Ford KA Windscreen Washer NOT Working Front & Back - Repair Video
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- In this Tea Break Fix my brother Paul and I attempt to fix the windscreen washers on a 2007 Ford Ka with low mileage. Both the front and back washer jets are not working, but it sounds like they are. Unfortunately this is an MOT failure here in the UK so it needs to be fixed to keep the car on the road.
Remember that this car is not new and is nearly worthless, the objective here is to keep the car on the road and not break the bank paying dealership prices to fix the problem.
If you would like to support these videos, please click here / mymatevince
Remember that this is just for entertainment and I am not an expert in these repairs. The processes in the video may not be the best way, the correct way or the safest way to fix these things. I do love fault finding and trying to fix broken things, so I hope that comes across in this 'Trying to FIX' series. Many thanks, Vince. 
Хобби
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
I really suggest you disconnect the battery before working on wiper mechanisms. I witnessed a friend lose a finger after the wiper activated when water dripped on an electrical connection causing the wipers to start with his finger in the wrong place.
They have an amazing amount of torque.
Very valid point, I don't want any other fingers damaged!!!! Do you mind if I pin this comment?
@@Mymatevince Of course you can
Yes, this happened to me...on a ford KA too. The wiper started moving after it nudged it and it trapped my hand between the firewall and the mechanism. I was VERY lucky not have ended up with any damage, the motor thankfully wasn't strong enough to break my hand.
One finger is enough.
they dont have a lot of torque , enough to hurt but not enough to sever a finger
This video was very useful and provided me with a clear instruction on how to access the screen washer pump. My pump had completely stopped turning and thanks to your video I was able to repair the pump by soaking the water end of the pump in boiling water and this freed up the mechanism. Very useful video.
You should be able to use baking beads or fish tank gravel to provide a bit of abrasion in the places you can't reach, add with soapy water and shake.
Or just sand with soapy water and shake it well.
Marbles are good too.
Or rice
Just use 2 small magnets so u can move 1 on the inside and get in every small space 1 magnet and a steel ball / nut works great too
@@HackforeverxD Hexnuts and a magnet, sharpish and flat and can be moved as you pointed out
Thanks for this one Vince. Had a similar issue on my Ford era Volvo V50 and after watching this I had a good look at it and well enough, exact same issue. All cleaned and working fine now. Much appreciated.
My wife did not believe I follow a youtuber that fixes everything untill I showed her your chanel.Great job Vince.
Gee Vince it is so good watching you and your brother working together. You allow him to make suggestions as much as he allows you, and between the pair of you, you arrive at a solution. Honestly it's so good watching you two together, I really love your brother fix it videos, so nice to see, hear him again your so polite to each other no arguments no bad words it's a real pleasure watching you two getting along, more brotherly fix it videos please Vince. I agree with uncout1, fish tank gravel, ordinary blue metal or small ball bearings would clean.it out, and if you watch Mustie1 he ties it to one of the car wheels with cable ties and drives it around if you don't want to waste time shaking it, he mainly does it to clean petrol tanks of rust etc.
I'm a car mechanic in Germany. I already cleaned such reservoirs and the ones for the engine coolant with a kettle and a dishwasher tab. I mean those tabs were designed for non mechanical cleaning. Love your videos. Best wishes
You already had my full respect working on all the SMD stuff, but now you are evolving to a car repair specialist. Well done.
Love the my mate vince car repair videos they are a rare treat hopefully they will become a regular thing on the channel
Superb. I have to do the same for my Ka and this is exactly what I need. The Haynes manual is good, but nothing like a video to see exactly what is going on. Keep up the great work!
Man that's dirty fluid, awesome video like always! My best cleaning has been soaking in vinegar and hot water.
Nice fix. I would suggest using just something like sink and drain unblocker for the inside of the washer bottle, allow it to sit for a bit, then put the cap back on and give it a good shake for a few minutes and it should remove the gunk in all the hard to reach places. Thanks for sharing. Paul.👍👍👍👍
great repair guys :) use a needle in the holes of the jets to shoot them in the correct spots on the window screen and also it will help clean them out :)
ford Ka and a Rolls.... Vince is covering the whole car spectrum 🤩,
It’s funny the song is saying Appalachian sunrise as I sit in the Appalachian mountains of KY, watching your video from the UK.
It's a common problem Vince, cheap screen wash and using washing up liquid are the culprits, I know some manufacturers won't entertain anyone coming in to the workshop with blocked washers under warranty if they find either jelly or mould growth in the bottle.
