Veterans of this forum will remember that I have two or three of these every year.

So, this time it's the windshield sprayer. This is a significant problem, since we in Chicago drop on any given street more salt than the entire country consumes in a given year. If your sprayer doesn't work, you get like 2 miles before your windshield is about as clear as frosted shower door, and then you have to pull over and clean it with snow and newspaper like a homeless person. NOT FUN.

Well, a week or so ago, we got 6 inches of snow AND the temp dropped to about 5 degrees, and my sprayer quit working. I assumed the nozzles were just frozen (you know...since the DOORS WERE FROZEN SHUT), except that a) none of them worked, and b) it didn't go away. (it was 45 two days later...this is chicago)

They've been working on-and-off the last week, and it's either all or nothing (the rear one doesn't even work when the system goes down). Yesterday after class, I popped the hood and removed the fascia to check the lines, and they looked clear, and then, THAT VERY SECOND, the entire system started working again. So...my sprayers only work when the hood is open, I thought? THAT'S ABSURD! If I wanted this kind of bizarre, idiosyncratic behavior, I'd have bought a Chevy in the first place!

Well, it worked better than that, because when I closed the hood the entire system was in the green, and I have been enjoying wonderful, wonderful transparency.

Soooo...?

 

Possibly a line got pinched or folded over last time the hood was closed?

Do you run anti-ice washer fluid?

 

Make sure you use the winter formula, the summer only blend will freeze up fast.

 

hum crazy lol ...when i was living in kc my sprayer would work even with packed snow all over my windshield..i never had any problem like that..it would turn the snow blue as if i was making slurppes lol..how long have you had the box?im on 4 years .

 

Man I don't miss Chicago winters. But I can relate to the problem, and its usually from the .99 cheep blue junk. I know how you can go through that stuff, and we haven't even hit January yet.

I'd run some good stuff. Like the 2.99 for awhile, and see if that solves it.

Like this stuff:


Not saying you use the cheep stuff or anything. But the Speedway brands or the stuff you get at Jewel for .69 on sale have a lot of solid crap. That's why they started to put screens on the filler neck of the tanks.

 

IF you can find it... try 20-10... have used it for years in the big rigs.. I believe that it is mfg'd in the NW.

 

-salt clogging the pump (tank cap not on fully?) - happened to me
- if WW fluid freezes it can take DAYS to thaw (check the rating some of the cheep stuff is NOT good enough for up north

 

Well, I was IN a distant city at 4:00 this morning, and it did NOT break, so I guess that leaves option 1. :D

Thanks for the help, guys - I'm assuming it was insufficiently-rated washer fluid. And you figured this out just in time - I'm on the leading edge of that cold front RIGHT NOW, which means that the 43 degrees we saw this afternoon will be 7 degrees by tomorrow. My entire washer receptacle would have been a block of ice!

So now it's fixed, in the sense of, I had to sit in the car and squirt out all the bad washer fluid before it froze solid again. Tomorrow I'll actually spend the $2.99 and get the GOOD stuff, and I'll let you know if that solves the problem.

The problem is, the bottles ALL say "Will melt ice to -240 degrees!" Actually, the problem is that I believe them.

Thanks again!