Windshield washers freezing

frankc · 12-22-2004, 08:39 PM

I never had to worry about this before moving to Ohio from Texas, but a couple of times this week while driving to work, the washer nozzles (sprayers?) froze up on me. My car (98 M3) has the heated nozzles which are supposed to be heated whenever the key is in position 2. So the question is, do these things simply not work that well (it wasn't that cold), or do they burn out over time and mine just need to be replaced?

I'll be getting a winter car for next year (I can't stand to see the salt on my car so I wash & use Salt-X constantly), but I've got to make it through this winter with the M3. The new Blizzacks are awesome in the snow!

thanks for any help.

Tim Polzin · 12-23-2004, 05:35 AM

A silly question, but have you used fresh windshield antifreeze? We were sitting at -20c this week and my washer worked like a charm.

Tim

frankc · 12-23-2004, 06:12 AM

I could try replacing the washer fluid with new fluid from here. Perhaps the "Texas blend" that's in there from my southern habitat won't cut it up here.

If a small amount of fresh water gets in the tip of the nozzle from the outside, I assume the heating element should be warm enough to melt this?

blkongry · 12-23-2004, 07:18 AM

Are they warm to the touch when they have been on for a while?

shadowpuck99 · shadowpuck99's Garage

On a related note, has anyone ever retrofitted the heated nozzles into their car?

BMW has a kit, just curious.....

fredo328 · 01-09-2005, 02:57 PM

Maybe the sensor for the heated nozzels is bad or loose. It is located inside the brake air intake on the passenger side (circular in shape), the driver side brake air intake has the temp sensor for the computer (looks like a little post). I dont know how you could actually test it to see. I would just make sure the wires didn't work itself loose.
Also, I am not sure on this point but do cars without the 'cold package' option have this heated nozzle feature? Being a Texas car perhaps you do not have the cold weather option.

shadowpuck99 · shadowpuck99's Garage

my understanding was that it was not included on all cars. at least that's the info I received when I asked at the dealer.

fredo328 · 01-09-2005, 03:11 PM

Easy enough to tell if you have it or not, just check that passenger side brake duct (it is located next to the fog light toward the center) and if you see a circular-about the size of a half dollar sensor then you have it. I've heard that if you have heated seats then you also have it but I do not think that is reliable.

frankc · 01-09-2005, 03:49 PM

Ok - I just ran out and checked. I have the half-dollar sensor on the passenger side - I'll check out the wiring to ensure all is good there. I meant to check if the nozzles were warm to the touch after driving it today, but forgot.

Regarding the driver side temp sensor in the brake duct. Do the cars with the full OBC have this sensor somewhere else? I have the full OBC and the temperature works, but there is not even a hole in the duct for the sensor on my car. Weird thing is that there is a plugged connector coming from the harness that terminates down where that sensor would be by the brake duct. Did they perhaps move it on later E36's?

Btw, I have similar questions about the heated side mirrors. Are these elements supposed to be hot enough to actually melt ice, or simply defog the mirror? I have not noticed any melting of ice on mine. Manual says they are heated whenever the temp drops below a certain value (which is different from how the washer nozzles are heated, oddly enough).

fredo328 · 04:42 PM

When you check the sensor also check the fuse too.

Regarding the obc temp guage, it is strange that you dont even have a hole there let alone a sensor. You checked both sides? You can see it with a flashlight when you look into the duct. Can't figure that one out-has the car been in an accident where there was some front work done to it? Perhaps it was moved when repaired.

Regarding the heated mirrors, I really cant help you too much since I've not really noticed that mine work-they probably dont. I've read that canadian and us cars have the heating element on all the time instead of kicking on when a certain temp outside. I dont really know except that it seems to be something that stops working on a lot of e36s. Here is a DIY write-up if you feel inclined to work on it.
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291190

To answer your question, your mirrors are supposed to heat up enough to melt ice.

frankc · 01-09-2005, 05:22 PM

fredo,
You were right - my bad. I just dug around and discovered the obc sensor hanging down by the horns, and I then found the socket to plug it into on the brake duct. Sorry for the mis-information. I'm curious to see how this will affect my temp readings.

Thanks for the link to the heated mirror repair. I will operate on my next weekend and hopefully be able to repair them.

fredo328 · 01-09-2005, 05:26 PM

good luck, let us know how the repair on the mirrors goes, maybe I'll attempt it.

rusnak · 03-08-2006, 05:22 PM

Has anyone tried putting antifreeze solution in the washer reservoir? Will it harm paint, or will it clog up the system?

I do not mean radiator antifreeze, I mean the stuff people put in motorhome fresh water systems. I think it's propylene (sp?) glycol or something like that if memory serves.

Anyone?

bmwtech · 03-11-2006, 12:23 PM

JUST SOME INFO
BMW SELLS A WASHER FLUID CONCENTRATE THE WILL BOOST THE LEVEL OF FREEZE PROTECTION FOR WASHERFLUID
THE TEMP SENSOR ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE IS FOR OBC TEMP READING
THE TEMP SENSOR ON THE PASS SIDE IS FOR WASHER NOZZLE HEATERS ONLY
IF THE PROTECTION LEVEL OF YOUR WASHER FLUID IS TOO LOW THE FLUID WILL FREEZE IN THE LINES LEADING UP TO THE NOZZLES. THE TRUE PURPOSE OF THE NOZZLE HEATERS IS TO HEAT THE FLUID COMING OUT.
THE MIRRORS SHOULD BE HEATED AT ALL TIMES WHILE KEY IS ON