zen + the art of windshield wiper fluid troubleshooting

[landcruiser3DP]

i tested my motor with a 12V battery and sure enough it works. previously i disconnected the diverter and the rear wiper hose and ran a straight connector to the front wiper hose and it did not work.

then i blew through the HOSE that runs from the diverter to the tank and i could hear bubbles.

now that i can hear the motor running out of the vehicle i tried blowing through the other hoses and here are the results:

1. hose to the tank works (actually there appears to be a one way valve in the hose at the tank so you can only - well i don’t know but eheee appears to be some kind of one way valve in this hose).

2. hose to the rear wiper does not seem to be clear.

>3. the circuit to the NOZZLES does NOT seem to be clear. if i blow into the hose that connects to the diverter you cannot do this. i CAN blow through the hose if i disconnect it from the white ninety degree connector inside the hood but if it is connected to the ninety degree connector it seems blocked.

i /have/ actually dropped the sprayers in an ultrasonic cleanser as long as i hade them out.

any ideas on where to go from here?

tie some string to the hose under the hood and pull s*** out after disconnecting the sprayers and see if one of the hoses are blocked?

only other thing i can think of is that there is a fuse that blew or that the mechanism at the stalk has corroded contacts or something? or a wire in the harness is busted?

thanks for any help with this. (advance apologies if you saw this cross posted elsewhere).

 

[landcruiser3DP]

pics

 

[landcruiser3DP]

so no valve exactly on the line to the reservoir.
but it looks like at the reservoir for the washer fluid there is a hose connector with a fatter side and a butt end at the connection instead of the sloped end.
since the short piece of tube that connects to the motor is actually fatter it seems like this fat end points towards the reservoir. seems like this is what i was feeling and i have to guess it is a way to keep the pressure on the nozzle side of the system so it doesn’t want to get forced back into the reservoir.
a little weedy but may be of interest to someone putting things back together...
oh, and here are the nozzles soaking in vinegar...

 

[landcruiser3DP]

so since the motor checked out on the bench i stuck the two probes into the female end of the harness.
basically zero volts on the MM at On position and roughly twelve volts when i press the end of the stalk and when i rotate the rear wiper to fluid on. so this means power is also getting to the harness.
so then i got to thinking about the contact and bent the tangs in a little and used dielectric grease.
then plugged it into the EMPTY reservoir and you could hear it run with both knob settings clear as day.
front washers work nor and working in rear.
i cleaned the nozzles in vinegar but short of cleaning out done debris i am assuming it was the harness.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

now just need to get the rear wiper fluid working. anyone know the order of hookup for the diverter?

 

[cahill]

Nice post. Sorry I can't help with the order of hookup for the diverter other than to give this a bump.

 

[Rifleman]

so since the motor checked out on the bench i stuck the two probes into the female end of the harness.
basically zero volts on the MM at On position and roughly twelve volts when i press the end of the stalk and when i rotate the rear wiper to fluid on. so this means power is also getting to the harness.
so then i got to thinking about the contact and bent the tangs in a little and used dielectric grease.
then plugged it into the EMPTY reservoir and you could hear it run with both knob settings clear as day.

Just as an FYI, Dielectric grease is quite advantageous when used correctly. Because dielectric grease is non-conductive, if applied incorrectly it may prevent a conductor from working at all. So if you don't properly clean the conductor’s contact points after applying dielectric grease, current will not pass through them.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Just as an FYI, Dielectric grease is quite advantageous when used correctly. Because dielectric grease is non-conductive, if applied incorrectly it may prevent a conductor from working at all. So if you don't properly clean the conductor’s contact points after applying dielectric grease, current will not pass through them.

interesting. thanks rifleman. i now suspect i use it wrong and might have to research this a little more.
can you help with a little more on proper use? this makes it sound like it should be used only as a cleaner somehow? i’m not quite following.
also the fact that it may be not conductive is a bit of a head spinner i must admit.
THANKS

 

[landcruiser3DP]

so on the hose order i am hearing side port for the reservoir and top or bottom for front or back.
more experimenting i guess.
also while i am trying to get the rear washer working it was suggested to pull the wiper blade away from the window. this was a great idea because the scraping of that thing was making me a little crazy...

