Washer Jets and rear wiper fault

Fletcher.Harris · Apr 23, 2025

Hi all, new to this forum , recently on my car (2014 ztech s black edition) the rear wiper and both front and rear washer jets have stopped working , no power to the pump but I tried changing it and no luck.

The day before I did jack the car up on stands but both side on the jacking points so I can’t see how that’s related , just got in the next day and they had both stopped.

I have checked all relevant fuses including the body control module but nothing

Another thing to add is the interior lights dim when trying the rear wiper but only if the engine is off. If anybody has had something similar happen in the past some help would be massively appreciated.

Handy Andy · Apr 23, 2025

There may have been a bump or broken or sagging front cowl (your front nose clip that houses the grille and the bonnet mates to). so that when you jacked up the car, the washer fluid box, that houses not just the fluid, but that motor is just under it at the base of that tank. Might have disconnected the wiring or kinked the hoses (you have two one from the front nozzles and one for the back) The plumbing hoses and all the wiring all snake down to that tank using the front bumper - crash absorber and the radiator shroud and it's support plastic as a means to clip tie the harness down to it.

In the USA the tank is located on the Drivers side - but if you drive opposite of the USA (We drive on the Right side in the direction of travel - while some countries they drive on the left side of the road as they travel) it would still be the same side, but opposite of the Drivers seat.

The Fuse box is also located in that same side just above the wheel.

So my question would be - if you needed to jack up the car, was it due to a needed inspection? Or did some noise cause you to be concerned?

It's kind of hard to just narrow down to a bad spot in the wiring - perhaps near the radiator and it's shroud for that to be a needed point to look for damage - but it's my only fair guess as to where to even start. Since the Fuesbox is near to the battery and the fender and it's plastic support; the fusebox is not truly bolted to the fender - jarring may simply have shifted fuses out of alignment in their sockets and only need to be pressed back in place to complete their connection.

Referring to, the weight of the vehicle on a floor jack or jackstands - since the nose of the car is mostly plastic and held together by plastic ties and rivets to the radiator and it's shroud and the front crash bar holds and bears that weight - the vehicle can show it's age by the failing integrity of the front shroud/cowl and radiator with gravity pulling it down and off the car when it's in a freestanding support.

It can crush or shift weight and position of the suspended parts and then the hoses or wiring itself can be affected by the effort.

Replacing the pump - did you have a chance to inspect the connectors? At the age of your vehicle I can only hope the winters have been kind so the connector didn't develop any kind of memory of the previous tabs of the previous motor and therefore can not mate well without some rework or help from you to refit the connectors own electrical socket connectors to the tabs on the motor and their wires and complete their connection.

Fletcher.Harris · Apr 24, 2025

Handy Andy said:

Hi yes I have changed the pump for a brand new ok but still nothing , just seems to have stopped getting power to it all of a sudden

Handy Andy · Apr 26, 2025

What I'm trying to describe is the weight of the car suspended on those jacks - versus the suspension arms and the struts, and rear crossmembers - the weight shifts to areas that don't get used to bear weight all that often - this translates into something they can experience as extreme shifts in stress.

This means the front nose of the car could have shifted from the weight it has on all four wheels now placed on the jacks at a different spots on the car, not at the suspension points the control arms and struts would otherwise take up - and at the age of the car; the welds in these areas you can put the jacks under, can be weak and are unable to remain stiff enough to keep the car from flexing - and that flex can dislodge the wires in the connector.

Another condition can form from this and that is due to the connectors and the shape they retain once they are mated and kept in that position for a very long time - like years - in salt, water, dirt and heat - they can retain the shape and their connection contact points when the connectors are stressed or pulled upon - like when they can be lifted - but can be lost when they are pulled apart or shifted - due to their in-stasis condition on what they once had, is now changed or different.

Not sure how you jacked up the car or did you just roll it onto ramps? When you jack up the car and hit the wrong point the car when lifted can bend from the weight at that press or lift up point. The firewalls use pass-thru grommets so they can let the wires pass their controls and signals - and they are bolted, but this does not mean they can fail - as this may be the case.

Fletcher.Harris · May 1, 2025

Hello, just an update , when I jacked the car up i used a trolley jack and lowered it onto the jacking points using jack stands, I’ve tried changing the washer pump , nothing, changed the wiper stalk arm , nothing. I’m now not sure what to try

Handy Andy · May 1, 2025

With both the stalk and the motor, and now you don't hear anything - not even the motor to run the washer? (Buzz--zt)

IF you don't hear that when you press in the stalk, the wiring to the motor is possibly broken or got disconnected.

In an earlier post I made a comment about the firewall kick panels - the panels on the door side both passenger and driver.

When you jacked up the car - these areas have big (read many pins and sockets) - number of connectors and if they have dislodged from the jacking up - the problem may in there From the engine side or To the engine side connection points or in the steering column harness. You'll have to take apart the covers on that column more to find the harness and the way it's snaked thru there by the clock-spring.

You may not have to take apart any of that - just review the connector at the switch so you don't find any bent pins and also see about any erratic operation of the audio or OK buttons on the steering arms - if no issues - the wiring may be good there.

But pay attention to your dashboard, for if the wiring was that screwed up; it would light up the dash too like the Airbag symbol or you would not have cruise control - so if you don't see lights when the engine is running and you're driving - and you can control the cruise control settings with no problems - the issue is more than likely not in the column - but either in the wiring at the connector - thru the firewall, to the main Fusebox in the engine bay - onto the harness to the front left headlamp and a set of connectors located under the battery by the washer fluid filler neck.

Now if you lifted any part of the engine or transmission - the effort can make the transmission housing pinch the wiring under that battery and dislodge or damage connectors passing thru a protective plastic box designed to keep it from getting crushed and protected from water acid and the elements - but if it's been compromised - there's the ballgame. (You did say you noticed the rear wiper was dimming but not working -either the arm is jammed or one wire that is supposed to be paired with another - is not connecting to complete the circuit to the motor - instead it's grounding - or shorting to - somewhere else.)

You'll have to take off that headlamp and look down there to ensure there is no crushed wiring - and you should be able to locate the washer fluid harness from the main one that snakes down to the washer and front fog light connector on that side.

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Washer Jets and rear wiper fault

Fletcher.Harris

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Handy Andy

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Fletcher.Harris

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