Hi all. The other day I was driving behind a lorry that was throwing up alot of spray from the road. I turned on the wash jets for the windscreen, only to be greeted with foulist smell known to man ! I haven't topped up that bottle with fresh water for at least two months. Is there any way of releasing the stale water, without having to keep the wash wipe on? I would be grateful for any help on this one> :confused:

Hi all. The other day I was driving behind a lorry that was throwing up alot of spray from the road. I turned on the wash jets for the windscreen, only to be greeted with foulist smell known to man ! I haven't topped up that bottle with fresh water for at least two months. Is there any way of releasing the stale water, without having to keep the wash wipe on? I would be grateful for any help on this one> :confused:

Must be bad water down that neck of the woods, you'll have to start filling her with Ballygowan.

BTW anyone ever notice that sometimes when you use the washer that it doesn't work first time (it sounds like its empty) but after a few seconds it works okay.

Must be bad water down that neck of the woods' date=' you'll have to start filling her with Ballygowan.

BTW anyone ever notice that sometimes when you use the washer that it doesn't work first time (it sounds like its empty) but after a few seconds it works okay.[/quote']

That'll be a knackered NRV (Non Return Valve) on the line to the washer jets. They're easily replaced and cost a couple of quid from Hellfrauds.

HTH

That'll be a knackered NRV (Non Return Valve) on the line to the washer jets. They're easily replaced and cost a couple of quid from Hellfrauds.

HTH

Would I be right in saying that this means there no water staying in the pipes between the washer bottle and the nozzles ?

Are they hard to remove ? Maybe theres some dirt holding it open

It doesn't really bother me that much as it just takes a second or two longer to start working, can it damage anything else by not operating properly ?

Unfortunately theres no "Hellfrauds" here in Ireland yet !

Must be bad water down that neck of the woods' date=' you'll have to start filling her with Ballygowan.

BTW anyone ever notice that sometimes when you use the washer that it doesn't work first time (it sounds like its empty) but after a few seconds it works okay.[/quote']

The only advantage of the foul smell is, it kills the flies before they splat my screen But seriously, I have to empty it before the bottle walks away in protest. Is there some kind of plug on the bottom of the tank?

I've always used a wet & dry vac (a Vax or similar) to suck out the water from the reservoir. If you can't get the nozzle in the lid, I just tape a bit of platic pipe to the end.

Sorted!

Phil

Would I be right in saying that this means there no water staying in the pipes between the washer bottle and the nozzles ?

Are they hard to remove ? Maybe theres some dirt holding it open

It doesn't really bother me that much as it just takes a second or two longer to start working' date=' can it damage anything else by not operating properly ?

Unfortunately theres no "Hellfrauds" here in Ireland yet ![/quote']

Yep, bang on. They're easy enough to remove, they're just push on connections to the pipework, but you won't be able to clean/repair a broken one. They're sealed units. It won't do any harm to have the washer jets take a second or two to start up as the washer pump is constantly full of water if the reservoir is, so no danger of damage.

You should be able to get one from any car parts place in the absence of our big orange friends.

Hi all. The other day I was driving behind a lorry that was throwing up alot of spray from the road. I turned on the wash jets for the windscreen, only to be greeted with foulist smell known to man ! I haven't topped up that bottle with fresh water for at least two months. Is there any way of releasing the stale water, without having to keep the wash wipe on? I would be grateful for any help on this one> :confused:

Interesting... the washer fluid on my 2004 Fabia has started to smell like something from a sewage works, I thought maybe mixing the last of my MB screen wash fluid with the VAG stuff in the washer bottle and caused the problem. A couple of washer bottles of clean water later and it still stinks!

Anyone else got any idea what the problem is?

Interesting... the washer fluid on my 2004 Fabia has started to smell like something from a sewage works' date=' I thought maybe mixing the last of my MB screen wash fluid with the VAG stuff in the washer bottle and caused the problem. A couple of washer bottles of clean water later and it still stinks!

Anyone else got any idea what the problem is?[/quote']

Please help on this one guys as its starting to make my bloody eyes water!!

Please help on this one guys as its starting to make my bloody eyes water!!

What screenwash do you mix with the water ?

What screenwash do you mix with the water ?

I have tried 3 or 4 different types. The 1 I find the best is Boundauto. It leaves no residue, and it can really shift wax, bugs etc.

The best advice I can give is to stick with the VW/Audi approved washer fluid available from your dealer which is specifically for fan jet washers. I have had problems in the past with other cars I have owned when mixing different types of washer fluid since some are mutually incompatible.

I have had the same problem for 2 and a half years.

The only solution i have found is to put a liberal amount of antibacterial washing up liquid in the washer bottle and top up with water. Spray till it comes through the pipes and then leave over night.

I think the problem is that the washer bottle is 5.5 litres rather than the usual 2 litres (i think) so it goes stagnant while it is in the bottle, i have a lot of black "scum" inside the washer bottle, but it is not easy to remove (the bottle or the scum)

And incase you are wondering, yes you can mix washing up liquid and windscreen wash without the car exploding. but be warned, washingup liquid freezes (goes thick) quite easily, so pleanty of winter windscreen wash.

I have top do this every 3 fills of the washer bottle, else i dare not wash my windscreen if i have passengers !!!!

I am getting a new Octavia in March and intend to only use the expensive stuff freom the garage, then if it starts to stink again I can blame them. And for those of you who have not test driven a new Ocatvia yet then you know what you should be doing this weekend. I popped into Albar Autos in Mountsorel and they just gave me a 1.9 TDI Elegance for two days.

as a side note, i drove a 19 grand Golf on Wednesday and a 14.5 grand Octavia on Thursday and they drove the same except the Octavia had more toys !!!!!! and is bigger..................... SOLD !

To clean your washer bottle out, stick the hosepipe in it !

Can then use a bit of the now clean water to wash the pipes through and create enough headroom to add your additive.

I had this the other day (topping up with standard VW screenwash as supplied on the service), but since then it's not smelt at all! I believe the non-Xenon'ed Fabias only have a piddly 2 litre washer bottle so I end up having to refill mine once or twice a week at the moment which may prevent the bacteria building up.....

Chris

I had this the other day (topping up with standard VW screenwash as supplied on the service), but since then it's not smelt at all! I believe the non-Xenon'ed Fabias only have a piddly 2 litre washer bottle so I end up having to refill mine once or twice a week at the moment which may prevent the bacteria building up..... :)Chris

Strange... I wonder if original VAG washer fluid contains some form of anti-bacteria, I now use Skoda branded fluid and have not had the nasty smell back.

Strange... I wonder if original VAG washer fluid contains some form of anti-bacteria, I now use Skoda branded fluid and have not had the nasty smell back.

What I wrote didn't quite read how I meant It had VAG washer fluid in it when it smelt, but I topped it up the other day with some more and the smell went away. Maybe it had just been left too long and gone stagnant? Either way it's smell free now

Chris