Winter woes...

[caprisun]

Hello!


While the snow brings awesome days of skiing and endless fun in parking lots, it also brings some stupid issues...Its been consistently below 5 degrees here lately, and dipping to negative 15 at night the past two nights...


I have 2 questions.

First, When I go to start the car in the morning, It obviously cranks really slow. But once it starts, the RPMs are at or above 2K. If I let out the clutch in NEUTRAL the RPMs drop and the car stalls...I've had to hold the clutch in for around 4-5 min while the car warms up and whatnot...

is this normal?



Second, I am using washer FLUID for the wipers. But the fluid wont come out when I pull it to wash off the windshield. It doesnt seem to be frozen or low in the tank, but it wont come out. It seems the spray head things are frozen shut or something...

Is this normal?



I'm not used to temps getting this low for so long, and apparently the car isnt either...


Thanks for all your help!

 

[mpk]

I can't comment on your issue with stalling when releasing the clutch pedal as I haven't had that problem, but it definitely sounds like your windshield fluid nozzles are frozen -- very common issue in the cold, especially sub-zero temperatures.

It's been my experience that every washer fluid has its limits based on how much methanol/ethanol is mixed in. These chemicals act like anti-freeze, but at a consistent -5, they may freeze up in your nozzles just as well.

I'd expect the nozzles to begin working once the car is at operating temp. If you felt necessary, you could always park in a heated garage overnight or attack them with a hair dryer (have fun with that).

However, once temps drop below zero I do everything in my power to refrain from using washer fluid, as it inevitably freezes the wipers to the windshield or causes worse visability.

I'm sure our Canadian friends have tips/tricks on this. (canada)