frozen washer fluid or dead pump?

paulh · 22 Dec 2009 at 15:58

Hi Guys,

I've had no screen washer since the bad weather stared (its a right pain pulling over every 2 miles to clean my window!!)

I've put almost neat screen wash in to see if it would melt and work but nothing, I have tried to hear for the pump working but all we could hear was a click sound when you tried to make it work, could the pump be forzen solid? surly not for 4/5 days? or could it be dead. neither the front or back washers work.

Can anyone think of another test to try?

oh it's a 54plate astra cdti.

thanks
Paul.

edit: normaly when you wash the windows i get a slight static sound on the radio but that has stopped now?

West · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:00

How long are the journeys your making.. on very cold mornings mine can be frozen even after my 20 mile journey to work, I suggest finding somewhere to leave your car that's in the sunlight and then sometime during the day go out and see if it fires or not

paulh · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:02

25 miles to work, got no where warm to leave it really. I left it running for 10mins when i got back last night to let the heat build up but still nothing!

Rich1988 · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:05

it will be the nozzles freezing up not the pump or fluid, hold your finger over the nozzles for a few seconds, should thaw it out, I get all the way to work and its still frozen on mine (about 20 miles)

jaybee · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:06

Lets look at the clues. Any cold weather recently...oh wait....

Confused · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:07

It won't matter how warm the engine gets, it'll be the ambient temperature. It took >2 hours on my journey on Sunday morning for it to unfreeze - and that's only because the ambient temperature had risen to 2ºC, and it had defrosted itself.

Try pouring some warm (but not too hot!) water into it, this might unfreeze it. However - depending on how long you've been trying to run the pump, it's possible you may still have burnt out the pump (they use the liquid to cool them as they're used)

Ranger07 · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:08

If you have tried it while the pump was frozen it could have popped the fuse or broken the pump blades off.

Try operating it with the engine off and ignition on and listen for it buzzing. If you cant hear anything check the fuses.

paulh · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:08

i dont think its the nozzles as i tried putting warm water on then and nothing not even a bubble + i cant hear the pump working at all!

Howard · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:09

If my nozzles/pipes are frozen it doesn't take long for the engine heat to thaw them :confused:

That's when I have screenwash in the tank though, not just water. It does sound like perhaps the pump is goosed

paulh · 22 Dec 2009 at 16:12

Ranger07 said:
If you have tried it while the pump was frozen it could have popped the fuse or broken the pump blades off.

Try operating it with the engine off and ignition on and listen for it buzzing. If you cant hear anything check the fuses.

I can hear a click when you try them, not sure if its a relay clicking or the pump trying to work?

Ranger07 · 22 Dec 2009 at 19:15

I saw a car with a similar problem this week and decided to park it in the warm workshop, an hour later the pump had defrosted and was working again, we then filled it up with a strong concentrate of screenwash.

If you can hear a click when you try them then the fuse is probably ok. Your gonna have to try what i mentioned above or strip the pump from the water bottle to test it.

Finglonga · 23 Dec 2009 at 11:30

My Mondeo has heated washer jets but the do nothing when the washer bottle is frozen solid and as it is in the space under the wing like most cars the engine will not thaw it for a long time.

When I worked in the garage we used to have to replace that many pump motors due to numpties holding the button down for ages thinking it will mysteriously defrost the water jamming it.

Doesn't matter how much screen wash there is in there is will freeze in this weather so take a bottle of water with you in the car to clean the screen.

Phil W · 23 Dec 2009 at 12:27

Past few days my pump has been frozen (water in it), my screenwash was 50:50 so i got some concentrated stuff and did a 70:30 (ish) mix, has worked fine even in the very cold mornings we have been having!

Halfords sell their own Concentrate mix in various guises (Winter, Summer, All Year etc etc) which is currently on 3 for 2 (5L bottles), this stuff is superb, works in all weathers, smells pretty good when you spray it and doesn't dry white on the car

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_160017_langId_-1_categoryId_229902

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_211715_langId_-1_categoryId_229902