69 Washer Pump help
I am trying to get the windshield and headlight washers working. When I bought the car I found the washer bag wasn't there, along with any hoses. The windshield wipers themselves work, so at least that part of the motor is working (and vacuums). I got a new bag and hose but am now trying to piece together which hoses connect where to see if it is working or not. Attached are some pictures with some clues to problems. On the forward facing front of the motor there was a piece of black coated wiring that was fraying and actually broke off. There are no hoses connected to any of the visible inlets and I can't find any obvious diagrams online or in the books to indicate the hose layout.
I got the windshield and headlight washer hose kit from Willcox in hand and have tried various setups but nothing seems to work. I would expect if the pump is working and I got the hose from the reservoir connected correctly that I would see water shooting out of the other hoses that aren't connected, but didn't see that, so I but don't have anything obvious to figure out if this is just a hose problem, or an electrical problem with that wire disconnected. Any pointers appreciated.
View from passenger side
View from driver-side fender
Broken wire, was partially connected to the other side of the connected that is visible at the top with the blue covering, but under that black shield
View from the side, there are more inlets on the right hand side coming in from the right and the two underneath
Did you repair the broken wire?
When you press the wiper switch in do you hear/see the washer cam rotating ?
Did you try priming the pump by holding the main supply hose high and feeding water into the hose?
I don't hear the washer cam rotating, so that is why I suspect the broken wire (obvious, right!) but didn't know that cover came off. Once I get it off I will try to jump the broken wire from where it's broken into the motor. Is that wire the power source for the washer pump?
I didn't try priming the pump but will do so too.
thanks again, will reply when I get the above done, but if you have a quick answer on a non-destructive way to get the plastic cover off that is the first step. Will keep trying here.
The two black wires trigger the washer pump solenoid which pulls a spring loaded ratchet arm that turns the pump cam.
Look through this link
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-tech-performance/4161921-windshield-washer-pump-question.html
Last edited by MelWff; Jul 25, 2020 at 05:23 PM.
Thanks, those links were very helpful. So a couple of things happening now:
1. When pushing the switch, the little arm doesn't lift up to start the cog rotating. When I lift it by hand it turns a full rotation and then stops as expected. I suspect this is because of some power issues to the electromagnet related to that broken wire (pictured). However when I hold the wire in place it doesn't work either. Does it need that little metal jacket over it to connect?
2. Even when I manually lift the arm to start the cog rotating, I don't see water being pulled into the pump from the hose/reservoir. Assuming it should be the middle of the 3 inlets, which is slightly larger than the other two.
For next steps I will try to find a metal jacket to connect the wire the same as the one above it
Added a video for display;
Last edited by sdeasy; Jul 25, 2020 at 06:33 PM.
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After priming the pump and manually lifting the arm to start the cog turning I do have water pumped through the 2 outlets, which is great. So this means the problem I have is getting the electromagnet activated to lift the arm. I tried putting a bullet connector from the broken wire into the open spot but that doesn't seem to work. Looking at the wiring diagram from Willcox on the other pages it looks like shared power to the whole unit so that is working (as the arms are all working etc) and it must be something to do with this connection. I think from the wiring doc that it is a ground that gets unset to power the electromagnet, but am still trying to confirm. Any other suggestions on the physical wiring there that might explain why it's not turning on?
Last edited by kodpkd; Jul 26, 2020 at 05:18 PM.

















