Heated Windscreen Connectors Location?

[MrT]

I have had my heated front windscreen replaced and the heater no longer works. The fuses and relays seem fine so I need to test that power is getting to the screen. I assume (hope) it is a poor connection rather than a faulty screen.

 

However I cannot find the wires. I do not know if they connect to the screen from above the wiper motors in the engine compartment, from behind the dash, the side pillars or the head lining.

 

Does anyone know where the wires connect to the screen and how to access this point?

[Mussey1]

Did you replace the screen yourself or was it done by a reputable winsdcreen company?

 

Did the heater on the old screen work?

 

Mussey1.

[MrT]

It was replaced around a year ago by Autoglass, but is out of their warranty and I never normally need to use the heater to defrost as the car is garaged. It may well never have worked since replacement but the with recent ice and leaving it out overnight I noticed it was not heating. The air conditioning always clears the internal mist.

 

I have used the original to clear frost.

[Mussey1]

If you have windscreen cover on your insurance it may be worthwhile finding out if they will cover a new screen.

 

I think the connectors may be behind the plastic covers on the 'A' pillars, but I will have a look at the haynes manual tonight.

 

Mussey1.

 

P.s. I knew a chap whose car failed MOT because of a line marked in the windscreen by the wiperblades.

 

Insurance would not cover this, however a few days later a brick 'accidentally' smashed the screen and a new one was put in courtesy if the insurance company.

 

Unethical I know. By the way it wasn't me!!!

 

Mussey1.

[professor_ross]

I watched them replace my screen a couple of years ago and as far as I can remember there are two power connectors - one each side - access under the two top side pieces on the dash at the bottom of the screen pillars. Additionally I seem to remember a central earth connection up behind the interior light unit.

 

Hope this helps

 

Ross Smith

 

1999 1.9Tdi Ghia.

[MrT]

I have taken the A pillar trim off down to dashboard level and no sign of any connectors. Tomorrow I will go the last 3 inches below the board. All there is a white tube or cable going up the RHS into the roof and a cloth bound multicable going to the roof on the LHS.

[MrT]

Found out the cabling. The two live cables are beneath the panels at either side of the dashboard with the vents that clear the small triangular glass. At the top centre of the windscreen is a plastic strip with many copper wires in (like a PCB cable) that is bolted to an earthing point underneath the bump where the roof clock was in the older models.

 

My problem was caused by the total incompetence of Autoglass. They had sheared off the earthing bolt so they "earthed" the screen lead by sticking it to the roof beam with black sticky mastic, a well known electrical conductor.

 

I had to remove the roof lining at the front to get into the space to drill and fit a self tapping screw and washer to earth the strip. This strip gets rather hot in use, but all works again.