1996 GMC Jimmy Windshield Fluid Pump

Hi:

Is the pump getting power? If not, we'll have to work backwards until we find the problem. Is if is getting power and the pump is running, check the the WS washer hoses for cracks, cloggs, or anything that may prevent the fluid from running through it.

Joe

Let me know what you find.

Joe

Hello Joe,

I did get the rear windshield to receive fluid, but the front is still not releasing fluid. I checked the hoses, and found no cracks. I also blew into the hoses, and they seemed clear (actually tasted the fluid!). When I pressed the rear windshield button, I did hear the pump, but when I pressed the front, I heard nothing. I am not sure of the location of the front pump. The pump I changed was actually attached to the fluid reservoir. I do not know the location of the front pump.

Hi:
The one should also be located on the reservior too. Are there two reserviors or only one on your vehicle? Some have two one for the front and one for the rear. If there is only one and it's not responding to the front washer switch, it sounds like the switch may be bad. Before replacing that, I would make sure the motor is not getting power.

Joe

96 would have a single reservoir with two pumps. The pumps will also be at different levels. The upper one is the rear washer and the lower one is the front washer. Also while the rear washer is directly operated by the switch (press switch pump turns on) the front is not. The wiper motor has a contact plate in it that turns on the pump when the wipers are on. The fluid will pulse when the wiper blade is low on the glass. What you can do to test the pump is to connect the rear pumps connector to the front pump. If it now works when you push the button the pump is OK. If not then the pump is bad. If the pump tests good pull the connector off the wiper motor and remove the plastic cover from the control board. Check for a bad connector and check for burned contacts inside on the board. The boards are available from many FLAPS for about 20 dollars if you have a doubt about the condition of the board.

My wife just told me about another issue, which may shed some light. She just told me sometimes whenever she turn the wipers on, they will operate, but when she turns them off, they may stop in the middle of her windshield, or will wipe a few more times, then the wipers will stop where they should. I removed the contact plate, and found no burned connectors. I also tried to connect the rear pump connectors to the front, but the connector would not connect because they were two different sizes, the rear being larger than front. Do you think the motor needs replacing? By the way SWilliams, what are FLAPS?

FLAPS= Friendly Local Auto Parts Store

With the additional information it sounds like the common connector failure on the wiper control board. The connection to the wiring harness breaks free and make intermittent contact. If you want to repair it yourself you just need to re-solder the connector pins to the main board. You can usually see the ones that are broken, just look for cracks around the pins.

Given the age (and the fact it costs about $30 bucks), I will purchase the board. Will let you know the results. Again, thank you all (espically SWilliams!) for the input.

Hey SWilliams,

I tried your suggestion, and it worked. Both my Wife and I are very pleased. Thank you for your advice. It was much appreciated.

You're welcome. GM recalled a bunch of the wipers on other models for the same problem. The catch is that far more models used the same wiper assembly. Those didn't get recalled.