As for cleaning the tank to get rid of any residual growth you need to add a little bleach or a baby bottle sterilizing tablet to it along with a
handful of small nuts or ball bearings and give it a good shake for a few minutes to get into all the corners, the bleach or sterilized will kill any thing you can't get out.
Wow, i have never seen this on my or my parents cars. Like ANY dirt in the system. But yea, we never cheap out on the wash, and have a clean funnel to fill it that isn't used otherwise.
I bought a 2nd bottle and it was caked like yours!
Had it looking spotless within 15 minutes with a few sprays of degreaser (screwfix diluted 5:1) And a few Lidl Neodynium magnets wrapped around a jay-cloth (bluecloth).... once the degreasers softened the gunk the jay cloth wrapped around strong magnets was all it took to agitate it enough to get it all out... A bit like cleaning algae off of an aquarium with a magnetic cleaner.
I always love a good Vince video no matter how old or new they are i can sit here and watch them for hours i've been watching you for many years now and i've seen your channel grow and i've seen you improve and learn more i'm proud of how far you've got Vince mate keep it up.
Great video as always. It’s really important to always use good screen wash fluid in cars it kills the nasty bacteria. There’s a possibility of legionella growing in water at between certain temps and if you spray that on your windscreen the spores can go through the vent system on the car and a risk of legionaries disease, scary stuff
I had a similar issue with my 3 series, but only the front wipers as it's a convertible. Hold it in long enough and there was a dribble coming out; when I checked, the hose had come disconnected so it was just firing water out but with enough pressure for some to shoot across into the nozzles.
Absolutely perfect example of a DIY job that's little-to-no-cost yet if you were to take this into a shop they'd charge labor and most likely replace that reservoir costing you hundreds
100's you need a better garage i'd charge half hour labour only for that fix.
Looking forward to the My Mate Vince's Brother's Channel... Yaaaaaay!
I'm a great fan of the Ka, very capable little motor and my uncle got a couple years back a pristine silver Ghia one of the very last of the first generation and had done about 15k on the clock and it is a very nice car never let him down. He got it through a friend who was retiring from driving and had spared no expense on its upkeep.
Nice easy fix Vince.Nice to hear Kylie again.
Ah the good old washing up jelly.
I once bought a 2.8 injection capri with the whole bottle completely full of the stuff.
It had even blocked the pipes and washer jets.
It took a couple of days to clean all the system and I had to replace the jets because someone had tried to clean them with a bit of copper wire which got stuck in them.
Now I only ever use good quality washer fluid made to the correct viscosity.
Looks like the stopper that goes into a cleaning bottle Vince not necessarily off the car 👍
My 07 lacetti had similar issues back in 2014, pulled the motor from it and found some lovely black goo blocking the motor. Cleaned it all out, stopped using dish washing liquid soap as screen wash and it's been fine ever since
Thanks Vince, I'm trying to sort the exact same problem out great vid
Great fix Vince =D Regards cleaning that tank out - I would fill it with water and oxy action. Leave it for a few hours, chances are it would be crystal clean inside (after flush).
Not sure why, but I really love these impromptu fixes. For the bottle you may want to try putting some vinegar in there for a while. Won't hurt anything and will slowly kill the mold. Will smell like a salad while you do.
Great solution for cleaning out those bottles (works also for the collection tanks on condensor dryers) is to throw in some bleach solution plus a pile of 'baking beans' - the little ceramic beans used to weigh down pastry for blind-baking. Then rattle them around with the solution vigorously - gets rid of it nicely. then poor them out again.
F.O.R.D. Fix Or Repair Daily. (Coming from someone who has owned at least 4 Fords) Seriously tho, nice fix thanks for sharing.
A wonderful microcosm of diagnostic procedure - water not being pumped out of nozzle? Possible causes:
1. no water
2. pump not getting voltage
3. pump getting voltage, but not working
4. blockage between pump and nozzles.
Easy car fixes are just. Satisfying
My usual go-to with gunky bottles like this is a dishwasher tablet, warm water, and a lot of jiggling. The gunk is organic, so dishwasher tabs do a very good job of getting rid of it.
Hi Vince, ...... It could I think, be a reaction caused by intermixing different brands of screen wash. I had a similar blockage two years ago, not long after buying my used Mondeo Titanium X, ... only mine Didn't Gel, it crystallised, and blocked the filter; food for thought! 👍
A tip I was told along time ago was to run some sterilising fluid through the system from time to time to prevent that build up.
Vince if you put a handfullof old nuts and bolts into the tank, fill it with soapy water and do an Elvis impression to shake it all over,,, Voila clean tank.
