[s-cars] Windshield Washers not spraying? (Yes there is fluid)

[Franco Barber]

On Thu, Feb 12, 2004 at 10:57:24AM -0800, Kevin Campbell wrote:
> I dump a bottle of isoproyl alcohol in with my washer fluid.  Seems to
> do the trick.

VW/Audi used to distribute, under the Autobahn brand, something
they called the "Premium Windshield Washer Concentrate".
The active ingedients were isopropyl alcohol and glycol ether.
This was pricey stuff, but it worked great, smelled great,
and didn't freeze in cold weather.  It came as a concentrate,
was tinted yellow instead of blue, and you added x parts water
to y parts concentrate according to what temperature you needed
to protect yourself from. A ratio of 1:1 got you to -5 degrees.

It came as factory fill in the windshield washer tank on my 95 A6,
and they gave me a little pint bottle of the stuff so I would keep
using it.

Unfortunately, VW/Audi no longer sell this product.
Now they distribute something called "Windshield Washer Concentrate."
It is still a concentrate and you mix it according to what temperatures
you see in your area, but it contains Methanol, is blue, and in my
experience doesn't clean the windshield as well in cold weather.

The label claims that a 1:1 mix will get you protection
down to -30 degrees, but I think they're talking about at what temperature
it will freeze in the washer fluid tank, not at what temperature it
will freeze on your windshield.  In my experience the old yellow
stuff worked much better than this blue stuff they sell now.

I've still got one bottle of the yellow stuff left that I'm hanging
on to like a bottle of fine wine.

Has anyone tried the yellow windshield washer fluid that Prestone
sells?  I don't think it's Isopropyl based.  I just read the label
the other day, and I thought it was methanol and glycol ether.
But my memory isn't what it used to be.

Franco



-- 
Franco Barber                   feb at febsun.cmhnet.org
95 A6Q w/Gamma CD mit RDS!      Columbus, Ohio  USA
95 A6Q 5spd w/HCB-30 bluetooth car kit!