Hi guys!

 

 I could really use some help.

 

Early after buying this 2003 Fabia I noticed that one of the two front windshield washers "sprayed" less than the other, but I didn't think much about it. What have concerned me, is that the tank gets empty really quick, like days after filling up 5 liters and hardly using it. So, I guess something is leaking. At first, I thought that the actual 5l reservoar was broken. I'm not in the mood to remove the front bumper now, in the middle of cold(!) Swedish winter, so I have just  accepted that windscreen washers doesn't work. I just drive in the city anyhow, so I thought I could cope without windshield cleaning for a while. Now, the other day I was investigating, and my assumption that the actual reservoar is broken may be wrong.

 

In fact, we may be up against some sort of hose leak, which I believe is better, since I may fix it without removing the front bumper. Look, my fiance took some video while I was spraying the windshield. You see how it comes up from the side. It's not supposed to do that, right? What do you guys think about this?

 

 

I've read (Haynes) that I need to remove the wiper arms to remove that plastic thing/cover that the spray noozles comes up from. Is this correct? Also, the Haynes manual tells me that the clips that holds the plastic frame will "probably" snap/brake efter removing them, so I should have new ones ready. Is this true, anyone with experience in this? I could really need any friendly advice here. Worst case scenario, I'll leave this to a garage, but I'd really prefer if I could somehow fix it myself.

 

Also, do do you think this "leak" could be the reason why the wiper fluid tank gets drained out, or do you suspect an underlying issue, perhaps _also_ someting with the reserveroar?

 

Anyways, I'd be much grateful for any input on this matter.

 

Cheers!

Guys, I've got an update.

 

I just made a cheap run for descent light and dry ground, this in form of a public parking garage downtown. I just punched a ticket and and opened the trunk and grabbed my toolbox. People seeing it must have thought I was a fool, but it was a lot cheaper than the DIY garage

 

Anyways, I turned maximum left and unscrewed the Torx screws in the wheel arch, you know. I pulled the plastic and tried to get a descent look in there. To be honest, I couldn't find any dripping, it looked pretty good, all in all. Is that to be considered good news?

 

Also, a bit later, when inspecting the thing in the Youtube video clip above, I actually found a problem. Like you guys have probably suspected, just a a couple of centimeters from the nozzle, the small hose is, well, carved in half, or something. This is why it's spreading all around. I wonder how it has happened. Could the cold be the bandit here?

 

However(!), does this really explain why the 5l tank gets emptied up in like, no time? Does the nozzle itself have some kind of back-locking valve?

Or is it likely that this is only one of several problems, maybe a chapped tank?

Damn, too late to edit post. Anyways, here a photo I manage to take in under the plastic cover where the washer motor/pump is located. I've read (on this forum) about a very common problem where a hose/tube slips of the pump, causing a leak in here. Now, by the looks of things, I don't think it looks like I'm having those problem. What do you think?

 

 

Anyways, about that blown hose just ~2 cm away from the left spray nozzle on the hood, near windshield. On some other car forum (this seems like a really common issue, among many cars) someone wrote that you should try to just cut clean existing hose and try to stretch it. Do you guys know about lengthwise marginals on those hoses on the Fabia Mk1? I mean, it's only a matter of centimeters. It could work, right?

 

Also, I'm thinking about bringing the car in to the DIY hall some day when I have a spare hour or two to waste. Then I'll remove the front bumper (doh, it feels like such a huge project) to check whether the washer fluid reservoir is okay or not.

i had a similar problem a while back and it was a leaking valve on the pump.  ie that circular tube to the right of your picture on the bottom of the pump that the pipes are connected to.  I managed to seal it once with winscreen selant but after a year or so it went again and for the sake of a few pounds bought a new pump.

 

with that in mind i would check that valve to see if it is dripping or has cracked in the cold if frozen at any stage.

 

in case you didnt know the system has one pump for both front and rear but spins in a different direction depending on what you are trying to wash, the valve sending the water in the right direction.  However when i replaced my pump i found it worked backwards so had to swap the tubes over at the valve to get it working correctly with the stalk.

oh and for i fo the tubing is dead cheap from a motor factors or ebay and you don,t need to take the bumper off to check the bottle just the undertray if i remember correctly.