Gold 2.0Si

[Dieselman]

Disconnect the rear wiper motor and use the rear wiper switch to operate the front pump for now. You will get a valid test pass like that.

[Eddie nuff]

You've lost me there Will. How does that enable the rear switch to work the front washers?

[Dieselman]

Plug the front pump into the rear pump connector which will make the front pump operate when you press the rear wash/wipe button, but to stop the wiper going, just unplug the motor.

Have you checked the fuse for the front pump?

[Eddie nuff]

But I've already had both pumps fitted up to the connector on each circuit. The rear washers work fine, the front is non-existent. Hence me thinking it's wiring.

As for the fuse, I looked in Haynes at the fuse bit, and I looked and looked . . . I can't see a fuse for washers.

[Dieselman]

When you reconnect everything, just use the rear washer switch to power the front pump, take it for an MOT and gain a pass...then fix the fault at your leisure.

[Eddie nuff]

You've lost me.

[Dieselman]

You have two switches, one for the front pump on the stalk and one for the rear pump on the dash. The front pump feed isn't working, so for now use the rear pump switch to feed power to the front pump.

The rear wiper will trigger for 3 sweeps, so disconnect it.

You will get an MOT pass that way and can fix the problem at a later date.

[Eddie nuff]

Not willing to bodge this in order to get a test and not getting anymore advice from this forum I started looking on the t'internet and farther afield. My electrical knowledge is next to useless but I am quite practical and able to look at things methodically. So I had a look at how to use this bloody multimeter thing, just a basic enough knowledge for it to make sense, so that, as all the fuses are good, I could check the power at the pump connectors. Both read 3.44 so therefore if that power is enough to make the rear circuit work it's enough to make the front circuit work. So why doesn't the front work if the rear does? Swapped the pumps around to check both pumps on both circuits and found both pumps worked on the rear circuit but neither worked on the front circuit. It only leaves the wiring and the connector as I've already tried two wiper stalks, both giving the same result of wipers work but washers don't. I checked the power through the connector to the stalk and couldn't understand the readings, which were all different. Was it me making a balls up of it?

Did some more reading and found to test through the end that the wire fed into the connector and found that all the wiring was okay. So it's not the fuses, the connectors at either end or the wiring in-between - that only leaves the stalks. How can two stalks give the same fault?

Put the stalks back on and tried everything over again. Same result - wipers but no washers. So to put my mind at rest I opened up the original stalk and found that when the stalk is pulled forward two metal ridges should be pressed against a copper strip to make a contact except the plastic these metal strips were in was so weak that the metal strips collapsed into it therefore not making a contact. Brilliant so why didn't the other one work? I took that one apart to find it worked differently inside with a spring pushing up a plastic grommet with a steel contact on it - but it worked fine. Now I am confused!

It took me ages to figure out where the fault lie but it turned out to be quite simple really. I was looking at the connector side when something just caught my eye


On the left is the original and on the right the replacement. Note the pins - the original has 4 pins left and 2 right and the replacement has 5 left and 1 right. I didn't really understand what I was seeing but a phone call later told me that this was the reason the washers on the replacement didn't work as they didn't marry up to the connector.

So two wiper stalks causing the same fault via two different means. Hence I need one of these


and it must have 4 pins left and 2 right. Anyone?

[MTXM]

I shall try and sort through what I have Neil and I had not spotted the difference. As I recall there was a slight change in the colour of the stalks and also interior light fittings etc., with some being more charcoal and others black, which may possibly correspond to the change of pins! Regards, Matthew T.

[xantia_v6]

Does the difference in switch correspond with the presence or absence of a trip computer (and button on the end of the stalk)?