Washer Jets Wont Work - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Flat_Six · 12-04-2010, 05:14 AM

afternoon all,

I noticed a couple of weeks back that the washer jets wern't working so i decided to have a look....

I put a pin into the jets to see if they were clogged, topped (quite a significant amount) the water up and tried again.......but nothing.

I can hear the pump working but im getting nothing out of the jets

Anybody had a similar problem?

(I don't think its because they have frozen because it was quite warm a few weeks back when i last tried.)

many thanks,

Lee

extanker · 12-04-2010, 06:29 AM

rare that 2 would clog at the same time,i would back track to the source [where ever they hide the pump]

coreseller · 12-04-2010, 06:32 AM

Is there any fluid leaking / dripping out from underneath the car? There is a hose that attaches to either the pump or fluid tank (I forget which) that slips off of the nipple sometimes, on US cars it is located behind the driver's side wheelwell. One of your countrymen had a similar issue:

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22994&highlight=washer+fluid

Flat_Six · 12-04-2010, 07:02 AM

thanks for both of your replies, i shall investigate the hosing tommorrow.

After just paying out £650 to be told i have a 'bespoke fault' (long story) i really dont want to pay anymore money out right now

p.s I havent noticed any fluid leaking from the car, but we have had so much rain and now snow in England over the last few weeks, i doubt id be able to tell.

many thanks,

Lee

Flat_Six · 12-08-2010, 04:18 AM

okay just an update on this problem.....

Took off part of the wheel liner which uncovers a long black plastic casing (is this the washer fluid bottle?), checked along the tank and there is a hose which is tucked into the side going from the bottom of the bottle into something else???

The hose was on fine and there is no leaking from either the tank or to wherever the hose goes to when i activate the washer jets via the steering wheel stalk.

So im a little bit stuck now

anybody have any ideas?

JTP · 12-08-2010, 04:36 AM

Did you always use washer fluid and not just water? I've seen washer fluid hose get clogged with mold due to using water only.

Unrelated to your situation but this reminds me of when I first bought a 914 and couldn't get the washer to work then realized the spare tire powered it. Genius Porsche design.

Flat_Six · 12-08-2010, 04:45 AM

only had the car 10 months so not sure, but my next step is to take the short hose off the tank.....i am looking at the right thing arent i??? because there is something else just below it that is hidden behind a black plastic casing with bolts attached and there is blue and black piping coming out of it???

The spare tire powered the washer??? ive heard it all now lol

many thanks,

Lee

Flat_Six · 12-08-2010, 05:39 AM

Mystery solved.....

Just pulled the hose off and found that its nothing but ice inside. Obviously the mixture thats been put into the washer bottle has been far too weak and its all turned to ice.

Guess i will just have to wait until it thaws out.

extanker · 12-08-2010, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flat_Six

only had the car 10 months so not sure, but my next step is to take the short hose off the tank.....i am looking at the right thing arent i??? because there is something else just below it that is hidden behind a black plastic casing with bolts attached and there is blue and black piping coming out of it???

The spare tire powered the washer??? ive heard it all now lol

many thanks,

Lee

you never knew about the spare tire thing ????....@%$#^ young people

Flat_Six · 12-08-2010, 07:42 AM

After inspecting further, it seems that everything has turned to ice, from the filler cap down.

The problem i have now is that at the moment in this lovely country the temperature isn't rising above -2c, so even if i pour hot water down through the filler and into the tank, the water will eventually freeze again.

I was just wondering if anybody knows a way of flushing the washer so that there is no water in the tank, so that i can start again with a stronger mix of washer fluid so that it dosent freeze everything.

many thanks,

Lee

coolbreeze551 · 12-08-2010, 07:52 AM

If you can try and park the car in a heated car park for a few hours so that the ice has time to melt and then fill the washer tank up with windsheild washer fluid (the anti freeze kind) and hold that down for about 20-30 seconds to work out any ice that is still left in the system. It's worth a shot and wouldn't take long

JTP · 12-08-2010, 08:07 AM

Take a hair dryer and warm up the lines. Then refill with de-icing washer fluid.

Flat_Six · 12-10-2010, 04:39 AM

well......

All lines and everything has now melted, i took the pipe off the nipple behind the wheel liner and bleed the system so it was empty. I then put at least 4 litres (a gallon) of antifreeze/washer mix into the tank, then tried the washer jets for a while and still nothing comming through

Does anybody have a diagram of how the washer system works? just so that i can try and eliminate the problem.

The washer tank hasnt cracked or split because there isnt a leak, the hose from the tank to the nipple hasnt cracked because it isnt leaking, and it isnt blocked because i bled the system through the hose.

So i dont know where else to look now???

Lee

rlbccb · 12-10-2010, 04:48 AM

Auto Atlanta has an interactive Parts diagram on their WEB site for the Boxster. I just looked and they do show the Windscreen washer system and all of the parts and parts numbers (they sell Porsche parts). I am not affiliated with them in any way, here is the link.

http://www.********************************************.com/porsche-parts/986-97-04/porsche_boxster_parts.php

Good luck

Flat_Six · 12-10-2010, 04:58 AM

cheers for the link, but i cant find where abouts the windscreen washer system is on that site? what sub-section does it come under?

thanks

rlbccb · 12-10-2010, 05:02 AM

The diagram is under electrical; 4th row down 3rd column over. Hover your mouse over the block and an inset will pop up. If you want to see a part number, look at the corresponding number then left click with your mouse and a parts list will appear corresponding to the number you just looked at.

Flat_Six · 12-10-2010, 05:06 AM

thanks alot rlbccb, thats really helped me out

looks like ive got quite a bit to look at now lol, i remember on the Z3 i had before that the T-piece that filters the liquid through was blocked.....maybe the same things happened on the boxster

thanks once again buddy.

Lee

rlbccb · 12-10-2010, 05:11 AM

Happy to help, gave me a reason to finally post on the site. Instead of lurking

Flat_Six · 12-10-2010, 06:20 AM

finally my washer jets work

after taking off the batery cover to show the T-piece that connects the two hoses from the jets, i disconnected the T-piece.

Seems that the T-piece filter was blocked as i blasted it with hot water and all holes were flowing freely. I then re-connected the T-piece to all three hoses and hey presto the jets worked again

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic and if anybody else finds their washer jets dont work then its a great idea to follow the parts diagram which rlbccb has posted below.

many thanks,

Lee

AutoAtlanta · 12-21-2010, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flat_Six

Thanks for everyone's input on this topic and if anybody else finds their washer jets dont work then its a great idea to follow the parts diagram which rlbccb has posted below.

many thanks,

Lee

YES ,if you are unfamiliar with your 986/987 try to use our parts diagram available for free at out site.

Click SHOP HARD PARTS http://www.********************************************.com/porsche-parts/boxster.php