Windshield wiper fluid not working

[brosnan6]

Hey,

Got a 1998 318TI. My windshield wiper fluid is not coming out anymore. When i hit the lever to make it work, i only hear the motor running but nothing comes out. Both front and back stoppped working. Before it stopped coming out, the rate of fluid coming out was decreasing a lot and soon small spurts at a time came out, and now nothing. Anybody else experience this problem and know how to fix it? Thanks a lot

[hotdog19d]

I have the exact thing happening on my car. I can also hear the hum of it and there are no leaks so I think mine are just plugged up with wax, so eventually I will get around to replacing them. Does anyone else have an idea?

[bimmerboi318]

ok im going to say this because it COULD be possible based on your post, but did you make sure there is fluid in the resevoir? now if that didnt help i noticed you are from washington and it may be that your fluid lines or nozzle have frozen since it's almost winter. but if you hear the motor running i'd assume that its not a pump problem but i could be wrong.

[hotdog19d]

My resevoir has fluid, also the fluid is good to -32, it is flowing slightly from the passenger but not from the drivers

[brosnan6]

Originally Posted by bimmerboi318

ok im going to say this because it COULD be possible based on your post, but did you make sure there is fluid in the resevoir? now if that didnt help i noticed you are from washington and it may be that your fluid lines or nozzle have frozen since it's almost winter. but if you hear the motor running i'd assume that its not a pump problem but i could be wrong.

HAHA...The reservior is totally full. And its not related to winter, It hasnt been working since august and i never got around to worrying about it till now.

[bimmerboi318]

one thing i remembered. on mine there is a filter under the cap on the resevoir. the ring around the filter broke and the filter fell to the bottom. it didnt plug mine or anything but its just a thought. maybe a piece of the plastice ring got stuck in a line or something.

[Jared]

Its probably wax, just get a good sharp pin and clean it out.

[brosnan6]

Originally Posted by Jared

Its probably wax, just get a good sharp pin and clean it out.

But would this be the case for FRONT AND BACK fluids to stop working at the SAME time?

[Jared]

Could be, where's the back one? I don't have a sprayer on my back.

If it turns out not to be wax, then the pump went bad if you're still hearing noise.

[brosnan6]

Well I am assuming that the back one is built into the actual wiper arm. I suppose that the pump might be the problem if both of them stopped working

[bimmerboi318]

yes the back sprayer is built into the wiper arm. if both front and rear dont work the problem is probably before the lines split between front and rear. that includes the pump. the pump could make noise if the impeller broke. the motor would turn but it wouldnt push any fluid. if you can, try to unhook the outlet of the pump and see if any fluid comes out when you use it. if it doesnt, you probably need a new pump. also check to see that nothing is stuck in the bottom of the tank.

[alfresco80]

I'm having a similar problem with both the front and back washer fluid with my '98 ti also. It only happens when it gets below 15F (random, I know). I've checked and the fluid isn't frozen in the reservoir. My wiper fluid is good for -32F so I'm not sure why it would be freezing. I can hear the pump running but nothing comes out.

Any thoughts on this? It always happens at the worst times... I had to stop a gas station 4 times to wash my windshield during a 45 min. trip because I couldn't see ANYTHING.

When it gets a little warmer outside the washer fluid works no problem so I know something must be freezing up. Any advice on keeping it from freezing? Is it freezing in the line or the nozzle?

[J!m]

My rear washer takes quite a while to get fluid to the glass. The fluid in the l-o-n-g line to the rear of the car evaporates, and it takes quite a while to fill it up. (I very rarely use my rear wiper, and less frequently wash)

The front is probably wax, if you don't mask off your trim before applying wax. You may be able to get away with using boiling water bath, and/or ultrasonic cleaning. If you use a pin, you will probably open the spray hole too much, and get a splattery-dribble of washer in stead of a nice spray.