Rear screen woes

[CazzaVR 0]

Now the weather has been colder, have tried using the rear screen demister... and it doesn't work :( The switch lights up and seems fine. Have examined the elements on the glass, and several were damaged. I bought some conductive paint and filled in the gaps. Still no joy. I've got a volt gauge and when I switch the switch, there is no current draw whatsoever.

 

 

Any ideas? Any other common failure points to examine? Have a spare tailgate in the garage (wrong colour), which will be a last resort fix.

[floppyman 0]

Start by checking voltage at the glass. Theres two connectors. Maybe fuse blown

[Supercharged 2]

Glass cover?

[adamsimmons 0]

If you unplug the connectors that connect to the rear screen and put a multimeter across them and see if you get 12v when you turn it on from the switch you can try and eliminate the problem from there. Also check your mirrors too as my drivers mirror was causing the circuit to short before as they are heated too

Edited November 6, 2011 by adamsimmons

[CazzaVR 0]

Thanks guys- will borrow a multimeter.

 

Steve, whaddayamean by 'glass cover'? Bit to cryptic for me- I'm getting old...

[KIPVW 0]

Think Steve means could you claim on insurance for one.... ?

[CazzaVR 0]

Ahhhh. Right, that makes sense. I was thinking literally :lol:

 

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:10 PM ----------

 

Are rear screens still available then? Will have to look into this...

[boost monkey 0]

I've got a rear screen you can have matey. It's at big bros house - I can stick a multimeter across the two contact ends if you like and check it's still good.

 

You can have it FOC :salute:

[CazzaVR 0]

Hey, Jonno- sounds great! Will give you a shout pending what happens with the insurance ;)

[RW1 0]

Check the volts of each side of windows connections, not across the conections, but one side of the voltmeter to earth on the body.

 

If no volts, switch the HRW switch off and check each window connection for circuit to earth.

 

One will show 12 volts. The other will show direct connection to earth.

 

If one is missing, check the 12 volt feed wire in the loom as it enters from the Bodyshell into the tailgate. Inside the leggy rubber gaitor, particulary where the wire passes over the Bodyshell lip. The 12 volts passes out of the Bodyshell on the White wire.

 

The earth is a Brown wire which is hooked up to the common earth point on the Spoiler Frame inside the Tailgate. If the Lights & Spoiler are working, then the earth through the tailgate loom from the Bodyshell is OK. Check the earth wire is connected to the Spoiler Frame common earthing point.

 

The fuse is No. 9 - 20 amps.

 

.

Edited November 7, 2011 by RW1

[CazzaVR 0]

Thanks Chris! Checked the fuse, looked OK, but changed it anyway. Lights and spoiler work fine. Haven't got hold of a meter yet, so haven't been able to test the volts.

 

Just fired it up a few minutes ago as the window was completely misted up, and the bottom two elements are working! Any ideas? I thought if one was damaged they'd all be out?

[owen g60 10]

The elements are set to rum in parallel so if one drops out you don't lose all of them.

[RW1 0]

If you have the bottom two elements working, then there is 12 volts and earth present. So no need to check out the car wiring and voltage feed.

 

As the cross window elements work and its the two bottom ones, it can be assumed by the nature that they are the furthest away from the central edge connections that the two vertical busbar strips on each side of the window are OK and working

 

I think you are looking at a sweeping scratch which has severed all the cross elements except the bottom two. Use a magifying glass. They can be hairline or less in size.

 

They can be repaired using a HRW paint repair kit from a motor factors. The repairs, if repaired well, can last for years.

 

- What you do is locate the cross strip track's cuts on the glass.

 

- Clean with Isopropyl Alcohol (no deposits from the alcohol left after cleaning)

 

- Place brown thin packing tape above and below the affected area so the gap between the two tape edges is more or less the same as the HRW area you are repairing. Don't let the packing tape stick to any of the HRW cross elements as they are fragile and the tape sticking then lifting off can break them.

 

- Paint on the HRW repair paint as a short strip across the damaged area. You only need to bridge the damaged point. The paint will make electrical circuit with the brown HRW window element as its applied.

 

- Before it is fully dry, peel the two tapes, each at a time in the direction of the window sides and at angle close to the glass, ie. more or less back on itself. This will ensure the paint is not disturbed and cos not dry, it will stay on the damaged HRW element area while the overpainted tape area easily rips away. The more it dries, the more chance the whole area of applied HRW paint will come away as a whole and you acheive no repair.

 

- Do one at a time. Then move onto the next, working down the window so you don't disturb repairs that have been done and are now drying.

 

- Allow 24 hours to dry.

 

- After 24 hours, test.

 

.

Edited November 12, 2011 by RW1

[CazzaVR 0]

Thanks again. There was scratch damage to most of them- I repaired them, but obviously not well enough, apart from the bottom two. I waited for them to dry before removing the tape- nice tip removing them before dry ;) Will have another go tomorrow...

[CazzaVR 0]

Getting there- got 4 working now. Found sellotape the best :)

[eglin89 0]

from reading this thread am i right in thinking the door mirrors are heated? i had no idea!

[Jim 2]

from reading this thread am i right in thinking the door mirrors are heated? i had no idea!

 

Indeed they are (supposed to be) :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Where do you get this element repair stuff from?

[CazzaVR 0]

I got mine off Ebay- http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=demister+repair&_sacat=See-All-Categories but you can get the paint from Maplins, Halfords and most motor factors.