How2 - Faulty windscreen washer jets and washer bottle

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How2 - Faulty windscreen washer jets and washer bottle

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How2 - Faulty windscreen washer jets and washer bottle

Post by humbucker »

Certain components on the car are likely to suffer wear and tear, especially with the age of the average Cavalier pushing 20 years. One item that doesn't suffer in the same way as mechanical parts, but is still subject to age related faults, is the washer bottle. Decades of continued top ups and refills result in a layer of grime building up inside it and eventually this blocks the feed to the windscreen washer jets sitting proudly on your bonnet.

This guide is based on a model with air-con where the washer bottle is situated under the passenger side wing and, inconveniently, behind the bumper. If your car does not have air-con then the washer bottle is likely to be sitting proud in the engine bay above the wing which makes life a little easier. The removal and refitting process is likely to be a lot easier for you.

You will need:

17mm socket, jack and axle stand(s) for removal of wheel
8mm, 10mm and 13mm spanner
A bottle brush
Elbow grease


Ratchet spanners make life an awful lot easier (and a cup of tea also helps things along nicely too!).

1) Jack the car up and remove the passenger wheel.
2) With the car safely on axle stands, remove as many inner arch liner clips as you need to so that you can pull the liner back to enable access to the bottle (or remove, whichever is easiest for you)
3) The bottle is secured via a metal clamp that houses the twin horns. Remove all the screws that hold the horn assembly in place and pull to one side.
4) With the horn assembly out of the way you can now see the motor/jet feed and level sensor feeding into the washer bottle. Level sensor is the lower of the two items in this picture:

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5) Position a suitable container on the floor beneath the washer bottle. Remove the level sensor from its rubber grommet. The manky contents of the bottle will drop out into the container.

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A lot of murky stuff in there:

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6) Once the bottle has stopped dropping horrible manky water all over your face, gently pull the motor upwards until it pops out of the bottle.

7) Climb out from under the car and locate the washer bottle filler neck above the passenger wing. Remove the small bolt holding the filler neck to the inner wing.

8) You will see a threaded clip that you can unscrew at the base of the filler neck against the wing. This holds the washer bottle itself to the wing from underneath and is not actually attached to the filler neck as it would appear to be. Unscrew it. Gently pull the filler neck until it pops out of the washer bottle through the wing.

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9) Climb back under the car. Remove the two bolts holding the metal clamp to the chassis. Pull it to one side. With the arch liner pulled back you can now pull the washer bottle out. Watch out for any more falling water at this stage as the bottle will still have some inside it.

10) We have already established that the grime in the bottle is the most likely culprit for your faulty washer jets, however, ask a friend (perhaps even a special friend) to operate the jets from inside the car. Listen out to make sure that the motor is still active. If it is then continue with this guide. If there is no sound coming from the motor then you may wish to seek a replacement before continuing.

11) With the bottle removed you now need to remove the rubber bung that the motor fed into. This looks a bit like a thimble and has a mesh cutout into the bottom of the rubber to stop foreign objects entering the washer jet channels. This is most likely blocked with the grime from the washer bottle. Remove it, then spend some time blasting it under a hot tap with soapy water. Continually squeeze and remove cak from it until it is clean and you can see through the meshed part. When run under the tap water should fire out left, right and through the bottom:

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12) Remove the level sensor grommet from the washer bottle. Take both the filler neck and the washer bottle and spend some time removing all the grime from the inside of them with hot soapy water and a flexible neck bottle brush. Remove as much as you can and ensure that the water running out of the bottom is clear. Replace the level sensor grommet and the now unblocked rubber bung for the motor/jet feed.

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As good as new!

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13) Reassembly is the reverse of the initial steps in this guide.

14) Refill the washer bottle via the filler neck. Pull the washer jet stalk inside the car and marvel at your perfectly wet windscreen! :D

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