To put this simply, my wiper spray switch on the turn signal is broken, and I can't use it. Instead of buying a new turn signal switch and taking the steering column apart, wouldn't it be plausable to go to radio shack, buy some push-button switch, and wire it to something under the dash so I can control the spray with that?

I have no idea where to start, but if someone can give me some easy directions, I would like to try this

(it'* an 89 SSE)

Thanks

It is possible... is your switch physically broken or the washer just dosen't work?

What he said... How much is really broken here?

Note that you don't need to disturb the turn-signal switch itself, although you do need to remove and replace the lever assembly, which includes the washer controls, if the lever is actually damaged somehow.

IMHO, you'd spend enough time scrabbling around under the dash to find and jumper the relevant wires, find someplace to install a pushbutton, etc., that you could just as well get the correct replacement from a junkyard or dealer and swap it in.

Put it another way: to get access to the underdash wiring, you've got to remove the hush panel, lower cover, etc. anyway. At this point you can unplug the airbag wire, and continue with the dismantling needed to replace the switch from up top, rather than trying to improvise a bypass switch setup down below.

Trust me, you DON'T want to mess with replacing that switch assembly. It is a MESS in the column. It wouldn't be too hard to find the wire, however it would be very hard to jump it. Now, if you think you can handle 50 wires in a 2 sq. inch area, then by all means go for replacing it.. otherwise we can try to find the wires to jump it. I've got the '89 FSM.


-justin

Oooohkaayyy... What I was getting at was that if you pull the old lever/switch assembly, it'* a plug-in swap; you don't need to worry about identifying and cutting into wires under the dash. But yes, even as a plug-in swap, it can be kind of hairy and fiddly.

I've got the '93 manual set, but first I'd like to clarify exactly what it is that broke on this car, in case we can do something better here.

Previously I wrote:
...which would be a lot more relevant if you _had_ a '93, which you don't, but I got you mixed up with somebody else'* issue here, and they _do_ have a '93, so never mind...

Sorry about the lack of response in this one...I kinda forgot about it.

The plastic switch for the spray is broken, so basically it can do a 360 around the signal light switch because it its broken off at the base. I will take a picture of it tomorrow to more clearly explain myself. Maybe someone can think of something.

ty

All you have to do is find the pump, and run new wires and switch/button to it. You wouldn't get the same pump-wipe-pump-etc action you are used to, but it'd work.

It'* not the best picture, but it shows where the plastic is broken.

Where would I find the pump and what exactly do I need to do? I'm open to any ideas here.

thanks[/img]

I'm not sure which type of pump you've got in that year of car. If it'* the old reciprocating pump-wipe-pump mechanism you describe, that'* triggered by a solenoid on the firewall-mounted wiper/washer motor assembly. When you press the Wash button, a solenoid engages the washer pump in the rotating wiper motor mechanism and you get something like seven squirts before the mechanism cycles all the way around and releases the pump latch again. That system was used for decades, up to the mid-'80s sometime (probably varies by model).

Later designs give either a pre-measured long squirt from an electric pump (the older one is mechanical), or squirt for as long as you want to hold the Washer paddle down on the turn-signal lever. Those have the pump motor at the base of the washer reservoir.

On the earlier, mechanical pumps, if those fail for any reason, you can install an electric pump in-line between the reservoir and the original pump. It will provide enough pressure to push the washer fluid right through the deceased pump and out the other side, out to the washer nozzles. Anco makes a little retro-fit kit with an electric pump for this.

For the later, all-electric pump, I think you could probably find the washer-pump wiring at the base of the steering column, and wire in a dash-mounted switch in parallel with the broken one. Sorry, I don't have the wiring colors handy; maybe someone else does.