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wiper fluid motor not working

seg501

NAXJA Forum User
Location
MA
I have a 99 jeep cherokee 4 door 4.0. wiper fliud stop working. the wipers work fine, just no fluid squirting out to clean windshield. Is there a fuse , if so what is the fuse number? Otherwise how easy is it to replace if need be?
 
On the 99 there are two motors, one for front and one for rear. The jug is hidden behind the driver's side fender liner, in a location that gets rusty rather readily, so there's a good chance the motor is dead. That's quite likely if the rear washer still works. The two motors have different connectors on them, so unfortunately it's not easy to swap them. The also differ from those in earlier LHD XJ's (RHD used the in-fender tank earlrier).

You can access the tank without taking the whole fender liner out if you flex and stress it a little. You'll spot your target there easily enough, and you can pull the motor to test it. I actually, just out of sheer perversity, took mine out and disassembled it and got it running again, but the rust had eaten the motor casing through, so it didn't last long.

Motors are easy to replace. They just push into a grommet in the fluid tank. You can get aftermarket ones in two versions, one with the correct connector, and one with a universal connector and an adapter. The latter was cheaper at my local parts store, and worked fine.
 
1998XJlimitedwasherresivoir.jpg


You can see the tank here, and one of the holes for the pumps at the bottom, with the rubber grommet in place; the other hole is partly obscured by the "step" in the reservoir. The pumps are dangling there on the harness. I would unplug the wiring first, and put a voltmeter on it, while having a helper hit the washer switch- if you have 12V at the plug, but the pump doesn't run when connected, it's probably dead.

The first time I was fooling with it, I pulled the liner. The second, I just pushed it far enough out of the way to swap the new pump in.
 
Cool, I will test the voltage. Looks easy enough to replace:) My rear one stopped working a few months ago. With snow coming on Sun I want to get this fixed by Sat:)
 
I replaced the wiper stalk on the steering colum because I had an extra and that fixed the passengers side and not the drivers side lol. Tonight I am going over my brothers and testing everything you guys meantioned above.
 
My 98 has a REAL problem working when it is cold... Like now, for instance. Once some heat leaks into the fluid resevoir, the washers work just fine. So, if it worked when warm and not now, that may just be the breaks...

My 97 did the same exact thing... Aren't we glad Jeep move the resevoir out of the engine bay?
 
My 98 has a REAL problem working when it is cold... Like now, for instance. Once some heat leaks into the fluid resevoir, the washers work just fine. So, if it worked when warm and not now, that may just be the breaks...

My 97 did the same exact thing... Aren't we glad Jeep move the resevoir out of the engine bay?

Put the good washer fluid in it, rated for -30*F.
 
Thanks everyone. It was the stalk on the steering colum and a frozen line. I am putting in the -30 stuff today:) I also replaced my ground strap from the back of the engine block to the fire wall because it was toast.
 
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