Wiper fluid motor not working

[Reidminer]

Hi everyone, so this afternoon I installed a small aftermarket fluid container in my Jeep as replacement for the stock wiper fluid bottle as it had been deleted when the previous owner installed high line and inner fenders. I’ll link a few pics so y’all can visualize the setup.
Anyway, I installed the motor in the new container, and hooked up the connectors and fluid line, added fluid, and tried multiple times to get it to work...to no avail. I tested the connection at the connector pins, and it registered nothing. I tested the sites themselves, about two inches down from the connector head, and again nothing, except the ground registered.

Is this a potential wire issue? Or a fuse? Perhaps just a new plug is needed? If this is too little info let me know what you’d like to know and I’ll do my best! Any help would be appreciated

 

[RockstarBobby]

Are you getting power to your pump? Could be as simple as a fuse or a dirty contact or something really silly like that.
Check fuse (pretty sure there is one)
Grab some contact cleaner from auto parts store and spray your connections, let them dry and and put your connections back together.
If after you check the fuse and spray contact cleaner the pump still doesn't work, it's probably time to grab your fluke meter and have someone lend you an extra hand. Just have someone pull on the switch to engage the washer motor pump while you put your fluke leads on the connectors to see if you are receiving any power to pump.

 

[CharlesHS]

Does the windshield wiper motor operate ?
Both the washer pump and the wiper motor are fed from fuse 17 in the fuse block behind the glove compartment. If that fuse is good; there should be power coming off of terminal 2 on the MFS going to the pump motor. If there isn't power then the problem is with your multi function switch or some connector in between.

 

[Reidminer]

Are you getting power to your pump? Could be as simple as a fuse or a dirty contact or something really silly like that.
Check fuse (pretty sure there is one)
Grab some contact cleaner from auto parts store and spray your connections, let them dry and and put your connections back together.
If after you check the fuse and spray contact cleaner the pump still doesn't work, it's probably time to grab your fluke meter and have someone lend you an extra hand. Just have someone pull on the switch to engage the washer motor pump while you put your fluke leads on the connectors to see if you are receiving any power to pump.

So the pump/motor is brand new oem. I drilled a hole into the new/smaller container and popped the pump assembly into it. The connector on the end of the wire didn’t look corroded(though I’ll definitely clean them and try that).
That’s the thing I’m wondering, is there a specific fuse for the wiper pump? I don’t have the og manual so I don’t have them listed out.
So that’s actually exactly what I did, I had my dad hold the meter to the connector while I toggled the wiper switch(nothing registered on the meter) when he checked the actual wires he said he detected a ground connection.
So I’m thinking it might be A) a bad/dirty connector, B) a bad fuse...which one? Or C) the wires themselves went bad/shorted?

 

[Reidminer]

Does the windshield wiper motor operate ?
Both the washer pump and the wiper motor are fed from fuse 17 in the fuse block behind the glove compartment. If that fuse is good; there should be power coming off of terminal 2 on the MFS going to the pump motor. If there isn't power then the problem is with your multi function switch.

How would I tell if the motor itself is operational? It’s a brand new oem motor/pump so I’ve never had it in use before. Thank you so much for the fuse info, I’ll check that. And by MFS you mean the thing you use to select wiper modes and such on the steering column right? If so, what would need to be replaced in that area?

 

[CharlesHS]

How would I tell if the motor itself is operational? It’s a brand new oem motor/pump so I’ve never had it in use before. Thank you so much for the fuse info, I’ll check that. And by MFS you mean the thing you use to select wiper modes and such on the steering column right? If so, what would need to be replaced in that area?

YES... The MFS is under the plastic cover on the steering column with two arms attached...
Since the washer pump is OEM and new; then more than likely it is good....
IF you are not sure... you can measure Ohms (resistance) across the two pump motor leads when disconnected OR you could attach wires from the battery to the two leads to see if the motor spins.
As I posted earlier... check the terminal 2 on the MFS for 12VDC when the washer is selected to operate.
If there is not 12 VDC then the MFS has a problem. You can either replace the MFS or remove the switch assembly and spray contact cleaner inside the switch assembly and cycle the individual switches in hopes of cleaning the contacts. Wait about 5 minutes before reconnecting the harness's to ensure all the contact cleaner has evaporated.

 

[Reidminer]

YES... The MFS is under the plastic cover on the steering column with two arms attached...
Since the washer pump is OEM and new; then more than likely it is good....
IF you are not sure... you can measure Ohms (resistance) across the two pump motor leads when disconnected OR you could attach wires from the battery to the two leads to see if the motor spins.
As I posted earlier... check the terminal 2 on the MFS for 12VDC when the washer is selected to operate.
If there is not 12 VDC then the MFS has a problem. You can either replace the MFS or remove the switch assembly and spray contact cleaner inside the switch assembly and cycle the individual switches in hopes of cleaning the contacts. Wait about 5 minutes before reconnecting the harness's to ensure all the contact cleaner has evaporated.

Awesome thank you so much for for the detailed response. I’m heading back over to my dads tomorrow to work on it more(and try all this stuff). I’ll update after that how it goes!

 

[Reidminer]

Alright so, this afternoon we disassembled the mfs from the steering wheel and tested all connections. The connector points on the actual switch were all in great shape, showed no signs of corrosion or grime. The switch also registered on the volt meter when tested alone. The plug contions were clean as well, and testing registered a ground but we couldn’t find anything else. The fuse isn’t the issue either, as you said that’s the fuse for both wiper motor & wiper pump, and my wiper motor works. So...is this an issue with the wire itself from the pump to the mfs, somewhere along the line? If so, would it be way less costly(money and time) to just run new a wire and plug connectors, setup to a switch on the dash?

 

[TJProjectRon]

Alright so, this afternoon we disassembled the mfs from the steering wheel and tested all connections. The connector points on the actual switch were all in great shape, showed no signs of corrosion or grime. The switch also registered on the volt meter when tested alone. The plug contions were clean as well, and testing registered a ground but we couldn’t find anything else. The fuse isn’t the issue either, as you said that’s the fuse for both wiper motor & wiper pump, and my wiper motor works. So...is this an issue with the wire itself from the pump to the mfs, somewhere along the line? If so, would it be way less costly(money and time) to just run new a wire and plug connectors, setup to a switch on the dash?

If your switch is good could you run a new wire from it to the pump?

 

[RockstarBobby]

Alright so, this afternoon we disassembled the mfs from the steering wheel and tested all connections. The connector points on the actual switch were all in great shape, showed no signs of corrosion or grime. The switch also registered on the volt meter when tested alone. The plug contions were clean as well, and testing registered a ground but we couldn’t find anything else. The fuse isn’t the issue either, as you said that’s the fuse for both wiper motor & wiper pump, and my wiper motor works. So...is this an issue with the wire itself from the pump to the mfs, somewhere along the line? If so, would it be way less costly(money and time) to just run new a wire and plug connectors, setup to a switch on the dash?

Not sure how much help I’m going to be but I will offer my thoughts brother.

Process of elimination:
you’ve got a good fuse / so that’s not the problem.
You’ve tested the power going into the MFS and it registered / so that’s not it.

Did you test to see if you were still getting power coming from the MFS? If you have power going into it, you should be able to read that same voltage coming from it and that will tell us if the MFS switch/relay is working or if it failed.

Does the washer pump run if jumped directly from battery or power source? Attach wires from the battery to the two leads on the pump to see if the motor spins. If it spins- new pump is good. If it doesn’t it’s not. I know the pump is brand new and should work but stranger things have happened.

If that achecks out, you’ve probably got a wire shorted out. You can replace it or bypass it.