Heated Rear Screen

[MrRedman]

Hi 

if I push tin foil against where I think there are breaks in 3 of the heated lines will it blow the fuse as I'm joining them all together briefly to indicate if that s the fault ? Cheers 

[isetta]

my understanding is that normally (I am  not saying every car). one side is the negative and one side is the positive, so if you are not actually shorting the distance the electricity has to travel from one side of the screen to the other then you should be OK.  If some of the strips are clearing the glass and some are not, then there must be a break in those strips.

I am not sure if the strips have some sort of laquer or protective coating on them so I am not sure if pressing foil on them will connect.

You could use a circuit tester to test if the surface is conductive (I know the circuit tester can not be use to tell if there are breaks in some strips and not others, as the circuit tester power will just go a longer way around using an unbroken strip and not show the break)

[Guest]

my second and third wires are broken since I bought the car, it still works just takes longer at the bottom! Shouldn't stop the whole screen working, I have seen repair pens.

[MrRedman]

Thanks guys by both posts I'm now thinking it's a broken wire between the boot and the roof in the black tubing because not of it is working but I can hear the relay and the switch is lit 

cheers

[Guest]

I have had wipers and screens go there, wire bends whenever boot opens I guess. Good luck.

[isetta]

have you checked fuse?  relay might click but it does not absolutely prove the relay is good inside (eg. burnt relay contact inside the relay unit - although not very likely).

can you get a voltmeter on the connections to the heated rear window element . i do not know how accessible or hidden they are on your car. could these be corroded or not connected properly. On a friends car (not a ford) the connector broke away from the glass.

I had an escort where the heated window wire broke between the tailgate and the body, I cut open the black tubing and could see it straight away. Did a solder job and wrapped tons of tape round it. Looked horrible but did the job and only seen when boot opened

[MrRedman]

Update to this

i went out to the car it had a steamed up window so I opened the boot ran the engine switched on the rear screen and squeezed the rubber casing with the wires in and it worked.

so it's definitely a break in the wire just a guessing game of which one

thanks everyone