What should I pay

10th January 2011, 15:19

Hi what price should i be looking to pay to get a auto electrican to find a fault on my car. The fault is the washer jet's ain't working i am thinking it's something to do with the wires. thanks

10th January 2011, 15:20

Stupid Q but have you checked the fuse? The amount of blown fuses over the last few weeks is unreal lol

10th January 2011, 15:22

yep ive change f9 in glovebox,

10th January 2011, 15:23

Check fluid
Check jets arent blocked
Check fuse
Check washer pump

If you havn't done any of these yet dont whizz money up the wall paying someone to look at a problem which possibly isnt there

Its very rare that there will be an electrical fault. Simply a lack of fluids or a blockage of jets is very common. Even pumps aren't too rare an occurance

10th January 2011, 15:23

Probably the washer jet pump if it's not something obvious like frozen/blocked jets. Checked there's enough water in there?! It's a relatively easy fix to get a new pump installed.

10th January 2011, 15:30

Done all these thing's Changed pump,also replaced stalk that's why i am now stuck and don't have a clue and it's doing my head in. I bet it will be something simple tho.

10th January 2011, 15:32

Can you hear the pump when you pull the stalk back?

10th January 2011, 15:32

The pump is not kicking in at all . No noise no nothing it's dead.

10th January 2011, 15:36

Have you connected the pump?

It could be a loose plug on the motor or the stalk.

10th January 2011, 15:40

Pump is connected yes. I ve tried to wiggle the wires but still nothing. That's why I need someone test see if there is any power going to the pump but I ain't got a clue wot i am doing.

10th January 2011, 17:13

What about the wires/connections going to the pump?

10th January 2011, 17:14

Have you not got any mates of mates who are handy with a multimeter?

10th January 2011, 17:18

I have the same problem...no idea whats it is with mine, the last thing i need to try is a new pump...

10th January 2011, 17:20

To answer your original question, I'd expect to pay no more than £40 for an auto electrician to come out and spend however long it takes to find the fault. That's what I paid, mine was fucking brilliant, came out...took him about an hour and a half to earth the sender unit to rectify the petrol gauge not working, find out why the fogs didn't work, rectify rear light clusters not working (was a dodgy fuse in the end...doh!) and have a check over the ecu for faults and shit. Was very impressed.

10th January 2011, 18:03

£1 from the cheapie shop for an "Auto Electric Screwdriver" - they light up when current passes through them - jack plug goes in the blunt end and has wire and crocodile clip on it - this you earth or touch one side of the plug and the screwdriver end you touch the other side of the plug - if it lights up you got juice - if it doesn't search further up the wire for the problem.

Multimeters are great but way over complicated and too expensive for simple bulb/motor electrics on cars.

Don't forget that you need ignition on and the stalk pulled in order to get power to the motor - hence two people needed to test it or one and a bit of string/nylon tie.

Good luck

BTW - £40 good price for an Autoleccie to fix the problem - wish they were that cheap over here

10th January 2011, 18:32

hi anna ask benw555 see if he will pop round and have a look for you he dont charge much and he is local to you aswell

11th January 2011, 16:02

Right today i thought i would test my old washer pump 2 see if it works.What i did was connected it straight to a battery via 2 wires one on + one on -I didn't no which way round they went but it did kick in 4 a good few seconds. I tried it again then it didn't work. Is there a chance I fooked it by testing it this way. But at least i found out the old motor worked. I am also thinking is the stalk any good that I replaced as it was from a scrap yard and this might have a stalk fault. The only thing I can do now is to buy one of those screwdriver testers to see if there is power getting to the pump. How do i go about using the screwdriver tester as i don't want to blow anything. thanks everyone

11th January 2011, 16:11

As i said did you test the wires going to the pump yes?

11th January 2011, 16:19

No not yet need a screwdriver tester and the help of my dad to remove the wheel ect. Is it just a matter of putting both end's into the connector then pulling back the stalk. Then if it light's up there's power. If it don't then what's the problem. Would it be the connector or stalk at fault.

11th January 2011, 16:21

It's such a pain where it's located having to remove the wheel and inner arch everytime. It's too cold as well.

11th January 2011, 16:28

Right just had a thought. If i remove the cowling would I be able to unclip the connector from the stalk and just plug a new stalk in just to see if that works. This is so that i don't have to remove the airbag/steering wheel etc again. Then obviously if it works then I will have to remove airbag etc to fit it properly.