windscreen ribbon

[rs200]

 

is there anyway of repairing this ??

[Stoney871]

I'd say get an Auto Electrician to take a look.

The ribbon is plastic coated to stop corrosion and shorting so isn't just a case of clamping back together (although you could try melting off the coating and clamping the ribbon with some of the metal paint used to patch rear demister tracking - if enough end is left at the connector block that is).

A professional fix is sure to be cheaper than having to replace the screen.

Sent from my SM-G930F

[JW1982]

This problem can be solved quite easily in most cases. In this case there is still enough of the copper ribbon left. In most cases the copper ribbon breaks much closer to the windshield which makes repair impossible.

The best way to repair this is by soldering the wire directly onto the copper ribbon. To do this the electrical insulation of the copper ribbon needs to be removed. this can be done mechanically using a sharp knife or by applying heat. After the insulation is removed the wire can be soldered onto the ribbon. This requires a high power soldering iron which can generate a lot of heat in a short time. The copper ribbon drains a lot of heat into the heated screen wiring so it is important to solder as quick as possible. To prevent the windscreen from cracking during soldering I recommend to clamp a copper heatsink  onto the ribbon close to the windscreen during soldering.

[isetta]

i agree with the soldering, that is what i would do.  if no soldering equipment and you don't want to pay someone else, an improvised way might be.  get the coating off copper strip. make small hole in it.   strip insulation off wire, make a loop in end of wire. put a small brass screw and nut through hole in copper strip and clamp the wire loop to it. you will need decent diameter washers on each side to hold the wire loop on and to spread the load on the copper stripper so it does not tear through the hole.  I know it's not ideal and some will say a bodge. Will need to well insulated with tape afterwards (as would the soldering option)

[mjt]

It looks like it should be possible to remove the broken piece from the connector, carefully strip the insulation from the ribbon and re-insert it. Try to just peel the insulation off. It's vital not to nick or scratch the copper as that will cause a stress point and lead to another fracture. The problem you're going to have is that the repair will leave the connection shorter so it's likely to fail again unless you can pull a bit of cable through the clip.

Bear in mind the windscreen takes a very high current so the connection needs to be good enough to handle it.

[rs200]

Thanks for the ideas, my thoughts are, to cut off the square block, scotch block a longer piece of wire, flay the ends and copper tape it to the ribbon., then insulate tape. problem i think ill have is removing the insulate on the ribbon its self. the silver electrical conductor seem quiet thin. 

[mjt]

Personally I wouldn't cut off or modify the existing connector if you can avoid it. If you ever have the screen replaced that will cause problems for the installer. It's your call, though. Possibly the original end of the ribbon is made thicker to go into the connector so maybe you don't have any choice. I'd steer clear of Scotch blocks, though, because of the current. If you really must cut and extend either use a chunky choc-bloc or, preferably solder and heatshrink sleeving.

[isetta]

I agree with mjt about the scotch block possible not being suitable due to amount of current.

"  flay the ends and copper tape it to the ribbon ".  Not sure what you mean by this, but due to the amount of current that needs to go through this it needs to be very good connection, like soldered or clamped together. bear in mind when you try to draw a lot of current through a poor connection it can heat up and melt insulation and even set fire to anything flammable.  (that is the basic principle of how arc welding and mig welding creates the heat - on a larger scale)

[rs200]

Chop off the black square , choc block a longer piece of cable from the bare end, where the square block was.  spread the strands of wires out , so that they cover more area, of the hopefully uninsulated part of the ribbon, (Copper tape used to keep slugs at bay,) tape the bare ends of the spread wires onto the exposed ribbon, copper being a conductor , then insulate the lot with insulate tape.  i do not have a solder iron. 

[Iansfletcher]

I had a broken ribbon too and didn't fancy the cos the of a new screen. Did t have access to a soldering iron so only one thing left. Nuts and bolts. At least the current carrying issue isn't a problem and even though I know it's a bit of a botch, it works and will have to do on my budget. Check the pics if it helps anyone. 

[rs200]

You are lucky it broke in equal halves, mine as you can see did not . will be attempting repair tomorrow 

[rs200]

Fixed , cable does get quite hot though, i used a 15 amp choc block. just wondering would i need a thicker cable going to the ribbon from the choc block, ?

[JW1982]

Personally I would use a cable of the same thickness as the original wiring and solder it directly onto the original wiring using a suitable cable joint.

Each side of the heated windscreen uses over 25 A of power. If I remember correctly the heated windscreen has 2 x 30 A fuses. Any repairs or changes to the heated windscreen wiring should be calculated at these values at least.

 

Personally I will never use screw terminals (choc blocks) on a car. Most screw terminals will corrode as a result of water ingress which causes a bad connection. This can cause the wiring to overheat and damage the wiring harness of the car. in worst case scenario it can even set the car on fire. Next to this most screw terminals are designed to be used for solid single core wires. For use on flexible multi strand wiring (like in cars) a suitable cable end sleeve should be used to protect the cores for damage caused by the screw terminal.

[rs200]

I`ve added four more wires from choc block to ribbon , still getting overly hot 

[isetta]

can't you find someone you know with a decent soldering iron?  who would do it free for you or for a fiver or something. If the car is presented needing no dismantling to gain access, like in your pic it is only going to take them five minutes.  I can't see it ever being satisfactory with the way you are doing the joins

[ippy]

23 hours ago, rs200 said:

I`ve added four more wires from choc block to ribbon , still getting overly hot 

have you tried a battery cable?  if i was you i would go buy a cheap soldering iron and a roll of solder and do it properly m8,  (cos that looks like it could catch fire)  I had a triumph 2.5 pi many moons ago  and i wired a radio straight to the battery no inline fuse nothing but i used 240v cable and one day just checking the oil when i shut bonnet i just nicked the wire and i watched it melt the insulation and glow red so i just grabbed the wire and tried to yank it off luckily it snapped but as a result i burned all my finger joints down to the bone i still bear the scars now (25 years on),  all im saying is i was lucky you or your passengers might not be,  

[WES180]

4 hours ago, ippy said:

 i shut bonnet i just nicked the wire and i watched it melt the insulation and glow red so i just grabbed the wire and tried to yank it off luckily it snapped but as a result i burned all my finger joints down to the bone i still bear the scars now (25 years on) 

Ouch! 

[rs200]

Oh well, things just are not meant to be. On attempting a proper repair, the ribbon has snapped/come away from the windscreen