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Just as an FYI, Dielectric grease is quite advantageous when used correctly. Because dielectric grease is non-conductive, if applied incorrectly it may prevent a conductor from working at all. So if you don't properly clean the conductor’s contact points after applying dielectric grease, current will not pass through them.

hey man. took me a minute here. but dielectric grease has to be conductive doesn’t it? i mean i think it says so in the name somehow. yes?

 

[Tools R Us]

hey man. took me a minute here. but dielectric grease has to be conductive doesn’t it? i mean i think it says so in the name somehow. yes?

View attachment 1993386

View attachment 1993387

It's non-conductive.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

It's non-conductive.

dang. i misread it here. so help me. it says “high /thermal/ conductivity”.
so it transfers heat? but it is not electrically conductive?
can you or @Rifleman explain proper use? i guess i’m not sure i get this...

 

[Rifleman]

You should consider dielectric grease like a liquid insulator. Electrical connections used on our trucks are susceptible to the chemicals and moisture in their environments. Dielectric grease is used to keep that moisture out of those connectors to prevent corrosion.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

You should consider dielectric grease like a liquid insulator. Electrical connections used on our trucks are susceptible to the chemicals and moisture in their environments. Dielectric grease is used to keep that moisture out of those connectors to prevent corrosion.

ok. nice. thanks.
so can i ask so how it is supposed to be applied then? until it was pointed out i always thought it was an electrical conductor and helped with electrical conduction.
but i also have heard that it is a bad idea to smear too much in because it could somehow - well i has thought too much could create additional conductivity that shouldn’t be there.
but if it basically seals - do you coat the whole interior of the connector or how do you apply it exactly...?

 

[shocktower]

I use Dexoit for cleaning the plugs, and something a friend told me once never use the cheap Blue washer fluid, it kills pumps and diverters, so get rid of the blue stuff, the Rain X orange is pretty good ,and get Deoxit and spray all of you plugs giving you problems

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I use Dexoit for cleaning the plugs, and something a friend told me once never use the cheap Blue washer fluid, it kills pumps and diverters, so get rid of the blue stuff, the Rain X orange is pretty good ,and get Deoxit and spray all of you plugs giving you problems

yeah. i’ve got deoxit paste i think. i guess you just take a qtip and clean with the paste.

 

[shocktower]

yeah. i’ve got deoxit paste i think. i guess you just take a qtip and clean with the paste.

Get a spray can you,ll never do as good with just the tip

 

[Rifleman]

ok. nice. thanks.
so can i ask so how it is supposed to be applied then? until it was pointed out i always thought it was an electrical conductor and helped with electrical conduction.
but i also have heard that it is a bad idea to smear too much in because it could somehow - well i has thought too much could create additional conductivity that shouldn’t be there.
but if it basically seals - do you coat the whole interior of the connector or how do you apply it exactly...?

I use a Q tip to lightly coat the male, and female surfaces of electrical connectors where they contact each other. The idea here, is to use just enough grease to make a physical barrier that prevents any water from getting inside the connector. Another use for this grease is to keep your spark plug rubber boots from sticking fast to the spark plug. Just use a Q tip to lightly apply some of the grease to the inside of the rubber boot and a LITTLE to the porcelain body of the spark plug. The next time you go to remove your plug wires, they'll just slide right off with ease.

 

[Somebodyelse5]

love the title, sub'd because I need to do this

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I use a Q tip to lightly coat the male, and female surfaces of electrical connectors where they contact each other. The idea here, is to use just enough grease to make a physical barrier that prevents any water from getting inside the connector. Another use for this grease is to keep your spark plug rubber boots from sticking fast to the spark plug. Just use a Q tip to lightly apply some of the grease to the inside of the rubber boot and a LITTLE to the porcelain body of the spark plug. The next time you go to remove your plug wires, they'll just slide right off with ease.

thanks a lot for all that rifleman. appreciate it...