147 Windscreen Washers

[Garibaldi]

Hi Guys,

The windscreen washers on my 147 have stopped working. I checked the fuse and it's ok. Nothing is happening at all, it's like no power is getting to the motor.  Has anybody got any ideas?

[colcol]

The washer motor may have died, i have never had anything to do with a 147, but this is what i would do, find the washer motor on the right hand side of the car, near the washer bottle, pull the 2 wire connector off the motor, connect a test light to the 2 pin plug, go in the car and hit the washer stalk and see if the  test light, lights up, if it does, you have a stuffed motor, if it doesn't light up then work back to the fuse box, i think they may have a relay as my 156 seems to have a click when you pull the washer switch, check for a non functioning relay, the 147 and JTS and after that have a canbus wiring system, that is different to conventional wiring systems, Colin.

[ANG156]

My sisters car had the same problem and it turnet out the piping that carries the water had a tear in it meaning water was going into the enfine bay rather than to the jets. Replaced a section of the piping and moved it away from the bonnet hinge.

[Paul Gulliver]

My sisters car had the same problem and it turnet out the piping that carries the water had a tear in it meaning water was going into the enfine bay rather than to the jets. Replaced a section of the piping and moved it away from the bonnet hinge

Exactly as Ang has explained except it was my daughters car

[Brad M]

My sisters car had the same problem and it turnet out the piping that carries the water had a tear in it meaning water was going into the enfine bay rather than to the jets. Replaced a section of the piping and moved it away from the bonnet hinge.

Yep, same problem with ours as well.

[Garibaldi]

Thanks everyone, I'll do some further investigation and see how I go.

[Craig_m67]

As Col says, fairly easy to check, pull the plug off the pumpmotor, stick a multimeter across it and see if it has power when the switch is pulled.  Be careful if you remove it or the hoses ... The black plastic on the pump gets brittle with age and will snap. They're fairly cheap on eBay UK. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-145-146-147-WINDSCREEN-WASHER-PUMP-NEW-/270865718968?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f10dadeb8

I repaired the one on our golf last month for the hell of it. It had stopped working, rusted up from not being used for ages (years).  Pulled it carefully apart, carb cleaner, wd40 and back together, works like new.. Internally its a really interesting design. The stalk applies either a positive or negative current to the pump to make it spin or flow eitherway, theres a one way valve that then sends water to one outlet (front) or to the other (rear).

As above, be careful if you do pull it apart, I used an spare off a 156 to investigate and the plastic hose connector snapped off the body.

[colcol]

Listen to see if the washer pump is running, they are noisy, if its making a noise, then you have a leak in the hoses, it could also be a one way valve, that stops the washer fluid running back to the washer bottle, requiring about 10 seconds for the washer fluid to reach the jets, it lets the washer fluid through to the jets, sometimes they stop working and block or let the fluid through and lets it drain back.
If in doubt, remove one way valve and blow through with your mouth one way and then the other way, you should be only able to blow one way, DON'T use an air gun as it will ruin the diaphram, these valves can be purchased at spare parts places like Repco.
The pumps can be purchased on Ebay or at places like Repco, they have several generic ones, with different outlets for the pipes to suit your application, take your old pump along and get the closest one.
The brand i purchased from Repco was called NICE, have had one on the 33 for years, Colin.

[Garibaldi]

Thanks Col, the washer pump is not running. I'll check to see if it is getting any power and work from there. Gary

[colcol]

I always use rubber hoses to replace the plastic hoses on the washer system, because, it is more durable and the hoses don't flatten out and become resticted, and they don't kink as easy, they don't become hard with the under bonnet temperatures, esier to get on and off pumps, etc, the saving made on the plastic hoses versus rubber hoses pales into insigificance, when you consider the longer life, Colin.

[Neil Choi]

Silicon hose is better.

[colcol]

I will look out for silicon hose Neil, and also use a good quality washer fluid, Opticlean from Holden Dealers was good, some of the cheap ones can cause rusting problems in older Alfa Romeo's, stick with the good brands if they work for you, and don't use washing up fluid, unless you plan to wash your dishes on your windscreen, non suitable detergents can cause smearing and ruining of of wiper rubbers, Colin.

[colcol]

Looked at a 147 at a wreckers today, the pump is to the front of the washer bottle, would need to remove the coolant overflow tank, to get at it, Colin.

[Garibaldi]

I figured that might be the case. It doesn't look too difficult to remove. The rear window washer runs off the same pump and needless to say that is not working either. They are both on the same control stalk but with different actions so it's most likely the pump is the problem rather than the stalk. Anyway I've ordered a new pump off Ebay so hopefully that fixes the problem.

[colcol]

If the rear washer uses the same pump as the front washers, then it must be the longest washer pipe in history.
If the rear washer has a seperate pump to the front windscreen washer pump, and they are both not working, then the chances of the 2 pumps dying at the same time are unusual, it may be a relay, as you say the fuse is ok, or it could be the wiper - washer stalk thats faulty, if you could pull the multi two pin plug off the front washer bottle and see if it is getting power, when you activate the washer stalk, Colin.