Hi,

I live in Sweden and yesterday bought a 2002 A6 Avant and drove it 600km from Malmö to Stockholm in minus 5-10 conditions.

After using the washer on the front screen it decided not to work anymore, I wonder if maybe the water is frozen but it seems such a simple problem. I checked the fluid and added new but it seems quite full. Also the wiper is very slow but as I don't have a handbook for the car and my brother in law, whom I bought it from emigrated to Australia two days ago, I have no one to ask.

Can anyone shed any light on this, maybe the car has a rain indicator so the wipers won't go full speed unless they sense water on the screen... who knows? ... not me. I have just ordered an owners manual as mine is in German!

Slow front wipers and no washer working .... Any help appreciated..

thanks

Anthony

 

Can you hear the pump run? You might have to have someone stand outside the car and listen, but you should be able to hear the pump running when you pull the washer stalk. Do you have headlight washers? Do they work? Your headlights need to be on, then you will get an intermittent, not continuous, wash from the bumper mounted nozzles. If your headlight washers work but you cannot hear the windshield washer pump run then the pump is bad. If nothing works, you might have a problem with your switch. Audi wipers will be slow if the windshield is dry. Try wetting the windshield to see if the wipers speed up to an acceptable speed. Oterhwise, it could be either the motor or the wiper mechanism going bad. The mechanism could be removed and greased as a temporary fix. Motors usually don't slow down, they just stop working, so I doubt that is your problem, but you never can tell! New wiper blades may be all you need.

Good Luck!

Bob

 

thanks Bob. Yes i Can hear the pump working, which is why i wondered if perhaps the liquid is frozen in the pipes! It is minus ten in Stockholm today and the Car isnt garaged so if this is the Case then the liquid never gets å chance to thaw. Will pop by local audi garage tomorrow. The rear window washer works fine, will investigate the headlights.

Anthony

 

I would think that the liquid is frozen inside the pipe. The nozzles have heaters, but I have seen cases where my friend's washers were frozen in her A6 allroad. It worked fine after the engine warmed up.

FYI, if you want to keep the washer fluid from freezing, add a shot of rubbing alcohol to the washer tank. Vodka also works, but I prefer to fill that in my belly instead.

 

If you use just water it might be frozen somewhere, but if you use those washer fluid that won't freeze till -40 then I have no idea.

 

If you do have water, or much diluted washer fluid, in your washer system, you will have to get the car inside to let the water thaw out before you can solve the problem. Of course, a nice warm day will do but I suspect those are hard to come by in Sweden at this time of year!

Do you have a garage? Do you have a friend with a garage? If so, put it inside with some heat overnight to allow the system to thaw. Then, run the pump and see if it works. If it does, you have found your problem. Run all the fluid out and fill with fresh and you will be good to go. If you do not have a garage available, talk to your local shop and see if they would be willing to lock it inside for an evening.

If this does not solve the problem, then you either have a bad pump or another clog in the system OR you have a break in the system and the fluid is getting pumped out onto the ground. There is a quick disconnect behind the fender inner liner that could be the problem if it was not reattached properly during a TB job. Other than that, start with a new pump and see if that helps.

Bob