breaks haha

 

[Darren S]

Thank u ill probably get one of these ordered, from what i can see theres 2 pumps and the one on the left doesnt appear to make any noise but i do have my headlight washers blanked off, would that one be for the headlight washers?

You're not missing anything by having blanking plates on the headlight washers - other than a constant dribble and a pool of washer fluid under your front bumper.

Disconnected mine on the 182 years ago.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Thank u ill probably get one of these ordered, from what i can see theres 2 pumps and the one on the left doesnt appear to make any noise but i do have my headlight washers blanked off, would that one be for the headlight washers?

To be honest my headlight washers haven't worked for ages and I'm not bothered. If I remember correctly, the pump on the right is for the screen washer jets so maybe the rear screen too as its a two way pump.
They're a bit fiddly to get out.
You have to remove the windscreen wipers to remove the passenger side scuttle panel. If they've never been taken off before you'll probably struggle. You'll need to soak the splines in a bit of WD40. It also helps if you have some kind of puller tool. I have one similar to this one from Halfords.
Also if you lift the passenger side wiper arm slightly as you use the tool it'll come off a lot easier cos it takes the tension off the spring. You'll see what I mean when you do it.
Then you have to undo the bolts that hold the wiper mechanism and motor to give you better access to the pump. Then you just pull the pump out of the washer bottle. It's just held in by a rubber grommet. Fitting is just the reversal. Push the new pump into the grommet. It sounds like a bit of a faff but it's not too bad. There just isn't a lot of room to get the pump out.

Laser Wiper Arm Removal Tool | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Laser Wiper Arm Removal Tool is the perfect way to remove your wiper arm/windscreen at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

 

[Clio2053]

To be honest my headlight washers haven't worked for ages and I'm not bothered. If I remember correctly, the pump on the right is for the screen washer jets so maybe the rear screen too as its a two way pump.
They're a bit fiddly to get out.
You have to remove the windscreen wipers to remove the passenger side scuttle panel. If they've never been taken off before you'll probably struggle. You'll need to soak the splines in a bit of WD40. It also helps if you have some kind of puller tool. I have one similar to this one from Halfords.
Also if you lift the passenger side wiper arm slightly as you use the tool it'll come off a lot easier cos it takes the tension off the spring. You'll see what I mean when you do it.
Then you have to undo the bolts that hold the wiper mechanism and motor to give you better access to the pump. Then you just pull the pump out of the washer bottle. It's just held in by a rubber grommet. Fitting is just the reversal. Push the new pump into the grommet. It sounds like a bit of a faff but it's not too bad. There just isn't a lot of room to get the pump out.

Laser Wiper Arm Removal Tool | Halfords UK

Shop the latest The Laser Wiper Arm Removal Tool is the perfect way to remove your wiper arm/windscreen at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

As its just in by a rubber gromit could it be possible to remove it by lifting the scuttle and not remove the wipers

 

[Darren S]

As its just in by a rubber gromit could it be possible to remove it by lifting the scuttle and not remove the wipers

If the 1.2 version is just as cluttered as the 182 - you won't be able to unfortunately. It will require the wiper mechanism to come out.

As @MRBILLYUK says - it might seem daunting at first, but it really is pretty straight-forward. Removing all that mechanism helps you to clear the area of any debris too - like accumulated leaves or twigs that can bung up the drainage holes.

Just when you refit the wiper mechanism - there's a bulkhead lug that it has to line up with. The wipers will work without being placed in situ - but they will be out of line and make a fair amount of noise too.

 

[Clio2053]

If the 1.2 version is just as cluttered as the 182 - you won't be able to unfortunately. It will require the wiper mechanism to come out.

As @MRBILLYUK says - it might seem daunting at first, but it really is pretty straight-forward. Removing all that mechanism helps you to clear the area of any debris too - like accumulated leaves or twigs that can bung up the drainage holes.

Just when you refit the wiper mechanism - there's a bulkhead lug that it has to line up with. The wipers will work without being placed in situ - but they will be out of line and make a fair amount of noise too.

Okay great! thanks for that
Should be fairly easy but id guess awkward then

 

[fakeConcern]

I fixed the one on my daughters as shown in this video. The hardest thing was getting the wiper arms off even using a ball joint splitter!

 

[Martin_172]

if you're getting a dribble, pull the rubber hose off the washer jets under neath the bonnet and run the pump and see what the flow is like. If you get nice even flow it's the washer jets that are blocked, if you get uneven flow from one pipe, it's that pipe that's blocked and they will usually flush themself out with running the pipe for a minute with some warm water in the bottle, failing that an air line, if that doesn't work, pump replacement required

 

[Clio2053]

if you're getting a dribble, pull the rubber hose off the washer jets under neath the bonnet and run the pump and see what the flow is like. If you get nice even flow it's the washer jets that are blocked, if you get uneven flow from one pipe, it's that pipe that's blocked and they will usually flush themself out with running the pipe for a minute with some warm water in the bottle, failing that an air line, if that doesn't work, pump replacement requirei pulled off the front washer hose from the bonnet and nothing came out however this morning when its cold and wet the front washers worked but in the dry they do not

 

[Clio2053]

In the cold and wet they work but in the dry they dont seem to, when i disconnected the washer hose from the bonnet the other night nothing came out but this morning (see video) the front washers worked but this usually happens when cold and wet outside

 

[Martin_172]

that's got me stumped!!! There isn't much to the system so in that case id just stick a pump on it they are usually only a few quid and take less than 5 minutes to swap

 

[MRBILLYUK]

As its just in by a rubber gromit could it be possible to remove it by lifting the scuttle and not remove the wipers

No. You have to remove the scuttle panel therefore the windscreen wipers. The more room you can make the better.
Like @Darren S said. Make sure you relocate the wiper mechanism back onto the little metal pin in the middle just under the windscreen.

 

[Clio2053]

Thought id post this video incase anyones wondering whats happening and when its fixed ill post the solution

 

[TheBandit]

I fixed the one on my daughters as shown in this video. The hardest thing was getting the wiper arms off even using a ball joint splitter!

Fixed mine doing exactly this

 

[Clio2053]

Right so just a quick update
I have replaced the washer pump this weekend and all is working good now after testing it many times just to make sure it was fixed so thank u for everyone whos helped!

 

[MRBILLYUK]

Right so just a quick update
I have replaced the washer pump this weekend and all is working good now after testing it many times just to make sure it was fixed so thank u for everyone whos helped!

I'm glad you got it sorted 👍