Rear window washer not working?

[Jonezy87]

as title, pump can be heard working, fronts work fine. Its not because its frozen!

Thought i would ask on here if there are any common places where pipes come off or get blocked before i start looking?!

many thanks

 

[Alex C]

mine has recently stopped working as well, since its got really cold, but its not frozen either, its had ages to thaw out now

 

[Jonezy87]

really annoys me as im constantly looking out me back window so like it clean! and in this weather with the roads it gets filthy!

 

[KB]

theres a connection under the bonnet, its in a black plastic trunking with cables in it on the right handside of the engine bay, prob best to take out the airbox to get at it! then once that one is fixed the one in the boot will go! its just next to the cd changer and subwoofer in the boot!

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

there is also the connection at the rear wiper motor mine has come of 4 times in the last cpl of months its doin my head in ,

 

[danger S3]

the connection under the bonnet went on mine and so did the connection onto the motor on the boot lid
I ended up replacing the hose from the motor round to the connection under the subwoofer with a bit of 4mm silicone hose as the end onto the motor had split and wasn't staying on at all, after all that i found it still leaked from the washer motor and that the wee brass pipe had corroded and snapped so got a wee repair kit to sort that

its all working now though :-D (touch wood)

 

[jay1601]

mine doesn't work either, anyone got a pic of what pipe it looks like ?

 

[666markyboy]

It always happens in the cold weather... the jet freezes up and when you flick the switch to clean the screen the pressure builds up inside the pipe because of the frozen jet and eventually the pipe bursts at the weakest point, normally in the trunking behind the airbox under the bonnet.... does anyone know if the washer jets are heated on the A3 ??? they used to be on the older Audi's but it was a common part to fail as they were on all the time with the heated mirrors.... might look into this as a mod if they are not what with this cold weather looking like it's here for a while

 

[666markyboy]

To answer my own question

1999 AUDI A3 1.8SE pair heated front washer jets & pipe on eBay (end time 11-Dec-10 14:09:27 GMT)

I bet the rear isnt though... possible mod to be had there then

 

[8YA335TDI1STED]

cant answer your question markyboy but ill post this link here its quite a big thread that leads to others but very usefull for anyone who needs to locate the points where the fluid pipes join , i sourced all mine except the one at the sub location and cable tied the joints up , worked fine on the one under the air box and in the trunking but the rear motor one is an absolute cnut keeps popping off no matter what i do so leads me to think its not heated as it always produces a very weak leak onto the rear window just before it stops alltogether so reckon its freezing on the outside , short of using less water and more antifreeze i dunno how to fix it so best read through this threads and make yer own mind up

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/a3-s3-forum-8l-chassis/74664-washer-fluid-leak.html

 

[a3tdi2001]

Just wondering if it's possible to get to the connector under/behind the subwoofer without removing the side panel trim?

 

[sportquattro]

Just wondering if it's possible to get to the connector under/behind the subwoofer without removing the side panel trim?

Yes you can get at it without removing the subwoofer, I had to do mine recently and it's not too bad once you feel for the pipe.

 

[a3tdi2001]

Cheers.
Is it below or up behind the unit? I take it, it's just a case of pushing both ends back together?

 

[stu_b]

yeah where abouts is it in relation to the speak box just had a look at it and dont fancy tearing my boot to pieces to get to it!

 

[sportquattro]

Mine was behind the sub box, once you've found both ends they just push together and job jobbed

 

[stu_b]

i think ive found it at the 12 o clock position in relation to the sub? surely not a good idea to have washer fluid coming out there!?

 

[stu_b]

fluid is bright green? and there seems to be a rather big puddle above the wheel arch! could it be the alarm battery leaking as well? doesnt have the smell of washer fluid

stu

 

[Eric Astle]

Just undertaken this fix myself. Mine had come uncoupled in the trunking located in the engine bay. As a footnote for S3 owners - to remove the trunking lid to get at the coupling on the washer pipe you first have to remove the strut brace. This is simply a matter of removing 3 nuts per side on the suspension strut towers. I dried the plastic joint thoroughly and applied bonding solution to the coupling and then wrapped it up in insulation tape to prevent it coming undone again in this location. Thanks to all for the helpful information which aided me in locating the cause of my leak and non-operation of bidet (rear wash wiper)!