Washer jet - fan spray?

[Benmac]

Has anybody ever considered or even better, achieved, swapping the two streams of dribble you get from the screen washer jets for a fan spray?

I was musing this while fiddling with the bump stops for the front hatch closure on my car last night. I didn't take it off then but looking at the part diagram on Deroure and a picture from ebay I think that the nozzle is a Ford part as fitted to some Mondeos, Focus etc. Even the connector looks the same for the heated element.You can get fan versions of those.

I will have a closer look I think tonight but just asking in case anyone has already done it.

[Whitey]

Not done that but I did have a problem with poor jets - hardly reaching the lower qtr of the screen. Turned out there was a nearly blocked valve part way down the tube. Ran a drill through it and jets are now powerful, but a wider spray pattern would be good.

[Benmac]

Yeah, I think the washers are OK in terms of not being blocked. I've got used to fan jets on my C class and they're so much better.

Bit more digging and the part number from Ford is (I think) 1708797. You can get genuine Ford items on ebay for about £12 so I've taken a chance and ordered one. Will report back.

Most entertainment I ever had with washer jets was on my M100 Elan. They were truly awful when I got it. Checked the nozzles, fine, checked the hoses under the bonnet, fine, checked the pump, fine. So, must be a blockage somewhere along the hose. In the Elan the washer bottle is in the boot and the hose disappears through the bulkhead and then under the carpet in the interior, up under the dash and into the engine bay. So, checking it all would be a bit of a hassle. While I intended to remove the carpet at some point I wasn't ready to yet so disconnected the hose from the nozzles (two on the Elan!) and connected my power washer to the end. Pulled the trigger and the washer motor made a different "working hard" noise for about 3 seconds then suddenly I had a fountain coming from the boot! Power of the washer had dislodged the blockage (and there was a lot of it), pushed it down the pipe and into the reservoir. Removed and cleaned the reservoir out, refilled and washer jets were working brilliantly.

[JAWS]

Coincidentally I have looked into this as the my wife's mk3 Focus misting jet should fit. I had a little tinker at removing it but got side tracked and forgot to look into it again. The only issue I could see was the angle it misted on to the screen. I found some one who had put a blob of glue just below the nozzle to raise the angle which may resolve the issue. 

[JayEmm]

Oddly, the windscreen washer is like a novelty item but the jets from the headlamp washer covers half the car. And I've only got one working - they're quite impressive.

[Benmac]

Yes, I've noticed exactly that on mine!

 

[Benmac]

Success!

Part arrived today and yep, it is a straight swap. Only difference is the nozzle itself.

Works well, spraying more finely over a good area. Te spray is ever so slightly catching the underside of the hatch lid so I need to see if I can tweak it or if removing the thin trim tape I used under the plastic bit the nozzle is mounted too has raised it a couple of mm too far. Even if I can't stop it doing that it is still loads better than the two piddly streams.

So, if anyone else wants to do it the Ford part number is 1708797, can be had on ebay for about £12 (for reference the standard nozzle is part number  1708796)

 

 

[mik]

Nice find - I'll order one of these.

[mik]

Dispatched already - might even be there by the time I get back from business trip Friday ?

[Whitey]

Nice one, let us know if you can sort the adjustment out, and how, but looks like it's worth while anyways

Edited November 30, 2016 by Whitey

[pickle]

Thanks for this, it was something that really bugged me too and I had resigned myself to live with it. Just ordered myself a replacement 

Out of interest (and sorry if this is too obvious), can you alter where the jets are firing so that they miss the hatch by sticking a pin into the nozzle itself?

[superdavelotus]

I found changing my pump which kept stopping every few weeks did the trick. I now have a much better jet and the part from Lotus was less than £15!

[Benmac]

1 hour ago, pickle said:

Thanks for this, it was something that really bugged me too and I had resigned myself to live with it. Just ordered myself a replacement 

Out of interest (and sorry if this is too obvious), can you alter where the jets are firing so that they miss the hatch by sticking a pin into the nozzle itself?

Not tried that yet, it's on my list for the weekend. I think the most likely culprit is that the small bit of trim tape I have put under the piece of plastic it mounts on has raised it too high but if I can just tweak it down that would be good. You'd hope so as normal nozzles you can and things are always going to be a touch variable car to car.

[JayEmm]

I'm going to have to do this on my car, my washer jets don't even reach half-way up the screen

[TheKevlarKid]

On 28 November 2016 at 23:28, JayEmm said:

Oddly, the windscreen washer is like a novelty item but the jets from the headlamp washer covers half the car. And I've only got one working - they're quite impressive.

Lol. Same here, wondered what the hell was going at first before realising it was coming from the light wash, perhaps they need some adjustment...can you force them up anyhow to get to the jets without actually operating them?

[JayEmm]

If they are anything like BMW jets the only way is to get them to operate and grab the buggers

[TheKevlarKid]

Sounds like it could become quite comical in a 'looking down the end of the hosepipe to see where the water is' kind of way.

 

[pickle]

I ordered the new jet yesterday morning and it arrived today via Royal Mail. It probably took me less than 5min to swap the jets over and I'm pretty pleased with the results. Like @Benmac I found the spray caught the bottom edge of the access hatch, and there's nothing obvious that could be done to stop it. It's only a minor niggle though (although perhaps why lotus went for the crap standard option??).

It's a big improvement for a small outlay and a few moments of your time. Photos below:

 

Edited December 3, 2016 by pickle
crap speeling

[Benmac]

Aha! Yep, that's just like mine. Still haven't had a chance to have a fiddle but even like that, as you've seen, it's a good load better already.

[JayEmm]

Do you need to order two or one of these washer Jets? 

[pickle]

Just the one

 

[Chris J]

I fitted the spray nozzle yesterday, same issue with the centre of the fan hitting the lip of the access hatch. Since the piece the nozzle fits in is quite flexible, I was thinking perhaps a small piece of rubber on the underside of the access hatch to push the piece the nozzle is in down slightly, either that or I suspect you would need to take some of the lip off the edge of the hatch.

[Danelaw]

On 12/3/2016 at 16:17, pickle said:

although perhaps why lotus went for the crap standard option?

I'm not sure these were available when the Evora was first launched as some vendors are suggesting this is a post 2010 part. Of course that doesn't explain why later models have not kept up, and the spraying the hatch issue could have just been a niggle they didn't want. I didn't bother looking at the quality of the windscreen washer jet operation before purchase so Lotus are probably right to put their effort into other areas.

There's always a nice bit of satisfaction in doing these little upgrades to your own car anyway, so many thanks for posting the part number up here @Benmac this is another little upgrade I'll do over the Christmas break unless Ford run out of parts!

[JayEmm]

I'll also be doing the upgrade after winter, seems worthwhile given the use my car gets. To be fair, I did fully expect the windscreen washer to be crap.

[Brendonian]

I've finally got around to fitting mine. Like others here, I found the spray was hitting the access hatch, but I found an easy solution. The nozzle comes fitted with a rubber gasket, which is not really necessary. Removing this has the effect of lowering the nozzle just enough for the jet to clear the hatch

The gasket only prevents water getting past it into the area under the hatch. Since that area is clearly designed to channel any water away, and appears to let a certain amount of water in anyway, I can't see any harm in removing it.

Think of the weight saving! And it lowers the centre of gravity