A quick tip once the tank is reinstalled, you can buy a fish tank Caredy in line Water Filter, fit one to front and rear output pipes, then you have an easy way to clean any muck in the lines, before it reaches the jets.
It's easy to clean just unscrew the cap and wash out. Plus they are only about a fiver
Worth fitting in even if you have no problems
I had the same problem and fixed it by putting Milton sterilizing fluid in the tank. No more black slime.
Well done i has to replace my Volvo one last year nice fix
New bottles cost about a tenner or so, depending on make and model of car, usually easier than cleaning the old one out. If you want to clean it out, dishwasher tablet and hot water, give it a shake, leave it for an hour, shake some more, usually gets most crap out.
Love the ka shame they rot so bad. Girl i was seeing a while back had one and was very capable and brilliant fun to drive.
I have never seen a washer reservoir clogged that badly.That was gnarly.
Only done 47k most of that against a kerb looking at the front wheel 🤣 nice repair to keep the old girl on the road 👍
Surprised it's not rusted to death, my Aunt's 56 plate KA (brought new sept. 2006 iirc) was last MOT'd in 2016 where is failed for rust, she'd already gotten rid of it as it wasn't worth keeping.
It’s common to use ball bearings to clean items with inaccessible parts. Would work very well on that tank.
Also, as a temporary fix, you could blow compressed air from a can down one of the jets and that can help to clean the path.
Replacement washer fluid tanks are usually cheap, make sure to clean out the hoses/nozzles as well.
i did take this more like a bed time story good night and waiting for next one :)
What would work very well with this is a bottle of mould and mildew blaster from astonish, you can get it from B and M or home bargains. It'd bring it up like new. Works magic on washing machine soap boxes too.
I used a similar product to fix/clean up my dishwasher's breather. Worked like magic.
If you look at the ingredients, it is basically bleach.
On the windscreen glass there are small white dots for you to locate the wiper blades in the correct location
Nice one. So they ready for the MOT now.
16:42 looks like a wiper linkage cover cap (fits under one of the bushings on the wiper linkage to retain grease).
Knowing this is an issue moving forward, would it be worth looking for a cleaner that could break that gunk up internally if you poured it in the reservoir instead of having to take it fully apart? Automotive stores might carry something designed just for this problem.
There is alcohol in the washer fluid It evaporates and people neglect topping off the fluid until it runs out. If you cannot remember when you last put fluid in disconnecting the sprayer hose(tube, pipe)and pressing the washer button to empty the tank then refilling with fresh fluid, change it once a year this way, or as I do... use the system every time you get in the car. Putting a heavy concentration of bleach water in the tank overnight(run it through all the lines they will have goo in them as well) then disconnect the hoses the next day, run the system to empty the bleach water from the tank then purge the system with some fresh water, refill the reservoir fresh fluid It will be clean as if new. You could have emptied the tank put hot bleach water in it over night It would have destroyed all the bacteria over night and been good as new. But where is the exciting content or show in that? Love your show... except for the car stuff I haven't the vaguest clue what you are talking about or doing but but am eagerly on the edge of my seat watching anyway. I have this fantasy of flying across the pond and landing at Heathrow airport where you undoubtedly spend your days sitting, (waiting for crazy fans to show up) I'd be carrying my 1963 (still working) Pilot tube set receiver that you begged me to bring to replace all the aged capacitors, of course the BBC would pick up you're show... and our show would definitely win a BAFTA... The King would Knight you and from a golden carriage in a parade in your honor you would do that Royal wave as my friends and throngs of your fans would throw flowers along the parade route! It could happen... Thank you providing great entertainment!
😂🤣🤣🤣 Thank you 🍻
Drain snake and wire wool attached to the end of it helped when I did mine
Very common issue caused mainly by using the incorrect dilution ratio of screenwash to water. With the correct dilution ratio mold will not be able to grow in the reservoir. Using hard water from the tap also does not help.
Would not be surprised if some mold has gotten past the gauze filter and is in the lines or partially blocking the jets.
I find removing the lines from the jets and operating the washers for a while to flush the lines clean.
Using compressed air whilst the lines are disconnected from the jets to blow out any mold trapped in them
The low mileage also plays as part as nothing lasts forever so over time the solvents in the window screen washer fluid break down and cause that sludge at the bottom of the reservoir blocking the pump.
I fill the reservoir with hot water & bleach then throw in a few handful's of 10mm nuts. Then block the holes off and shake vigorously until you are fed up :)
The 10mm nuts act as an abrasive helping to remove the mold. The longer you can leave the bleach and water mix in there the better.
