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the "washer fluid empty" (or similar) message kept comming up once in a while and now has become almost permanent. i emptied the tank and turned the sensor upside down. no change. i removed the tank and brigded the connector. no change. its not a mil so i cant program it out.
Have you taken a multimeter and checked the tank connector for changes in resistance when you turned it upside down ??…what you can do is disconnect the sensor and turn the ignition on and after 1 minute is the message still showing ??…if it is you have a short to ground in the circuit…if not most likely a bad level switch....only "P" DTC's illuminate the MIL that will affect emissions...washer is not that.
the sensor is an on off switch. closed (zero ohm) in the full position. so i bridged the connector. now 5v are pulled down to about 0.7v. message still showing.
Last edited by romandian; Nov 28, 2023 at 11:22 PM.
It would seem to me that when the tank is full the contacts would be open so you would read OL on an ohmeter…when empty the contacts would show 0 ohms or continuity…the 5 volts from the IPC gets pulled to ground and then the message illuminates.
thank you. i looked at it more carefully (finding most screws/studs in the engine bay have a very bad ground, e.g. the tip of the alternator screw). now i see 11.02v on the black/white pin. this gets pulled down to 0.02v if bridged, measured from the battery. maybe i just assumed it was 5v or had a blackout before.
now im also not sure in which position the sensor should be. if the float is "parallel" the switch is closed (continuity). i was assuming the black/white wire had to be pulled down when the tank was full. otherwise there would be no warning if the plug got disconnected or fell off. meaning the notch should be on top (float swimming up and closing switch if full), which also makes sense. the message occurs with the sensor in both positions (tank empty).
i will just leave the connector unpluged next time i drive the car and see how it is, but expect no difference.
Last edited by romandian; Nov 29, 2023 at 02:51 AM.
washer fluid
