Reservoir Sensor

[Gav]

I've just spent the weekend undressing the car to fix the water level sensor in the washer bottle. I failed. But i do now know how to dismantle the whole NSF bodywork!

Simple I thought.. just remove wheel arch liner and pull out the sensor to clean up the contacts. As with everything space is a bit tight but i did manage to remove the sensor without further dismantling. The terminals were badly corroded from the water so a bit of emery cloth and shiny brass was soon revealed. Plugged it in but it still didnt give a warning on the dash. I shorted the connection to check the dash light and that all worked fine.

So, no working sensor but i had to put it back and drive.

This is where it went wrong. The rubber seal got pushed into the reservoir, despite trying to avoid it happening. So out came the reservoir. Now two bolts cant be that hard: well one wasnt! To get to the other one involved unbolted the bumper, front trim, and the wing. Together with the scuttle to undo the filler. Not time consuming just frustating to get at one bolt!

anyway, any ideas how to check the level sensor for operation? It looks like a sealed unit so with shiny contacts what else can be done to it?

[Michael P]

Hi Gav

Not that I have any answers but I was thinking myself (just got my forst XM) how I will get access to the sensor. IT is well buried as I hear. I suspected just what you write. Mine also annoys me with a low level. Shorting may not be the right way to test it, it possibly must have the right resistance, too. Check perhaps with a similar sensor such as a coolant reservoir sensor in the XM or BX. I think they are probably all the same thing just re-packaged. Plug that in, dip it in a bit of water and check.
So, do I have to take the wheel off and get access from underneath? Do I need any new wheel trim clips or pins?

Regards


Michael