C5 rear screen washer

Post by **Sir Clive** » 15 Aug 2005, 15:13

How very vexing. I can hear the pump whirring away, but nary a drop of water makes it to the tailgate

On the C5 the washer reservoir is mounted somewhere behind the grille, and I assume that the one pump does for everything. The front screen wash is fine. The worrying thing is that the rear washer pipe appears to be threaded through the roof so I hope its not blocked. More investigations when I get time...still got to replace the front discs, pads, and rear pads. Very pleased with the pad life by the way,just over 50,000 miles from a set of fronts, and I'm not exactly known for hanging about.........

406 V6 · Post by **406 V6** » 15 Aug 2005, 18:24

Had the same problem wiht my mom's, from one moment to the next, though it was the front squirt not working.A such, new pump was installed.
The mechanic removed the screws on the right side of the front bumper, plus the ones of the grill at the middle, where the bonnet closes, just to pull the bumper aside enough for reaching the water reservoir.
All in all, it took 10 minutes, if so.
Fortunately, it all came out of Citroën's pocket[:D], but not anymore, the garantie is over...

Post by **Sir Clive** » 16 Aug 2005, 15:56

Well, it looks as if I'll be investigating the pump then. Actually, I remember that the delay between operating the pump and water squirting out had become longer and longer before it finally dried up altogether....
What a shame the car is out of guarantee, OTOH I did get three new tailgate windows out of Citroen

)
Regards
Philip

MW · Post by MW » 16 Aug 2005, 17:21

Always ask the stupid questions first. It's not just a dirt-blocked nozzle, is it? That's what I had on my Xant. A quick poke with a pin sorted it out in fifteen seconds.

Post by **Sir Clive** » 16 Aug 2005, 19:31

If only it was that simple

I managed to undo the pipe from the nozzle, and the nozzle is clear, even gave it a poke with a pin for good measure!
Regards
Philip

406 V6 · Post by **406 V6** » 17 Aug 2005, 03:38

Ya lucky guy! I only got the water pump and a cam cover gasket from them! (ok, and new driver's seat armature[:D])
Mind you the lower screws are spring loaded, don't make too much upward force unscrewing them or you'll spend the whole day trying to undo one(the things on elearns while changing engine oil...[:)])

Post by **Sir Clive** » 17 Aug 2005, 20:08

I did very well with the warranty: New handbrake assy, complete ream beam axle, three tailgate windows, a pair of front droplinks, one or two software upgrades, and a few other bits I can't remember. I was very sorry when the warranty ran out

Oh, and the very expensive detachable towbar started to play up, so I contacted the manufacture and got a free one of them as well, after over three years.
Regards
Philip

p20 · Post by **p20** » 18 Aug 2005, 04:44

My old astra estate had a similar problem. You could hear the pump working but nothing coming on to the rear screen. The waterfall running down the inside of the boot was a bit of a give away.[B)] It was mid winter and the pipe had frozen and burst. Didn't bother fixing it, then later part-exed it.

MW · Post by MW » 18 Aug 2005, 13:09

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">My old astra estate had a similar problem. You could hear the pump working but nothing coming on to the rear screen....It was mid winter and the pipe had frozen and burst. Didn't bother fixing it, then later part-exed it.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I had the same problem with the front washers on my Xant - but that time it was that the tube had fatigued and broken, very close to the bonnet hinges. The dead giveaway in that case was the strong smell of screenwash! If there's no smell, then I'd guess that there's no leak.