My Windshield Washers have Prostate Trouble. Help!

[Richard Steinfeld]

2000 Sonata.

Problem is common to both nozzle heads. I've tried un-blocking
the nozzles in the usual way, cleaning possible mineral deposits
with a sewing pin. I've tried running hot water through the
system in the hopes that the pump had been sludged by gel deposit
from cheap windshield-washer fluid (this worked for me with a
Ford). No luck so far.

Symptom: fluid output is very weak. Pulling the lever produces an
immediate, half-hearted spurt, with sustained dribbling. Pump
motor sounds normal. I suspect blockage ahead of the common hose
or a loose pump impeller. It doesn't appear that the hose is
being crimped near the hood hinge; the problem persists with the
hood raised.

It's flaccid; the poor thing's got no more virility.

Is there a known routine failure in this system?

I can't figure out how to get at the pump or the hoses; they, and
the tank, appear to be obstructed between welded panels. Anyone
know how I can fix this?

TIA

Richard

 

[Mike Marlow]

2000 Sonata.

Problem is common to both nozzle heads. I've tried un-blocking the nozzles
in the usual way, cleaning possible mineral deposits with a sewing pin.
I've tried running hot water through the system in the hopes that the pump
had been sludged by gel deposit from cheap windshield-washer fluid (this
worked for me with a Ford). No luck so far.

Symptom: fluid output is very weak. Pulling the lever produces an
immediate, half-hearted spurt, with sustained dribbling. Pump motor sounds
normal. I suspect blockage ahead of the common hose or a loose pump
impeller. It doesn't appear that the hose is being crimped near the hood
hinge; the problem persists with the hood raised.

It's flaccid; the poor thing's got no more virility.

Is there a known routine failure in this system?

I can't figure out how to get at the pump or the hoses; they, and the
tank, appear to be obstructed between welded panels. Anyone know how I can
fix this?

It may be a plugged line. You'll need to take it off to check. It may be
on there pretty tight and you may have to... jerk it off.

You can access the reservoir by removing the splash panels underneath the
car. That should give you access to the pump and the point where the lines
attach.

 

[hyundaitech]

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It may be a plugged line.  You'll need to take it off to check.  It may be
on there pretty tight and you may have to... jerk it off.

You can access the reservoir by removing the splash panels underneath the
car.  That should give you access to the pump and the point where the lines
attach.

Mike's sent you in the right direction here. Pull the hose off one of
the nozzles and see if you get a good strong stream out of the hose
when the washer is activated. If not, remove the pump from the
reservoir (accessing from under the car as described by Mike) and
check the pump screen. I've seen many clogged by slime.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Mike's sent you in the right direction here. Pull the hose off one of
the nozzles and see if you get a good strong stream out of the hose
when the washer is activated. If not, remove the pump from the
reservoir (accessing from under the car as described by Mike) and
check the pump screen. I've seen many clogged by slime.

Nice to see you again, HT.

I was able to clear the slime in an Aerostar a few years ago by
running a few tankfuls of hot water through the system. The only
thing I can think of that might cause the slime was the previous
owner's use of cheap pre-mixed washer fluid.

There's something in the tank's neck that I've never seen before.
It looks like a pink foam plastic piece. Any knowledge about that?

Thanks to both of you! I feel encouraged.

Richard

 

[TheDragon]

Nice to see you again, HT.

I was able to clear the slime in an Aerostar a few years ago by running a
few tankfuls of hot water through the system. The only thing I can think
of that might cause the slime was the previous owner's use of cheap
pre-mixed washer fluid.

There's something in the tank's neck that I've never seen before. It looks
like a pink foam plastic piece. Any knowledge about that?

Thanks to both of you! I feel encouraged.

Richard

I unblocked mine yesterday. There was a small rubber gauze inside the
reservoir. The pump fitted into it. Pulled the pump out, and then the rubber
ring. It was disgusting. Resembled....well something really nasty.

All working well again. I blame myself, using washing up (Fairy) is not good
for the system.

