For the past few days over the holidays i have been having issues with my windshield washers not working. A few days ago we got a good dumping of snow and it was not working but i just assumed that i didnt clean the snow off the cowl well enough. I drove for about an hour and stopped to pick up smokes and when the truck was parked the washers were working again. Now yesterday I had to clean a bunch of very icy snow off the truck but made sure the nozzles were completely clear. They didnt work at all until i parked the truck about a half hour later and it worked. Then after i left the parking lot and got on the highway it was not working again. When it first started acting up the other day it was not very cold but was very snowy and now the past couple days it has been around -30. I can hear the pump when i push the washer button. Now that i think about it i started having issues with it after i filled the fluid up the other day. What could cause this? i really want to fix this because its just not safe and i want to be able to see again. Before anyone tells me to check the fluid its full and i have fluid thats good til -40 in the truck.

 

i may have fixed it, i stuck a pin in the holes of the washer nozzles and its working right now. for any people in colder climates the Turbo power windshield washer fluid sucks and may freeze up in -30 weather even though it says its rated for -40.

 

glad you figured it out. I was going to suggest pouring hot water on the nozzles. thsts worked for me a couple of times.

 

Yup. I had the same problem for a while once and I thought I blew the motor trying to use rainx bug formula which is for summer only. A day or two of milder weather ended up setting it free.

 

yea i did that in my old car, had the summer fluid in the reservoir and forgot it was in there. it got cold and took a long time to thaw out and work again. since then i use the winter crap all year but i guess that still doesnt help on our trucks.

 

You could try adding something to make its freeze temp lower. Only thing I can think of is adding more ammonia to the mix. Its considered corrosive though so I don't how much would be safe.

 

It has been my experience that you need about 10 degree colder fluid than it is outside! I always use -45 fluid in my vehicles - winter and summer.

"They" say that inanimate objects don't "feel" wind-chill, don't believe it. Air moving over the nozzles causes a little bit of evaporation, due to the "latent heat of evaporation" (the energy it takes to evaporate), the temp is actually colder than recorded, causing the -30 fluid to freeze when it is -25. That's also why the fluid freezes to your windshield when you spray on a really cold day.

You will rarely get in trouble buying the best you can afford!

 

I'm bad about doing this myself ... but try going to your truck early and letting it run for about 10 min to warm up .. the heat from the Engine should help free up the lines(plus then it is warm inside when you get in to go) If you are subject to Extreme cold you might want to think about possibly insolating the washer resevoir... it is low and Exposed as is the pump which could freeze.

 

I use rain x winter in the winter. Its the best stuff but is pricy. I swear by it and use nothing other than it. Never fails

 

Since I started using Rain-x 6 years ago, that's all I buy and all that goes in the jug. I've drained the jug a few times on my 08 car because they insist on refilling it with their crap watered down blue stuff when I get it serviced.

I love how it beads the water up and rolls right off. Nothing like being able to drive 65mph+ in a downpour with the wipers off.