[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Sandman689

A single strip of my rear defogger seems to have failed. I have the materials required for soldering. But what is this 'conductive paint' and how do I procure it?

I dont think its advisable to try soldering on a glass. The enormous heat applied on a small area may crack the glass. But are you aware of where exactly the continuity is lost?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Sandman689

A single strip of my rear defogger seems to have failed. I have the materials required for soldering. But what is this 'conductive paint' and how do I procure it?

I repaired something similar with my Peugeot 205 in the UK in 1989. Getting conductive paint was no sweat since as Physicists it was a very common item around the lab. First I used Isopropanol (normal rubbing alcohol, also sold for injections) to clean the area. Then I put two strips of cellophane tape outlining the strip to be patched. Now I painted over three times with thin layers of silver paint, allowing it to dry between applications. Once fully dry I carefully peeled off the cellophane tape and got a very clean fix. Impossible with a brush wielded freehand.

Conductive paint is available in India as well.

[Sandman689]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I dont think its advisable to try soldering on a glass. The enormous heat applied on a small area may crack the glass. But are you aware of where exactly the continuity is lost?

Yes I am cautious of this fact and hence want to know about this conductive paint before I try anything. I have a multimeter, so finding the gap in conductive strip shouldn't be a problem.

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I repaired something similar with my Peugeot 205 in the UK in 1989. Getting conductive paint was no sweat since as Physicists it was a very common item around the lab. First I used Isopropanol (normal rubbing alcohol, also sold for injections) to clean the area. Then I put two strips of cellophane tape outlining the strip to be patched. Now I painted over three times with thin layers of silver paint, allowing it to dry between applications. Once fully dry I carefully peeled off the cellophane tape and got a very clean fix. Impossible with a brush wielded freehand.

Conductive paint is available in India as well.

Wow. It seemed from here that the conductive paint itself was sufficient to do the fix and no heat was required whatsoever. Given the options, I will definitely try to avoid using heat on a glass. Thank you so much for sharing this Sir.

[pcpranav]

is you use paint (& thin brush) the chances are still there of uneven coat and effect the conductivity (/resistance). better use a pen, copper 'ink' based.

http://www.chemtronics.com/c-275-cir...-and-inks.aspx

and this is really interesting ! : http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...uits-instantly

[Epic]

Hi everyone,

So my 2011 VW Polo 1.6 has been running absolutely fine since the past 07 years. However, yesterday the rear defogger seems to have stopped working during use. I first noticed that the LED on the defogger switch started to blink and the defogger was not defogging the rear glass. I switched it off and switched it on after 10 minutes and it started to work again only to stop again after sometime. At the moment, the defogger switch comes on but I do not hear that 'click' sound that used to come before which is probably the thermostat activating.

I have checked the lines on the rear glass physically and there is no break in any of them. Could it be a fuse?

Any idea what could be the problem?

[pcpranav]

Originally Posted by Epic

Hi everyone,

So my 2011 VW Polo 1.6 has been running absolutely fine since the past 07 years. However, yesterday the rear defogger seems to have stopped working during use. I first noticed that the LED on the defogger switch started to blink and the defogger was not defogging the rear glass. I switched it off and switched it on after 10 minutes and it started to work again only to stop again after sometime. At the moment, the defogger switch comes on but I do not hear that 'click' sound that used to come before which is probably the thermostat activating.

I have checked the lines on the rear glass physically and there is no break in any of them. Could it be a fuse?

Any idea what could be the problem?

interesting - the last post in this thread was by me in 2014 !!


you can check the electrical connections first - hope switch connectors are fine (moisture / loose contacts). If possible open that switch to verify. Yes, fuse also to be checked.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by Epic

the rear defogger seems to have stopped working during use. I first noticed that the LED on the defogger switch started to blink and the defogger was not defogging the rear glass.

Could it be a fuse?

It certainly is not the fuse.

Your owner manual should have something written on the rear defogger operation. Mind sharing that info here so that one could get some clue?

My car's manual only mentions that it should be used only for the time required since it is a power intensive circuit.

I've faced this on both my Corollas - and there was no issue with continuity of the circuit. The defogger would work at times and wouldn't at times.

The front windscreen defrost works with air in fresh air mode; but that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the rear defogger.

[Epic]

Originally Posted by pcpranav

interesting - the last post in this thread was by me in 2014 !!


you can check the electrical connections first - hope switch connectors are fine (moisture / loose contacts). If possible open that switch to verify. Yes, fuse also to be checked.

Originally Posted by vigsom

It certainly is not the fuse.

Thank you pcpranav and vigsom for your inputs.

So I have a retrofitted HID projector set up in my Polo and two of the ballasts had gone kaput. The defogger issue started immediately after this. I got the ballasts replaced and the defogger has also started working again. Very odd behaviour since there is no connection between the headlights and rear defogger.

Originally Posted by vigsom

My car's manual only mentions that it should be used only for the time required since it is a power intensive circuit.

I think this line of your has a lot to do with it. The failure of the ballasts may have created some irregularity in the power supply; may be a fluctuation of some sort and hence affected the 'power intensive circuit' of the defogger.