Rear Defroster Problem

Can Anyone Help Me With My Rear Defroster? It Just Not Working

i would love to help you, but i need more info, year/model, when did the problem start(let me guess it worked last winter but this is the first time you turned it on in months). does the defroster light comes on? is the entire grid not coming on or only parts of it? crack/damage to the rear window? do you have a test light?

I have had the same problem too. It started just a couple days ago (was working last week) and the light doesnt come on and it doesnt defrost anymore. All fuses checked and connections are in perfect condition. Mine is a 97sl2. thanks.

check ALL fuses, even if it doesn't seem to be related, also swap the defrost relay and the horn relay and see if it works.

my rear window defroster is not working either however i just removed the tint from my back window and it worked prior to that....is it possible i damaged the defroster strips and is it possible to replace them?

was the tint on the inside or outside?
inside - yes
outside - no

a test light can be used to confirm, repair is possible but repairing an entire grid would not be easy. the other option is to replace the rear window(assuming the grid is the problem)

it was on the inside. i have never heard of tint being put on the outside of a window. Where do i get a test light and how do i use it

the tint should always be on the outside IMHO, one of the reasons why i think is quite obvious to you now. you can buy a 12V test light at any autopart store and even some home hardware stores. how it works is simple, if you have power, it lights. on the rear window you should see a wire connected to each side of the window, be very careful not to brake those connections. the grid is not protected or covered in any way, it is fully exposed, which is its weak point but it makes it easy to test and repair. turn on the defroster. touch one end of the test light on one side of the grid and the other to the other the tester should light.if it doesn't the grid isn't getting power. if it does light then carefully and lightly run one end of the test light across each line of the grid, if at any point the light suddenly goes out at certain point, look REALLY CLOSE, i bet you will see a very tiny break in the gird. but with removing tint on the inside of the window i bet you will have a million little breaks.

dont most custom car shops put the tint on the inside of the car. wouldnt putting it on the outside make it more prone for weather damage

that i don't know, i have never worked with tint myself before. but if i ever did my logic tells me too put it on the outside.

When you press the rear defrost button there is a small bulb in the switch that turns on to tell you that the defrost is on. Quite often the only problem is that the bulb is burned out and now you have no indicator to tell you if the power is on or not. You should use a meter to determine if the rear defrost wires are getting power and then you can determine weather you have an open element or a bad switch or just a burned bulb. A small digital multimeter is very innexpensive these days and it would save you a lot of time troubleshooting electrical problems.
Alex

i have a 94 SL1 and my defrost isn't working either, we just got a snow storm where i am and i need it. i swapped fuses but cant seem to get power at the rear window wires. when i remove the fuse...there is power at the terminal...but i guess i have to see if power is coming out of the fuse. is there a relay somewhere else maybe at the switch? is there a fuse block under the hood related to the defrost? i don't notice any rpm change when i turned the defrost switch on. thanks much.

i have a 94 SL1 and my defrost isn't working either, we just got a snow storm where i am and i need it. i swapped fuses but cant seem to get power at the rear window wires. when i remove the fuse...there is power at the terminal...but i guess i have to see if power is coming out of the fuse. is there a relay somewhere else maybe at the switch? is there a fuse block under the hood related to the defrost? i don't notice any rpm change when i turned the defrost switch on. thanks much.

i guess i just answered my question. i checked the under-hood fuse-block and sure enough...the 25A fuse was blown. haven't put a test light to it yet but i think it works because i can hear the engine under light load when i flip the switch. :)