JPaul
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,436
- Location
- Way up north, UT
So recently I noticed my rear defroster had suddenly stopped working, but because I had my side mirror defrosters wired into the same circuit and they were still working, I knew it wasn't a fuse or a relay issue or anything like that (for those that don't know, I added heated mirrors to my H3 last winter).
So today I spent some time trying to figure out what went wrong. I had searched earlier about it and saw that sometimes the connectors at the glass can corrode and stop working, but I wasn't getting any voltage at all to them.
I pulled off the trim from the rear door and noticed another connector for the defogger wiring on the upper right corner below the window. I tried checking that for voltage and though initially I didn't get anything, I figured out I wasn't getting a proper ground with the meter, so after getting a proper ground I found that I was getting voltage to the connector but not past that.
After closer inspection I noticed the wire looked a little funny, and pulling the connector apart I found that the supply line pins had heated up and started to melt the connector, just like the blower connector we've all had the fun of dealing with.
So now we have another point of failure to deal with on the H3's. I'm sure it's mainly going to affect those of us in the norther climates that actually have to use the rear defroster regularly. My permanent fix is going to be to bypass the connector and splice in some spade connectors instead. There are a couple other wires in that connector that I'm not certain what they go to , so I'll leave it in place for those. I'll do a writeup when I get around to putting the fix in place.
So today I spent some time trying to figure out what went wrong. I had searched earlier about it and saw that sometimes the connectors at the glass can corrode and stop working, but I wasn't getting any voltage at all to them.
I pulled off the trim from the rear door and noticed another connector for the defogger wiring on the upper right corner below the window. I tried checking that for voltage and though initially I didn't get anything, I figured out I wasn't getting a proper ground with the meter, so after getting a proper ground I found that I was getting voltage to the connector but not past that.
After closer inspection I noticed the wire looked a little funny, and pulling the connector apart I found that the supply line pins had heated up and started to melt the connector, just like the blower connector we've all had the fun of dealing with.
So now we have another point of failure to deal with on the H3's. I'm sure it's mainly going to affect those of us in the norther climates that actually have to use the rear defroster regularly. My permanent fix is going to be to bypass the connector and splice in some spade connectors instead. There are a couple other wires in that connector that I'm not certain what they go to , so I'll leave it in place for those. I'll do a writeup when I get around to putting the fix in place.
