Front and rear wiper washer activation reversed

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by prscht, Sep 16, 2010.

  1. prscht

    prscht Junior Member

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    A weird problem occurred today on my 07 with 61000 miles, with no accidents or electrical problems before. When i pull the right stalk towards me to activate the front wiper washers, the rear washer turns on, and nothing at all comes out of the front washers, but the front wipers would still wipe several times as they normally would when front washers are activated.

    when i twist the end of the right stalk all the way either towards the dash or towards me to activate the rear washer, nothing comes out of the rear but instead the front washers are turned on.

    so the front and rear washer operations are totally reversed. Both were normal the last time i used them, within the past month. All other wiper functions are still normal. Any suggestions?
     
    #1 prscht, Sep 16, 2010
  2. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Could be the circular contact ring thing in the steering wheel has broken...
     
    #2 2k1Toaster, Sep 16, 2010
  3. 2009Prius

    2009Prius A Wimpy DIYer

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    Are you sure no one has worked on the car in between the "normal" and "reversed" states? It seems like someone disconnected the washer motor connectors (two of them are right next to each other at the bottom of the washer fluid reservoir) and plugged them back wrong (switched the two). I would check that first. Good luck!
     
    #3 2009Prius, Sep 17, 2010
  4. prscht

    prscht Junior Member

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    I disconnected the two connectors to the two washer pump motors, both connectors are keyed so it would not be possible to plug them to the wrong pumps.

    So to summarize, the washer pumps are connected correctly, all other functions on the right stalk work as intended, except front and rear washer operations are reversed. Any other suggestions? Thanks.

    By the way, the only service done before this problem was replacement of the timing chain cover gasket and the ICE water pump.
     
    #4 prscht, Oct 6, 2010
  5. Jim05

    Jim05 Occasional Quasi-Hypermiler

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    Since the electrical connectors are keyed, is it possible the hoses coming from the tank are reversed?
     
    #5 Jim05, Oct 6, 2010
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    That seems highly likely since the OP says that work was done on the "front" of the engine. It's likely that the tech removed the washer fluid reservoir for access to the timing chain cover.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Oct 6, 2010
  7. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    +1.

    Either the wiring or hoses have been reversed under the hood.

    Tom
     
    #7 qbee42, Oct 6, 2010
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