We also used sand as an abrasive but you must get all of it out of the reservoir otherwise this will damage the pump and block the washer jets hence why we prefer the 10mm nuts.
We mainly just replaced the reservoir as the customers did not want to wait or pay for the labour to clean the old reservoir.
Your mystery part look like it was left in the plenum chamber by the person that was there before you as that nut retaining the window screen wiper motor & linkage would have not been missing from the factory so someone has had the window screen wiper motor & linkage out before maybe to do the exact same job you did.
Thanks again Adam for the invaluable advice. In fact I am about to mention you in a Coffee machine video which I know is probably not your field of expertise, but I am using some Loctite 243 on it and you mentioned that to me before on a Roller video! Cheers mate 😎
@@Mymatevince Glad I could help Vince, Just watched the Nintendo N64 video and hats off for persevering with it and getting a result. I am sure you have help many people in the future trying to repair those PSU's
Just had my washing machine motor fail and purchased a used one off eBay with the exact same model number and before I installed it I did some testing on the "new" one to confirm the armature had failed which it had but nearly everything else on that motor was different.
But just like your power supplies the model number was exactly the same. :)
Hopefully you'll be too fixing the roller soon. Great content. 👍
In Scandinavia we have to use liquid to prevent ice in wipes but it also prevents that mould growing in the water.
I would put in some small balls from ball bearings or other small balls and a small amount off water and just give it a nice shake. Nice videos. Kind regards from North of Sweden =)
Been in the motor trade 45 years approx Safety tip ,do,nt get the algae in your eyes , it can cause blindness always wash hands thougherly after.
Geat deduction skills as usual .
This is The most common fault on fords and Vauxhalls.
So who's your mechanic, proud to say the MMV guy
with out watching the video my guess would be the rubber filter before pump motor is filled with gunk from just using plain water and not a washer fluid mixture. had this happen on my old focus that meant taking the driver side wheel arch off fun times.
Another reason they block up is putting the screenwash in straight.Most of the stuff sold now is concentrate so needs to be pre-mixed with water before you add it.Otherwise it can clump together and block the motor.
So, the conclusion for the future is - Use an algae resistant liquid. Do not use Tap water to dilute windscreen washer liquids, but distilled water. You can also add a splash of IPA. (not too much, coz some rubber and gaskets might not like it.)
Why would you want to add water in the first place. I'm from the USA so maybe different but usually they come in a jug that fills it in one go.
@@Crafter_H There are concentrates which can be diluted with water. People often drip in water when the regular fluid is gone. The algae growth also depend on the climate. People who live in a dry environment won't experience this problem. On the other hand people who live in places with high humidity cannot always avoid the fungi/algae/mold trouble. And UK is a rainy country.
@@marcellipovsky8222 didn't know that. I live in WI USA so we have 2 types. One that is good to -30°f and one that is good for summer 😂😂😂😂
I use steradent (or home bargains equivalents), 1 or 2 tablets every so often.
They worked a treat on my car, which I bought at the end of lockdown, and it had been sat on a forecourt for 2 years....
to be fair if you rang the insurance company that the washer jets on your ford ka are not working they would class it as a insurance right off 😜, only joking love your vids.
🤣🤣
Once again, simple but a very nice thumbnail.
It's happened on a couple of cars I've had in the end I cut the rubber gauze off the bung.
Just to let you know not all cars have the guaze due to this problem. For example I use to make the nissan juke washer bottles and they just have a bung with no guaze.
It's just screen wash building up on the gauze, without the gauze it doesn't have the opportunity to build up. It's probably caused by bad mixture of screen wash and the solution over time separates from the water making sludge.
My opinion is run without it and run the bottle empty that way your always adding fresh clean screenwash to the system so it has no chance to form the sludge.
best way to clean some inaccessible shapes like this one is just adding clean sand and soap and water and shaking it for 5 minutes it worked for me it will work for you
You could put a strong magnet inside a sponge and use another magnet on the outside to clean the unreachable places.
A similar method is used with fish tanks. I imagine it would work a treat for irregular shapes like this fluid tank.
A length of small link chain tumbled in a cleaning solution would help out there; it's very flexible and easy to hook out/hang onto if you're worried about stuff getting stuck. Alternatively as others have said, handfuls of small hardware - nuts, washers, etc - work very well. Basically anything that's tough enough to not disintegrate during the process and small enough to pass though the neck but large enough that it won't get stuck in nooks and crannies (and then let go when you least need it to like sand or grit can).
