Screen washer jet adjustment

[Saycol]

The passenger side screen washer jet of my Crosstar needs adjustment as it is not adequately spraying the windscreen. On previous cars I have done this by inserting a pin into the jet and rotating it, but the Honda nozzle looks very different. Can anyone help me on this? Thx

[Ant123]

I had the same issue and took it to the dealer who quickly fixed it though I am a little unsure how.

[njf16154]

Have you checked to make sure that it hasn't come out of the hole it sits in? Mine seemed to pop out a bit and so wasn't aiming at the screen properly. After a bit of gentle coaxing I managed to get it to fit back in again. No idea why it came out; had been fine for 18months before it did it.

[Mark Dirac]

My Honda dealer told me to adjust it with a flat-bladed screwdriver, rather than the traditional pin. But I cannot see how, and have given up.

Every time I squirt in dry weather, the bottom right of the screen gets dry-scraped, and I hate it.

[Nicksey]

My Honda dealer told me to adjust it with a flat-bladed screwdriver, rather than the traditional pin. But I cannot see how, and have given up.

Every time I squirt in dry weather, the bottom right of the screen gets dry-scraped, and I hate it.

Ah, not just me then. I tried the screwdriver, and couldn't get it to move... apart from actually pushing it out of it's housing! I also have the dry bit that now requires me to squirt gently without activating the wipers.. allow the fluid to run up the screen and then activate the wipers. I am due a service in 1500 miles, so this is on the list.

[5thcivic]

If it pushes out the housing, does it only go in one way, or can you twist slightly to aim at a different point?

[ahavoja]

My left side nozzle was spraying too low on the windshield. I decided to try adjusting it.

In the nozzle there seems to be a ball joint, which allows the inside part to be tilted and rotated in any direction. I placed a flat screwdriver in the circular gap around the center piece (the red spot on the attached photo) and carefully turned the screwdriver. This tilted the nozzle a bit upwards. It took a few tries and test sprayings, but in the end I was happy with the result. Unfortunately in the process the sharp edges of the screwdriver left some nicks on the plastic nozzle, but it's only cosmetic damage, because it's not in the actual rectangle shaped hole where the water sprays out.

[Nicksey]

Just had my first service, and had my passenger side nozzle replaced under warranty as they said it wasn't working adequately.

[Yinmeout]

I was incendiary pissed off with Honda for a total lack of information on screen wash jet adjustment in the manual. I mean surely this is a matter for the courts, we can't seriously be expected to drive for any distance with defective or plain inaccurate wash jets can we ?? Yet we are forced into such a position by the manufacturers decision to chain us to the main dealers labour rate. I think not !

Once I had calmed down . . .

I found this thread, for which I am extremely grateful and in the spirit of not wishing my outrage on my fellow man here is my bit to help others in kind.

Honda do make adjustment of the screen wash jet pretty simple actually, but you have to know what's going on. The wash jet spray hole is basically encased within plastic a friction controlled ball encased in a fixed outer plastic ball. To adjust the jets requires moving the inner ball to the correct position. However, there is a good deal of resistance between the two surfaces to avoid it going out of adjustment. For this reason hairpins, small screwdrivers, nail files, small nails or even tweezers are simply not going to cut the mustard and will wreck the jet necessitating a further unwanted transfer of pounds to the Japanese yen, via the local main dealers parts department.

After a bit of head scratching, what I made was a blade 0.7mm thick 2.5mm wide and 10mm deep. It should be fairly clear only tool grade steel has the necessary strength to deal with any force at that sort of proportion. Therefore what you need is a bench grinder (or if you are a dab hand an angle grinder) and an old Stanley blade. ( always keep the old ones they are dead handy)

Above the centre hole is the adjustment hole - which is 8mm deep x 2.5 wide x 1mm high. (which is why a screwdriver simply won't work). The washer jet rotates in three planes, up down and twist, to correct one jet being high or low. You need to use a surprising amount of force to get it to move and obviously there is the ever present risk of snapping the tool!

So its just a gently but firmly does it.

Hope this helps.

[Lord Voltermore]

Thanks for the information.   I may well need it some time. 

But I can see why its not included in the handbook  .  " Make a tool by machining tool grade steel,  and then use a  suprising amount of force on the nozzle,but not too much or you will break it"   

It would help if they supplied  a suitable tool with the car and instructions, but a lot of people would only lose it.Like those little tools  to open a sim card slot.   

[Jazzik]

It appears that our Honda dealer (and perhaps yours too) has the ability and tools to adjust the nozzle correctly.

[Lord Voltermore]

It appears that our Honda dealer (and perhaps yours too) has the ability and tools to adjust the nozzle correctly.

Yes they do , and the ability to charge you  a lot for doing it.

[ahavoja]

In google I can find adjuster tools like this for Mercedes-Benz, but don't know how to find one for our Jazz. It looks like the tool has two tabs that fit into both of those adjustment holes in the spray nozzle. Yinmeout has essentially made a tool with only one tab. A two tab tool should be stronger, if we could only find one.

[Yinmeout]

It appears that our Honda dealer (and perhaps yours too) has the ability and tools to adjust the nozzle correctly.

Yes they do , and the ability to charge you  a lot for doing it.

Tuning washer jets to get the perfect position actually can take a few days of driving to really dial in the perfect compromise between the air pressure difference of motorway and slower driving on the washer stream. So I need to have a method to get it how I want it over time.

Many I am sure feel comfortable outsourcing that perspective to others and paying for that service, but they may also not read such a forum.

I phoned my ex-Honda works mate to ask if there is in fact a special tool. "Nope, we make our own, or buy a suitable screwdriver, it's a pain" was the response.