heated windscreen wiring

[marinabrid]

HI all
had new screen fitted in summer,    been waiting for cold steamy day to test it.

tried it just now, sat there   nowt !   the revs dropped with the switch on  so does this mean the relay is sending power to the screen,.   or where are the wires so i could put a tester on   

what is the warranty situation with a national windscreens glass,   anyone know ?   if the power is there then is the screen at fault  but been a few months now

thanks

[marinabrid]

seem to have found the wires under the windscreen side trim,  one to each side,    does anyone know if both sides should be live,  i remember now the chap saying it was earthed near the interior mirror fixing inside the roof console

[insanitybeard]

Usually there are 2 live feeds to a heated front screen as there are two distinct 'zones' of heating elements within the screen- driver's and passenger sides, so yes, both of those should be live feeds. Being that the screen does take a bit of time to physically warm up after turning it on, how long did you leave it before checking?

[marinabrid]

HI
well sat in for a good few mins,  turned switch on and off to check rpm dropping ok,  it wasn't frozen but just a lot of condensation , usually you can see the  heater lines appear quiet soon   but nowt seemed to appear.
it was on tick over

it doesn't have to have a higher rpm does it to make it kick in ?

[insanitybeard]

No, it'll work with the engine running at idle if it's working, a few minutes would be enough to see a difference so sounds like there's a problem somewhere unfortunately.

[Mirez]

I don't understand the revs dropping though as that would indicate a load has been applied. The front screen draws a phenomenal amount of current (hence its broken into two sides) and is fused appropriately however a direct short would still pop it. My first check would be to ensure you have 12V on the two connectors and then a good ground... go from there but if you have the supply and ground then you won't be able to do much more

[marinabrid]

i presumed the heated screen would remove inside condensation would it   or are the elements nearer the outer surface for ice ?    joust a thought .

[SilverBeast]

When the screen was replaced on my (hopefully) soon to be ex-wife's fiesta the fitter told me one way to check is to put a hot drink (still in the cup!) on the dash so the steam goes onto the window.

He worked on Range Rover that had had two screens fitted before they figured out the female spade connectors needed nipping up as they weren't gripping tightly enough to the male part  and so the current wasn't flowing properly to the screen.

[marinabrid]

will give that a try and check all the conns     thanks

[mike wilson]

Some possibilities from another source.

http://www.talkford.com/community/topic/239735-heated-front-screen-connectors/?hl=%2Bheated+%2Bscreen

http://www.talkford.com/community/topic/239224-galaxy-mk3-heated-windscreen-problem/?hl=%2Bheated+%2Bscreen

Looks like one timer relay goes to a fuse for each side.  If it's all unfunctional, the relay has to be favourite.

[marinabrid]

thanks for those,   can anyone tell me how the plastic trims come off that run up the inside of the windscreen    the one with   airbag  stamped on,   when i did one at the back area i broke the fixing so didn't want accident again

[insanitybeard]

The little 'AIRBAG' logo on said trim will likely pop out to reveal a hidden screw, other than that though it's probably only held in by several of those plastic 'christmas tree' type clips with angled fins which push in no trouble but jam on the way out, due to the way in which they work. Unfortunately quite often the trim plastic where the clip locates in the trim gives up before the clip itself releases or lets go. All you can do is try to ease the trim away from the top of the 'A' pillar first and work down as gently as you can to try to minimise the chance of anything breaking.

[mike wilson]

A set of plastic trim tools is a real investment. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/XXR-TOOLS-PIECE-PLASTIC-REMOVAL/dp/B00KR8FVWC/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1444817174&sr=8-13&keywords=plastic+pry+tools