Hi, im new to this and hope someone can help.
my washer bottle for my windscreen wipers has frozen, iv tried putting neat de icer directly into the bottle but it is full to the top, it has now been frozen for over a week thanks to this stupid weather, and it hasnt worked.
im going on the motorway in a few days and last time i had to stop at every services to clean my windscreen which was a pain!!
any help would be greatfully appreciated!

Thanks

x

Hiya & Welcome here...

To be fair I dont think its the weather thats stoopid...
Best advice is to keep the washer bottle full of 60/40 washer fluid to water in future....

For now take the washer bottle off, take it in the house & thaw it out, re-fill as I said above....

P.S. I can see you are a girl but I cant assume you cant do as I said above... but honestly think about getting that done, & while you are under the bonnet, make SURE that the engine cooling system is AT LEAST a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze & preferably distilled water...

Avoid pure tap-water in either the washers or cooling system at ALL COSTS!

I filled up on neat concentrated de-icer. Still only protects to -5.

That's the best Tesco had to offer

as above however if its anything like my punto the bottle is riveted in place :bang:

Comma All Seasons!
Concentrated protects down to -26....

I've got a 50/50 mix & no probs in either of our 4 cars here to date.

Did you fill washer bottle up with 50% water 50 % washer solution when you topped up ,? If so normally the heat from the engine bay will thaw the bottle . the weathers so cold at the moment I would and do put 75% washer solution in bottle.
The problem usually is, its not the bottle that freezes up its the washer jets they get iced up due to the very cold air hitting them as you drive along. The position of the washer jets on the panda doesn't give them a chance to stay warm from the engine ,If they were positioned on the bonnet the heat of the engine would keep them warmer so there would be less chance of them icing up.
Cant think of a solution at the moment sorry.

Ffoxy said:

Hiya & Welcome here...

To be fair I dont think its the weather thats stoopid...
Best advice is to keep the washer bottle full of 60/40 washer fluid to water in future....

For now take the washer bottle off, take it in the house & thaw it out, re-fill as I said above....

P.S. I can see you are a girl but I cant assume you cant do as I said above... but honestly think about getting that done, & while you are under the bonnet, make SURE that the engine cooling system is AT LEAST a 50/50 mix of anti-freeze & preferably distilled water...

Avoid pure tap-water in either the washers or cooling system at ALL COSTS!

Click to expand...

yes im a girl and yes i did put de icer in it but obviously not enough, the other question is, how do i get the water bottle off??

Ffoxy said:

Comma All Seasons!
Concentrated protects down to -26....

I've got a 50/50 mix & no probs in either of our 4 cars here to date.

Click to expand...

Yep. All screenwash is NOT created equal, which is why it's important to read the label before purchasing to find out what level of protection it offers.

Cheap supermarket screenwash just won't cut it in this weather, even if undiluted.

IIRC Halfords double concentrate screenwash is also good to at least -23C.

If everything is frozen up, then take the car for a good run to warm it up, then put some large towels or similar over the bonnet and leave it for an hour or so with the engine switched off. The heat under the bonnet should be enough to thaw everything out and you can then use the washers on the car to empty the bottle sufficiently to add a good helping of decent concentrate.

kirsty1985 said:

yes im a girl and yes i did put de icer in it but obviously not enough, the other question is, how do i get the water bottle off??

Click to expand...

I could be wrong but it's fairly deeply buried down there. If you want to defrost it park it inside a garage which is at least getting some heat from a house. Also, not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs but next time read the instructions on the screenwash mixture as it will tell you how much to mix in. ignore peopl on forums who tell you how much to put in as different brands will require different concentrations.

this might help looks like the panda bottle is bolted on
open these links in Internet explorer as some others do not display properly

http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...3&WINDOW_ID=1&SGRP_COD=14&SGS_COD=0&DRW_NUM=2

http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...3&WINDOW_ID=1&SGRP_COD=14&SGS_COD=0&DRW_NUM=3

306maxi said:

I could be wrong but it's fairly deeply buried down there. If you want to defrost it park it inside a garage which is at least getting some heat from a house. Also, not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs but next time read the instructions on the screenwash mixture as it will tell you how much to mix in. ignore peopl on forums who tell you how much to put in as different brands will require different concentrations.

Click to expand...

Yes ,You should ignore anybody on the forum who is willing to help.
And as long as you have a garage next to the house you have no problem.
Try putting some thing on the bonnet ( an old quilt ) to hold the heat in, leave the engine idle for a while until the fan cuts in .

mtsw said:

Yes ,You should ignore anybody on the forum who is willing to help.
And as long as you have a garage next to the house you have no problem.
Try putting some thing on the bonnet ( an old quilt ) to hold the heat in, leave the engine idle for a while until the fan cuts in .

