Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working

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Mon 17 Aug 2015 17:33
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Cotswolds

Hi Everyone

A few weeks ago I noticed that the jet of water coming out of the windscreen wasker spouts had lost some power - the water was barely hitting the screen. A couple of times it took a few presses of the button on the streering wheel to get some water out (and annoyingly the wipers themselves were going at it on a dry windscreen making it even harder to see!).

Now they are not working at all. I could be wrong but I thought I could remember hearing a noise whenever I activated the wipers, like a motor ejecting the water, but there is nothing except the sound of the wipers.

I've Googled this and it may be that there is a blockage in the water pipes stopping water coming out, but the loss of any power (if I am right about there being some) makes me think that maybe an electrical fault that might be a quick fix.

I'm loath to put it in the hands of the local garage for fear that they'll take a few hours trying to work out what is wrong as it is one of those problems that may not have an obvious cause.

Anyone got any ideas as to what I could check.

Cheers.

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Mon 17 Aug 2015 17:54
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - elekie&a/c doctor

usually on most cars ,there is a build up of sludge and crud in the bottom of the reservoir and this blocks the inlet filter to the pump.So you need to access the bottle ,which sits in the front wing,behind the bumper,to give it a good clean out.Lack of water flow may have damaged the pump.

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Mon 17 Aug 2015 19:37
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Cotswolds

I appreciate the reply. Is there a complete numpties guide to getting at the bottle to clear it of sludge - either on YouTube or elsewhere?

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Mon 17 Aug 2015 20:12
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - elekie&a/c doctor

Can only find the early model Focus on YT.It is not a difficult job,but you will need to jack up the drivers front corner of the car to remove the plastic stoneguard.This will give access to the bottle.

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Mon 17 Aug 2015 23:22
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Quicksilver

Before taking anything apart flush out the bottle with a high pressure water jet, (garden hose with a suitable nozzle). It might be enough to clean out the gunge!

Q.

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Tue 18 Aug 2015 19:00
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Cotswolds

Before taking anything apart flush out the bottle with a high pressure water jet, (garden hose with a suitable nozzle). It might be enough to clean out the gunge!

Q.

At the risk of coming across as very dumb (which is not diffcult for me) are you saying that I should try and flush the bottle where I normally pour in water and screenwash? I can see that being very messy and potentially very wet :)

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Tue 18 Aug 2015 18:57
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Cotswolds

Cheers - I'll look into that and see how I can get access.

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Tue 18 Aug 2015 23:12
Ford Focus - 59 reg - Windscreen washer not working - Quicksilver

Yes you will get wet and it could be messy! So what!

I have done it on two Honda Accords, (2004, 2007) and a Vauxhall Omega, (1999) which seemed to have a habit of getting "gunged" up.

The jet neeeds to be strong to dislodge all the gunge and let it overflow out of the filler neck.

Bonne chance!

Q.

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