PanzerAce Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Title basically says it all. Last night I noticed that my rear defroster doesn't work at all. Switch doesn't light up or anything either (should it?). So what is the easiest/cheapest way to tell what part of the setup is busted? Considering the amount of driving I do in this weather (humid, rain, cold, etc), I kind of need it to work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.jonas Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Test the wire going into the switch-got power? then probably bad connection,bad switch or bad ground.If no power-check fuse.After that you are looking for a problem within the wiring-between battery and switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Check the small metal tabs on the glass which the power and ground wires connect to (one on each side) see if they are not corroded or even broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 just realized I don't have a volt meter, any recomendations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I'd buy a volt meter. they aren't expensive either. Question. if the traces on the glass are messed up, will the light for the defrost come on? my light comes on but i've never actually checked to see what the traces look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 whups, I meant what volt meter to get As for the actual defrosting element, can't you just take a look at it and see if it is getting defrosted? Or has it never gotten cold enough where you are to actually frost up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 im pretty sure the light on the switch will still come on, yes. If you are curious, you can check across the two tabs that come off the glass for continuity. There should be a medium-to-low resistance reading between the two terminals, just like a light bulb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've never heard of a Z with a working rear defrost.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've never heard of a Z with a working rear defrost.... ....must be on the same circuit as the clock..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 ....must be on the same circuit as the clock..... I actually kinda need it though. Sure, rolling the window down defrosts it pretty well, but while the engine is warming up so that it can idle, it would be nice to get it going. Also, rain + open window = not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I actually kinda need it though. Sure, rolling the window down defrosts it pretty well, but while the engine is warming up so that it can idle, it would be nice to get it going. Also, rain + open window = not so good. yer preachin to the choir on that one, brother..... I drove my 75 around for five years in Florida with not only a busted rear defrost, but no functioning ventilation so nothing to blow on the foggy windshield either.. AND the driver window had no regulator mechanism (just a chunk of 2x4 I held it up with when it was parked in the rain, parked and "locked," or when the monsoon was driving the rain directly into my window!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mario_82_ZXT Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Worse comes to worse, there's a manufacture thats been discussed here and on zcar.com that sells the elements based on you window size. You clean the window and then roll on the whole new heating element. I think their largest kit still wasn't big enough and it was like +$200. The other thing that I've seen is a heating element and a fan that stick you your rear window. You supply 12v and it blows hot air at it to defrost it. Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I actually kinda need it though. Sure, rolling the window down defrosts it pretty well, but while the engine is warming up so that it can idle, it would be nice to get it going. Also, rain + open window = not so good. Im in the same boat, rear view mirros become useless in a lot of conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Im in the same boat, rear view mirros become useless in a lot of conditions ah...the things we put up with to drive a Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 lol it doesn't get cold enough in AZ to need the defroster. It wouldn't help much for me, I don't have a heater in my car. the heater core has been bypassed. It probably formed a leak or something many many many years ago. I don't care though. It never gets cold enough for me to worry about that, and i won't be driving my car in the rain much either (i hate rain, luckily, we don't get much of that in arizona) Guess when I get my car back from the shop i'll run some tests on the defroster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 lol it doesn't get cold enough in AZ to need the defroster. It wouldn't help much for me, I don't have a heater in my car. the heater core has been bypassed. It probably formed a leak or something many many many years ago. I don't care though. It never gets cold enough for me to worry about that, and i won't be driving my car in the rain much either (i hate rain, luckily, we don't get much of that in arizona) Guess when I get my car back from the shop i'll run some tests on the defroster Yah....I'm going to be DDing my Z in everything from 120 ambient air temp down to (hopefully not) as low as say....10 degrees. Going to be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4xwellmurd3r Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Wow...that will be interesting. I'm pretty glad the weather out here during the day is always tolerable. I lived in NC, and DD'd a 62 vw bug. No heater in that when it got down to 30 and below. That was horrible. I hated driving when it was cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 yah. the Z isn't actually all that bad, small interior means that body heat and the engine through the firewall heats it up decently fast. The biggest problem with the weather is getting the engine to warm up to the point that the engine can actually idle, though the weather has changed enough that it isn't as much of a problem right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickl750 Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Hey Guys, Here are two options. I'm using the first one since I'm building a speaker box and I can intergated in to it. http://www.jcwhitney.com/Heater-Window-Defroster/600002304.jcw?in_dim_search=1 http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2002923/p-2002923/N-111+10201+600002300/c-10101 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 My rear defrost isn't working either, and i'm gonna be testing it soon with a meter to check for breaks. I was kinda wondering if there's some conductive spray I could spray over the lines to give them new life. Seems like it'd be easy if I could just find something to spray thats conductive. Something tells me that copper gasket stuff isn't really copper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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