Every driver knows about the need to continuously monitor the road situation while driving. A dirty glass surface significantly reduces visibility. Adhering insects, dust, streams of water during rain - all this, while driving a car, continuously impairs the driver’s visibility. Cleaning systems consisting of mechanical wipers, glass washer, and cleaner spray devices successfully cope with the task of cleaning the windshield.
Each element of the cleaning system performs its own function. Old, worn out wipers will only smear dirt across the glass. An incorrectly selected washer fluid will only cope with light dirt and will be powerless against oil stains. Nozzles of an outdated model, or those that have lost functionality due to wear, will not be able to provide a high-quality spray of liquid, and the entire high-quality operation of the glass cleaning system will be impossible.
Why do my washer nozzles freeze?
Injectors freeze for several reasons:
- If the liquid is of poor quality. In this case, crystals begin to form at higher temperatures than those specified in the instructions;
- When moving, there is always a counter air flow, which can quite significantly lower the temperature;
- Due to the volatility of the components included in the liquid to prevent the crystallization process. They evaporate very quickly, allowing the liquid to freeze at a higher temperature;
- When the motor is turned off, that part of the liquid composition that did not have time to drain back into the barrel remains in droplet form in each nozzle. The evaporation of light elements, such as alcohol, turns the “anti-freeze” into simple water, and it, as you know, turns into ice already at zero.
Advantages and disadvantages
Despite the fact that the design is considered new and has a number of serious advantages, especially over old nozzles, it is also not without its disadvantages. Pros:
- The main advantage is the coverage of the windshield surface with a powerful, finely dispersed jet, which covers a large area, especially when compared with inkjet models.
- Due to the fact that the glass is washed with many drops, it is possible to remove dirt more effectively, which allows you to save liquid without repeating the operation several times.
- Another advantage is the simultaneous activation of the windshield washer nozzles along with the wipers. This is very important, since friction of rubber against glass without moisture leaves microcracks. This is the case with jet nozzles, as they turn on a few seconds later.
There are a couple of negative aspects to note:
- Windshield fan nozzles become covered with ice faster than jet nozzles when exposed to subzero temperatures. This means that for their normal functioning in winter, you will have to take care of additional heating for these parts.
- The second significant drawback is a strong decrease in visibility for several moments until the wipers remove all the liquid from the windshield.
Purpose of the injector heating function
To prevent the process of crystallization or simply freezing of the liquid composition, which is located precisely in the nozzles themselves, a system is designed to heat them.
Additionally, it can prevent the entire windshield washer system from breaking down.
It has been established that blockage of the nozzle holes by the resulting ice crystals, along with the continuous build-up of pressure, will certainly lead to the hoses depressurizing. The pump will then fail. The motor winding may burn out, etc.
In addition, when using a heated front window washer, the liquid composition is also heated. The efficiency of removing ice from glass with heated water is much higher, not to mention the increase in the elastic properties of the rubber brushes that are located on the wiper. And this is very good for glass cleaning.
Operating principle of the heating system
Modern cars are mainly equipped with electric heating for the operation and heating of the nozzles, which are designed to wash the front window. The base consists of chip resistors.
Very small heating elements are built into each of the nozzles. Their shape, along with dimensions, is selected depending on the specific model.
- Power is automatically supplied to this miniature design when the set temperature is reached. For example, this could be either the activation of the glass heating system, or when the washer system is connected.
- If desired, the driver can easily install new jets, which have standard heating, instead of working ones, if they are not equipped with such a function. The system is connected quite simply and you can always do it yourself.
Minor difficulties may arise only with certain features in the process of fastening injectors of another type, which are unique to each individual model.
Insulation of tubes
The washing conductive channels are perfectly insulated with K-Flex tubes. Their area of application is usually related to the air conditioning system.
- In addition to such insulation, you can heat the glass washer pipeline using another tube located under the “jabot” behind the sound-insulating material. For example, in practice it is often wound together with the stove hose to remove steam.
- It’s worth making a reservation right away. Heating the windshield washer, in particular its tubes and reservoir, can ensure normal operation of the washer nozzles only if the temperature does not drop below minus ten degrees.
