J63 -94 screenwash not working

[mhi]

My 1994 Espace RXE 2.0 (J636) front screen-wash has ceased working. The wipers run when I operate the switch, but the pump motor does not. I've replaced the pump; still no buzz or squirt.

The rear screen-wash works (I just fitted another new pump since they cost just £4.10 each plus 99p postage for the two). The headlamp wash pump works, too -- that operates in step with the front pump but via a relay so that it washes the lamps only if the headlights are switched on. I think that leaves just wiring and connectors.

I haven't been able to trace the wiring for this pump. In the J63 wiring diagram from the vault, it is shown with a beige/green wire providing +12V and a black earth wire. The actual wires are beige with grey stripe and black with grey stripe; neither seems to be connected to earth, or to the rear wash pump motor. The wiring diagram doesn't account for the headlamp washer or air conditioning, which have added wires and relays in this area, and it doesn't help much to locate the connectors, cable runs and relays in the engine compartment.

A few months ago my local garage replaced the connector for this pump with two 2.8 mm push-on connectors, after diagnosing a bad connection. I have checked that these are crimped on properly and that there's a connection from each of them to the splice in its cable.

Where do the wires for the windscreen wash pump run, and where are they or their connectors likely to have failed?

[mhi]

Solved!

The problem was the connector plug to the washer motor, and me getting confused about which motor was which. All the wires were OK: but now both front and rear washer motor connectors have failed. I've fixed it by cutting off the old connector and soldering on two 2.8 mm (1/8") push-on connectors instead. A bit fiddly to do, and more awkward to plug in, but it's working.

I can see the cause, too, now. Both washer motors have leaked around the internal seal between motor shaft and pump housing, so that over 19 years the motor half of each pump has filled up with screen-wash mixture and rust. There's no seal between the motor and the connector, so this has eventually filled up as well, and the connector's spring contacts have corroded away.

Memo to self: replace washer pumps every 10 years, whether they appear to need it or not. (That's Renault part number 77 00 802 336, but much, much cheaper to get a new unbranded equivalent on eBay.)