 

[hyundaitech]

Nice to see you again, HT.

I was able to clear the slime in an Aerostar a few years ago by
running a few tankfuls of hot water through the system. The only
thing I can think of that might cause the slime was the previous
owner's use of cheap pre-mixed washer fluid.

There's something in the tank's neck that I've never seen before.
It looks like a pink foam plastic piece. Any knowledge about that?

Thanks to both of you! I feel encouraged.

Richard

Wow. Hadn't noticed it was you when I first replied. Good to see
you, too.

The foam piece is a float intended to enable you to judge the fluid
level you can't physically see.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

I unblocked mine yesterday. There was a small rubber gauze inside the
reservoir. The pump fitted into it. Pulled the pump out, and then the rubber
ring. It was disgusting. Resembled....well something really nasty.

All working well again. I blame myself, using washing up (Fairy) is not good
for the system.

What I'm still not clear about is how do I access these parts
from underneath the car?

Does "nasty" = slime?
What's "washing up (Fairy)? It's not a term that I know here in
USA, but I think I've seen it in UKese.

Something strange I'm coming across recently is unexpected slime
in unexpected places. Like, in the sink where I rinse my dishes.
Now, what's different is that here in the San Francisco East Bay,
our water supplier has been using a chemical in the water that's
supposed to kill the germs without corroding the pipes. It's
called "Chloramine," and it consists, amazingly, of the two
substances that we've always been told to never mix together
upon, literally, the pain of death: ammonia and chlorine!

Well, yeah: I guess that it sure kills germs. It also kills
tropical fish and, I believe, birds. And what does it do to us?

Anyway, this is the only change I'm aware of. As I mentioned
earlier, I found slime in my Aerostar's washer tank; flushing it
out with hot water cured the problem. Flushing in this case =
filling the tank a few times with hot water and running the
washer pump constantly. Doing this with the 2000 Hyundai Sonata
is a bit tricky because if you keep the washer lever pulled for
more than 1 second, it runs a three-sweep wiper cycle.

Feedback?

Richard

 

[Ed Pawlowski]

Anyway, this is the only change I'm aware of. As I mentioned earlier, I
found slime in my Aerostar's washer tank; flushing it out with hot water
cured the problem. Flushing in this case = filling the tank a few times
with hot water and running the washer pump constantly. Doing this with the
2000 Hyundai Sonata is a bit tricky because if you keep the washer lever
pulled for more than 1 second, it runs a three-sweep wiper cycle.

Feedback?

Richard

If you want to do that, get a helper to spray some water on the windshield
until the pump starts giving enough to keep it wet.

 

[hyundaitech]

What I'm still not clear about is how do I access these parts
from underneath the car?

Richard

You'll need to take the front portion of the fender liner loose and
pull it down. It'll attach to the bottom of the bumper cover with two
screws or plastic inserts. I don't recall which.

You'll need to lay on your back to for the next step, so prepare for a
quick exit. Once you get the fender liner out of the way, reach up
and pull the wiper motor out of the washer reservoir-- it's primarily
held in place by the rubber grommet in the reservoir-- and leave the
area quickly to avoid getting very wet. Usually, a rocking motion on
the washer motor eventually pulls it loose, but if that doesn't do the
trick, you might wish to use some needlenose pliers between the pump
and reservoir to pry it out.

There's a screen in the pump inlet which can clog with slime/goo.
When you feel comfortable with returning to the area near the
reservoir, simply dig the goo out. You should be able to remove the
remainder with some sort of water type spray bottle.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Thanks, HT.

I almost see it. I think I'll go to the on-line manual and see if
there are any pictures.

Also, I thought I'd mention this angle.
Since I was successful once in the past with using hot water to
melt-out the obnoxious gel, I may give this a try again.

However, when I tried it a few days ago, the system seemed to be
too plugged for even this to work. In fact, it got a bit worse.
Now, this last bit may, in fact, be an indication that it's
working. But, on the other hand, it may be just moving the goop
to new locations where it semi-solidifies again.

Hmmmm.