Mk2.5 Defrost Rear Window

[simnether]

Hi guys,

if you've seen my presentation, you'll know that english isn't my first language, so I apologise if I don't really know how to call mechanical parts, like this case!

Anyway, the defrost strips of the rear window aren't actually doing their job, especially the central part. My question is:

is it possible that the problem is related to any fuse? If so which one and (lol) where do I find the fuses' box?

I'll try to get something out of the 1 month of warranty I've got with the car (which will most likely not cover it) but in case I don't, I've already called carglass who asked 1050 Euro for it (750Euro circa since there's a current discount in place). I'd like to avoid that in all honesty.. I think everybody would.

I appreciate any help or suggestion that might come from this.

Cheers!

[Hyrule]

Have a look in the owners manual, should tell you which fuse controls the heating elements for the rear screen.

Also under the tailgate trim panel, to the left of the rear screen, is the wiring for the heating elements for the rear screen. Might be worth checking that it's not damaged.

[simnether]

Have a look in the owners manual, should tell you which fuse controls the heating elements for the rear screen.

Also under the tailgate trim panel, to the left of the rear screen, is the wiring for the heating elements for the rear screen. Might be worth checking that it's not damaged.

Owners manual is in dutch :( and I don't speak it just yet. I've got an english version, not the same release as mine though so I'm not sure it's reliable. What I don't understand is, if the cable is damaged, wouldn't the whole panel not be working? I'll have a look tomorrow for the wiring anyways. thanks :)

[simnether]

Back again. Unfortunately, the fuse's fine. I tested it with a multimeter. Next step would be opening the whole panel.. but I'm afraid I'm going to mess this up.

[simnether]

Aaaand I'm back :)

Right, before taking out the panel, I found a super easy guide to check if there's any electricity passing through; Basically I connected the ground to the back seat holder and the "red" cable of the multimeter to the strips.

This is the guide I followed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhYfqyY7VzM

Now, since there was the sun shining right behind, I've even found something worse! I could actually see lots of spots, huge spots, where there's no conductive paint, just the orange strip, which I believe it's just a guide for when they install the glue in the factory.

The first 5/6 strips are working ok, the voltage is a bit low since there was some resistance from the aluminium foil.

See below:

Now if we zoom in.. you can see the orange parts where the paint is missing:

Is it worth it trying to repair it myself? I've see the reparation kits on eBay for about 15 Euros, but I guess those cover only a small damaged part.. here I'm having basically the whole thing to be done. I also need to double check if the sides are all working alright, haven't had time before..

Thanks