As I spent 8 hours on the road today I had plenty of time to wonder why my washer jets froze in the -14.5C temperatures (coldest temps I've ever been in - considering I live in south west)

It turns out that the washer jets themselves to seem to get warm to the touch after a few minutes of operation. Not hot, but just warmer than the surrounding parts. So what next could it be....

I traced the pipe back about 2 inches and felt that the pipe was ice cold and hard (frozen), even though I have a relatively strong mix of screen-wash.

If you look at where the pipes run, they don't run in the engine bay, so the engine heat never actually gets to them. To top it of they are right in the stream of cold air that blasts into the heater air intake so the whole time you're moving they are going to get super-chilled.

My immediate thought is some sort of lagging for them, maybe just some thin foam. The next thought would be some sort of cover/wind deflector for them, perhaps some of that adhesive aluminium tape?


Apart from the frozen washer jets, followed by stiff wipers she performed admirably, even when I had to swerve on an icy road after a pheasant tried to commit suicide in front of me. The DSC + CBC kept everything (the back end) in check.

'a pheasant tried to commit suicide in front of me'

Should have got it for the pot

nbunney wrote:

'a pheasant tried to commit suicide in front of me'

Should have got it for the pot

Instead of the turkey? And the turkey I'll be eating for the next week?

In all honesty I wouldnt know what to do with it. The gutting I could cope with, but this may sound daft - how do you get all the feathers off? 

A pheasant is easy .... a goose.... OMG! Land Rover Addict
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dan_uk_1984 wrote:

In all honesty I wouldnt know what to do with it. The gutting I could cope with, but this may sound daft - how do you get all the feathers off?

Dan, for starters you need to be a pheasant plucker

I used to pluck pheasants for a local lord after his shoots in my young days, we used to hang them by the neck from a trestle, and pull all the feathers out "downwards". The other way is to hold the bird under your arm like bagpipes and pluck with one hand.

There'll be arguments about which way to pull out the feathers now  .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Screen Nozzles / Washer lines freezing up - Defender owners and those who can remember back a few years will remember that in severe winters folks used to buy a radiator muffler with an opening section in it (Defender owners sometime use them for deep wading in muddy water to stop the radiator getting blocked too). To keep the icy blasts in the front of the engine compartment at bay you could always resort to a piece of cardboard cable tied across the front intake or even some kitchen foil wrapped around the grille to help reduce the icy flow of air over the washer lines - also helps the cr warm up more quickly of icy mornings

Bet there aren't too many in Europe/UK running the climate control on icy cold mode to give the compressor some work at the moment and to keep the refrigerant/ lubricant circulated..............

Sorry I cannot help on the pheasant plucking advice Dan............................... 2018 Mini Countryman Cooper S E All4 PHEV in Melting Silver - it’s whisper quiet in EV and polluter modes

Can't help on the washers but on Pheasants, I can. Breasting them (fnar, fnar) is the easiest way. Just get hold of the skin over the breast and pull it towards you, like you've grabbed hold of someone's jumper. Stick a knife sideways through the skin so you have made a hole in the skin. Put the bird on its back and rip open the skin to reveal the breast. Sharp knife can then fillet off the breast meat. Throw the rest away. Use breasts for game pie. lovely.

Way off topic! 2010 MY Vogue SE TDV8 3.6 Stornoway Grey- fully loaded

@ Tim

It's the air intake on top of the bonnet rather than at the front of the car. You wouldn't want to block the vent off completely because this would mean your heater wouldn't be able to get any air.

I've never really understood radiator muffs - fine on a car without a thermostat, but if you have a car made in the last 50 years then your stat will be almost closed in these temps so warm-up time will not be affected. I had a failed (fully open) stat in my classic once, I had to use some cardboard between the grille and radiator to get any sort of heat.

I leave my A/C on all the time... as it's climate control. In my view you shouldn't ever be able to turn it off.


Bonnet Vent by d86cfv, on Flickr 

dan_uk_1984 wrote:

I leave my A/C on all the time... as it's climate control. In my view you shouldn't ever be able to turn it off.

Aside from that, the AC dehumidifies the air before the heater heats it back up. While this won't play a role at -14.5 ( - I thought it was cold here at -11), when temps start approaching normality again and there is moisture in the air, letting the climate control do it's thing is the best way to keep the windows from fogging. 
RRC 2Dr, RRC 4Dr,
P38, and 2 L322s
(wife thinks I'm nuts - prob right, too)