The rear window washer on my coupe is not working. I can hear the pump whirring away, but nothing comes out the back. Yes, there is fluid.

Has anyone else had this problem and could share their fix?

 

Walt,
If you do a search on this forum, you'll find everything you need to know. This is a common problem with simple solutions.

 

The tiny hole is plugged in the plastic cover. Take the cover off the arm and clean out the tiny hole with something small/crompressed air.

Run the squirter while the cover is off, to verify operation and also clean out any other debris in the line.

 

I took the interior panel off the rear hatch. I disconnected the rubber tube from where it connects up onto the motor (its a 90deg angle connector on the back of the motor housing). On the outside, I flipped open the cover on the wiper arm.

I tried blowing some air thru there, but it seems to be very clogged. I tried sticking a thin, but stiff, wire into there from the outside, but it only gets about 1" before it stops dead.

Does anyone know if the water pathway (I don't know what else to call it) thru the motor assembly shaft is suppose to be completely open? I mean, there isn't something that is suppose to be in there, like a fluid heater?

If it is indeed suppose to be open to allow a free flow of fluid, then there is certainly something major stuck in mine.

 

Sand, dust, and road grime gets stuck in it...try using a pin, and Maybe some compressed air, or wd-40 to blow it out....since you opened it up, I'd try to blow it out from the back...mybe use the pin from the outside to loosen the gunk first...
You do have good flow from the hose you unplugged from the back of the assembly right?

 

Yes, very good flow.

Compressed air doesn't free the clog, nor does using a probe. Not even close. As far as I can tell, its a pretty solid and hard clog. If I do anything else, it would be to "drill" it out, but I don't want to do that if what's in there, is suppose to be in there (like I mentioned, a heating element).

 

There is a non-return valve in there, the part # is 61-68-8-229-249. It looks like a small button. I replaced that valve and the wiper arm cover with the washer hole. The wiper arm cover has a VERY small "O" Ring that must seat properly and tightly.

One other thing that I did was after I removed the check valve, I blew some low pressure compressed air back up the line to the reservior. I figured that if there were any contaminates in the line, that would get rid of them.

About $12. worth of parts and 30 minutes, my washer works fine now but I try to remind myself to use it often because I think it tends to get jammed with dirt and contaminates when it goes unused.

 

First thing is remove back panel on inside of hatch. This involves 6 screws and panel has several snap in inserts that release when panel is gently pulled away.

Next after filling washer reservoir, I removed hose from windshield washer motor unit. Went to steering column and turned to pump fluid to rear washer... fluid came out of black rubber hose so I knew block eitehr was inside washer motor unit and metal tube that runs thru rear window wiper motor assembly post or at small spray nozzle. Removed small spray nozzle and cleaned with a pin. But when run, there was still no spray. Next step was to look at metal wipoer post running thru windshield wiper motor.

I flipped open cover on wiper arm and small o-ring dropped free so make sure you don't lose it.

Removed windhield wiper nut and pulled wiper arm off. Then removed all three bolts on inside of hatch and removed wiper motor from window. Removed 5 screws on back of motor assemply, removed back plate and then removed wiper arm post from motor. Using a drill bit and piece of wire, I cleaned inside of wiper arm post and there was a very solid block of dirt, rust, etc. that only way was to rum a wire probe to push debris out.....

Once this was cleaned out, I re-inserted wiper arm post aseembly back into motor and repacked with red grease, re-screwed back plate and re-attached motor to hatch. Then reinstalled wiper, nut and o-ring.

I then re-attached balck rubber hose to wiper motor. I removed small spray nozzle and ran fluid thru rear wiper to flush out any remaining debris. Then I replaced small nozzle and everything worked great.

 

Thanks msuspartan2009.

That is pretty much what I did, and my rear washer is now working!!!!

IMHO, part of the problem is that check value. It keeps fluid in the last 6" or so, and that's basically the hole that runs thru the wiper shaft. If that fluid evaporates, it leaves "junk" behind. Do that several times over the years, and so much "junk" builds up, that the clog becomes pretty solid.

 

After going to the Mini dealership for a 30K checkup on my 2002 (yes, that's right, only 30K on my 2002 MCS) I asked if they could fix my rear window washer. They haven't read your thread, evidently, and offered that they could replace the assembly for about $300.

Thanks for the info. I hope I can achieve the same success!

 

$300!!!
Lol...it usually takes about 2 minutes, and a pin...
I guess if the pump is bad, or the assembly is heavily corroded, it would be a different story!!
With most folks, road grit just gets caked onto/into the nozzle, and it needs to be removed. Best solution for most folks is to use it occasionally once you get it working to keep it clean.

 

And remember...dealers are great at swapping parts...at the labour rates they charge, they cannot afford to take the time to "rework" or repair a part...and they make $$ for the part and the labour when they sell you a part too...

 

This is all great but how do you remove the wiper arm from the post. Also, how do you remove the spray nozzle from the post? Neither seems to screw off or pull off. I don't want to break it.

I get fluid from the black hose so my blockage is in the motor assembly or the nozzle. But I don't see how to remove these to see inside.

By the way, I had all kinds of smelly mildewy crap come from the black hose so I'm sure that's what's dried up in my nozzle.

 

How do I get at the rear window wiper motor? I can't get any water to come out of mine, and I have tried the wire trick and even air. I need to take the molding off so I can get at the line and motor to check it, but don't know how to do this. Can anyone help me with this?

 

The crude was so solid in mine, I had to drill it out.

 

If you do a search on this forum, you'll find everything you need to know