Click to expand...

But what if like Hellcat your neat solution only protects to -5? 50:50 won't be much use in this weather. Ergo, read the label and only take advice from the manufacturer of the particular product you're using.

If you don't have a garage, you could always park it up in a nice warm multi-storey car park and go shopping for a while to let it thaw... Lol.

306maxi said:

I could be wrong but it's fairly deeply buried down there.

Click to expand...

On this occasion you're right; it's challenging enough just getting the screenwash in without spilling it (hint: funnel). Hence my suggestion to use the heat from a warm engine to defrost it, rather than attempt removal.

306maxi said:

But what if like Hellcat your neat solution only protects to -5? 50:50 won't be much use in this weather. Ergo, read the label and only take advice from the manufacturer of the particular product you're using.

Click to expand...

Yes I see your point, but 50/50 is the normal mix ,I don't think anybody expected these conditions and temperatures.
I don't know what Hellcat is using but -5 that's 6 degrees short of useless.
Any way back to Kirsty1985's problem.

mtsw said:

Yes I see your point, but 50/50 is the normal mix ,I don't think anybody expected these conditions and temperatures.
I don't know what Hellcat is using but -5 that's 6 degrees short of useless.
Any way back to Kirsty1985's problem.

Click to expand...

Without wanting to sound like a broken record it all depends on the mix. Mine is 1:4 for -6, 1:1 for -16, and neat for -36 and something silly like 1:25 for summer use so it's best to read the directions on the particular stuff you're using to avoid either wasting screenwash concentrate needlessly or ending up with a washer full of ice or full of slush.

I use Holts high performance screenwash and other than me being a dope and leaving the mix too diluted it's been alright.

I love these replies - 'take the bottle off'. Has anyone who suggested this actually tried it? (its accessed from under the wheel arch, so, jack car up, remove wheel arch liner, then access possible to the bottle, bolted or even riveted on, etc...)

And, if the bottle is frozen solid, not much heat from engine while driving is likely to reach it during a drive, unless you go a very long way (cold air from under the car is more likely to get there first)

The suggestion to go shopping is not actually that daft - get car good and warm then park in the centre part of a multistorey (away from the colder air at the edges) and it may just work. But, once its defrosted, you then need to make room to add a good dose of undiluted screenwash (try washing the windscreen lots in that car park and take the concentrate with you to fill up while you are still parked)

As to screenwash -- most 'normal' screenwash is designed for summer and offers little protection. Even if the bottle is protected to minus 5, the jets will still freeze over. Look for 'double concentrate' or 'extreme winter' grades (and not the ready-mixed sort). Used neat that will protect to Siberian temperatures. Mine is 1 part wash to 3 or 4 parts water at present and is working well in Hertfordshire's cold weather, but it's only been down to minus 8 and still no snow :-(

And finally, a handy hint. Find one of those plastic water bottles with a 'sports top' (the pull up or flip up tops). Very clearly label it as screenwash, and fill it with a mix of screenwash and water. Keep it in the house overnight and put it in the car each day, taking it into the house again at night. Then, if the car's washers are still frozen, you can open the window and squirt water from the bottle onto the screen (best when stationary, he adds, just in case). Worked a treat for me last winter on the days the washer bottle did freeze...

P

Frozen washer jets are a real pain [and a danger] in these cold conditions. My initial mix was too weak and I now have a minimum 50/50 ratio.

If anyone is interested, Lidl are selling some screenwash [ignore the 'Antifreeze' label] which states it will protect down to -60C in undiluted form:



Yesterday morning was the coldest yet at -9C [remember that I am 15 minutes from the city centre] and the washers worked:



Good luck, Kirsty

kirsty1985 said:

yes im a girl and yes i did put de icer in it but obviously not enough, the other question is, how do i get the water bottle off??

Click to expand...

As others have said, taking the water bottle off is not practical - and - apart from the risk of damaging your hands (I'm a professional craftsman and musician) you're likely to break something made of plastic while doing it in these temperatures. I'd have thought running a fan heater directed upwards under the front offside would eventually thaw the contents - then squirt a lot of the contents away and refill with winter grade solution.

Freezing nozzles are still an issue and the temptation is to try them, which causes a couple of wiper sweeps, smearing the screen and making things worse. Keeping a standby squeezy bottle with a high concentration of winter fluid is also a great idea, which I shall do.