Help! Did my JR water injection crap out?

[217gsr]

Just finished washing my car this morning, I was gonna refill my reservoir with water/alcohol when I noticed that it was still pretty much full. So I put my key to the on position, and pull one of the leads off of the pressure switch. I can hear the pump start to prime (though not as loudly as it did when I first installed it), but no water is coming out of the end of the hose that I disconnected. What's going on?? Can someone please help me diagnose/fix this?

[217gsr]

C'mon anyone? I just checked my reservoir today and it doesn't look like it's gone anywhere. What gets me is that when I pull the lead, I still hear the pump. I think the pump has no moving parts, so there's really nothing to break. Could using denatured alcohol have affected the pump? But everyone uses some alcohol. Could it be that the pump is trying to draw up the fluid, but can't for some reason (eg. a blockage in the line)?

I visually inspected the lines really quickly and it doesn't look like there are any blocks or leaks.

I could really use some ideas on this...

[Jay Lee]

what kind of water are you using? If it's tap water, you may be experiencing a calcium build up that clogs the lines/nozzles.

[JRCivic]

My suggestion would be a simple one:

First, remove the water nozzle from the JR manifold. Connect the two wires from the pressure activation switch together while the key is ON... if no water shoots out, remove the nozzle from the equation and re-check. Continue removing parts until you get back to the pump. Once there, you must remove the feed hose from the resevoir AND the pump and make sure it is free of obstruction... if it is, then the pump is obviously dead.

Lastly, I suggest in the future that you run only distilled water (I suppose de-mineralized is also acceptable). I have seen ZERO evidence to support any benefit of using alcohol at all... with the exception of it's resistance to freezing in extremely cold/harsh climates... and since you reside in SoCal, it is useless and can only cause harm due to its caustic nature to both the blower and ALL aluminum components within your engine. Most rubber seals/hoses are also susceptable to exposure to alcohol.

Let us know what you find.

[217gsr]

Hey Jim. Oops. Yeah, I meant distilled water.

What do you mean by connecting the two wires? Literally disconnect BOTH pressure switch wires and connect them? How is this different than just pulling one of the two wires with the key on?

[JRCivic]

I was thinking that the pressure switch was normally open until the proper boost level is reached... then the switch closes thus completing the loop and the pump begins to operate. Regardless of the wiring semantics, my point is still the same. You need to make the pump run constantly while you systematically eliminate individual components until the guilty party is found.

Stop thinking about it and just DO IT !!!

[217gsr]

I wish that were true. It'd be an easy fix. I only use mineral-free water that I buy from the store. I mix that with 50:50 denatured alcohol.

[217gsr]

Well, I disconnected the lines and checked for leaks. There aren't any. I left the pump running (one minute off, one minute on) for atleast 10 minutes. The pump doesn't seem to be drawing up any water. Jim. . . what do I do now?

Just a couple things that I noticed. The pump still heats up when I disconnect the lead, which is telling me that the pump is still trying to pump. When I touched the fuse, the tone that the pump was making seemed to change a little bit. Could there be a clog INSIDE the pump?

Thanks again everyone.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 31, 2004 03:23 PM: Message edited by: 217gsr ]</font>

[JRCivic]

Maybe... have you replaced the fuse to see if it is limiting current to the pump somehow ??? I know this is a longshot, however, it is a simple test.

[217gsr]

I'll try that first thing tomorrow and let you know how it goes.