A lower temperature level, one way or another, leads to the formation of ice crystals. That is why such “heating” options must be used in conjunction with heating the injectors themselves.
Selection of fan jets
The simplest and most reliable way would be to purchase devices manufactured by the manufacturer of specific brands for a specific car. But if the manufacturer does not produce jets for your car, you can buy products of a universal design from third-party manufacturers.
For example, universal injectors produced by Volvo are of excellent quality. They are installed on most cars of Japanese manufacturers. Of the presented models, injectors number 30655605 are the highest quality, and standard jets from Volvo S 80 can be installed on the vast majority of car brands; for example, they fit perfectly on Chevrolet Lanos. Products produced by the Toyota plant are also an excellent option and are in steady demand among motorists.
Models from the GM plant 95226510 have proven themselves to be excellent on Chevrolet Cruze cars, injectors from Skoda fit well on the Chevrolet Aveo, and the Opel Astra H, by the way, is equipped with not one, but several models from General Motors.
The Koreans, of course, also have their own universal jets, for example, Sang Yong.
The cost of Korean elements is noticeably lower than that of the Swedes, but in terms of quality they are seriously inferior to them; saving in price can be a dubious fact when choosing, after all, the element is responsible for traffic safety and is not bought for one day. If you see negative reviews on the operation of the injectors after replacing the standard ones with fan ones, then pay attention to the manufacturer’s brand, since defects from non-European manufacturers, unfortunately, are not uncommon.
When choosing injectors in the catalog, you should pay attention to the presence of English letters after the model number. Fan-shaped universal windshield washer nozzles, in addition to numbers, may contain letters from A to E in the code. They indicate the possible level of spray height, the lowest at A, and so on in increasing order to E. The absence of letters may mean that it is impossible to adjust the spray.
The letters H and G when selected indicate differences in design.
The fan jet of the washer, type H, disperses water particles that are smaller in size than type G, thanks to which the windshield wiper is distributed more evenly across the glass, with more economical consumption. The cutout of the movable head on the H type allows for wider adjustment of the spray arm range when setting up. The fastening thread on G models is millimeters smaller, so during installation it can be somewhat loose, which is easy to adjust by placing a seal or applying sealant.
Independent injector heating device
You can create heating functions for the washer nozzles with your own hands:
- Current heating. Two elements are prepared for heating. Each of them must contain four chip resistor elements, amounting to one thousand two hundred six by two hundred ohms. The connection is parallel. Injectors make a hole in the surface of the plastic. Its width should be five millimeters and its depth one millimeter. The heater is inserted into it. It is then fixed using epoxy resin. basis. In a similar way, a heating element is installed in the second nozzle, after which all that remains is to connect them in series. The power that such heating will consume will be seventy-five hundredths of a watt. Resistors of one hundred and fifty ohms of zero twenty-five watts can easily replace chip resistors. The second resistor must be mounted only above the nozzles. The power is usually connected to the heated rear window or equipped with a separate button;
- Application of SOD for heating. Taking into account the location of the nozzles, their heating can be arranged using antifreeze. You will need a fifteen-centimeter copper tube. The pipe for removing steam from the stove will need to be removed at the place where it is connected to the expansion tank. Cutouts are made at the bottom of the tank. The SOD hose is inserted here. The location of the copper tube should be immediately below the injectors.
Part type
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As mentioned earlier, there are two main types - jet and fan devices used for washing glass. To understand why many people switch to the second option, it’s worth considering both.
As for inkjet ones, these are parts that are made in the form of a hollow cylinder. At the bottom of this device there is a fitting, through which the nozzle is connected to the hose supplying washer fluid. On top of the part there is a sprayer that allows you to manually adjust the jet strength.
If we talk about fan nozzles, their main difference lies in the design, since any part in this category has at least 3 nozzles, and most often even more. In addition, due to the large number of holes, it is necessary to reduce the diameter of each of them, and therefore the liquid will be supplied under high pressure, which will ensure good coverage even of the very top of the glass.
The jet type today is found only on fairly old cars, as well as on those that are still assembled using old technology. Foreign cars, as well as new cars that have been released recently, have fan-shaped washer nozzles.
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