Here's how to diagnose and repair a windshield washer sensor on a Honda Accord.

This procedure applies to many other vehicles.

The windshield washer sensor is a reed switch. It is comprised of a magnetic float that moves up and down with the level of the fluid in the tank.

A reed switch works with two metal contacts that are situated very close (but not touching) each other. When the level of the washer fluid goes low, the float goes down, causing the magnet to close the two contacts and the resistance between them to read zero ohms.

This tells the car to illuminate the dashboard light to remind you to top up your washer fluid.

Sometimes the sensor may malfunction and cause the light to either stay on or never come on at all. This is because the contacts of the reed switch may have been permanently shorted or damaged.

Replacing the sensor is easy - once the bumper cover is removed, the sensor can be pried straight out of the bottom of the washer tank. Have a catch can handy as all of the washer fluid will drain out.

A replacement sensor can be obtained from the dealership, online or the junkyard.

When testing with a multimeter, in the fluid-full position, the resistance should be open circuit, and in the fluid-low position, it should read zero ohms, or short circuit.

A break down of a windshield washer motor follows at the end of the video.

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