What a coincidence - I treated my (21 year old) car to a new pump this morning.
Thankfully, I don't need a single tool to change mine😁😁
Here is a tip for you . Put some M3 nuts, and bols, small ball bearing sand some sand, mixed with detergent, cover all the holes and do the shake. It will clean nice.
I used uncooked rice, hot water and washing up liquid to clean a washer bottle in a MX5. Just shook it around for a few mins and washed it out.
Fish tank gravel in the bottle with soapy water and shake it about to clean all the hard to reach areas. Lost count of the times I have done that. Also it does not matter about moving the mechanism when you remove it as they have a limit/position switch so all you need to do is turn on the wipers once the mechanism has been refitted (before fitting the wiper arms) and it will put itself back in the "parked " position. 21 years as a tech is a long time lol.
I think a chain would clean the walls of that bottle, you can shake it around well and then it comes out easy too.
What if you poured in some ball bearings or maybe some nuts n bolts and swished them around to try and dislodge all the buildup?
Thanks for your post. Just brilliant
You can try something to like of play sand to clean the insides of containers like that. Put in about a cup of sand, some water and maybe a bit of detergent. Cover any openings and agitate. Obviously rinse the debris considerably before reuse.
Vince if you put some oxyclean powder in that bottle and then add some water and shake it up that stuff will foam up and clean out all of the nooks in that bootle.
Haha what a treat, I am currently also driving a Ka (from 06) in that lovely blue. Would be incredible if you could also show how to fix the AC, instrument cluster backlight, radio... and the rust 😂
Nice vid and cool to see a different car getting fixed this time! What's the situation with the Silver Spirit?
Just waiting for my finger to heal a bit more and then I will be back on it. The weather could do with warming and drying up a bit also!!! 👍
@@Mymatevince Hope your finger get's better! , I think you're right in waiting, one time we got snow in July! I live in the UK, and the weather is unpredictable really.
Soon as that mournful sound from the pump, I knew there's a blockage and pump is fine. Soak everything in Astonish Black Mold bleach for few hours or overnight preferable then wash clean soapy water. Don't know what it is about Astonish bleach, maybe higher strength but works fantastic on black mold.
Common issue cleaning overflow tanks for coolant, washer bottles, small fuel tanks. Put rocks, metal nuts, washers, any small objects, fill with water and agitate. Done it many times.
That gunk was probably a chemical reaction, a byproduct of mixing different wash solutions. Borax for example with cross link many substances and cause slime. Best thing for a washer bottle is pure ammonia and water ie Windex. They add ethylene glycol to many so they won't freeze. It can gell when mixed with some chemicals.
Some exterior wall and roof cleaner to destroy quickly all lichen and algae. Cleans in a few minutes. Not letting it in the tank to not attack the plastic.
I don't know how auto parts stores are in the U.K, but in the U.S. the stores have racks of jets for your washer fluid.
Interesting problem, nice fault finding to pinpoint the root cause and the fix of course :)
Plughole unblocker works great on those things...
Next time use hot water and a cup of washing soda. There is also specialized fluid for the window washers. Put it into the tank and it helps to prevent mold in the tank (and also lowering the freezing point of the fluid in the winter).
A health and safety officer at a place i worked a few years back said that under no circumstances was we to use anything other than screenwash in the vehicles we drove. Reason being that legionella forms in the bottles and is blown through the vents causing Legionnaires’ disease.
You can clean and re-align the jets using a strong needle in the jet holes.
You could put some little pebbles into the tank and shake it, that's how i cleaned one of these once
Wow still got the old ford Ka and my dad Audi. I've got the same problem there's no back wiper on the a5
I would've fancied a Ka so much more than the Vauxhall Astra that I drove way back in the day.
Looks like an ideal job for the two part expanding drain/plughole cleaner.
Pour it in and let it expand for 30 mins then rinse out.
How about a bit of bicarb and hot water and a good shake to clean the reservoir?
Can you show a closeup of the windscreen because I want to see the little holes that a screen should have.
Used to work in a Ford dealer/ service centre if a customer came in and hit this complaint where would recommend replacing the tank and all the lines up to the jets we believed it was a breakdown of those rubber lines internally well that was the head mechanics opinion
I wonder if distilled water might be less likely to develop that black gunk in it?
Fill about a quarter full of a little water with crushed ice and salt, cover the openning and shake well and you should be able to clean all the inside of the container.
Amazon sells small ball bearings for cleaning inside bottles/inaccessable places. Would work for your washer reservoir.