Estate rear screen heater problem

[steve_earwig]

So you have power across the terminals, continuity across the heater element and yet it still doesn't work

I can't see how a small amount of corrosion would stop it working.

HR somewhere? Try a bulb across the terminals.

[Kiwi]

So you have power across the terminals, continuity across the heater element and yet it still doesn't work

I can't see how a small amount of corrosion would stop it working.

HR somewhere? Try a bulb across the terminals.

It works, but it is very slow now to get warm to the touch. Before, with the car outside in -14C it would melt the ice in a couple of minutes, ( by the time I'd scraped the side windows ) and I could feel the heat. Even just to demist it takes ages now compared with when I first got the vehicle.

[steve_earwig]

I've seen them steam but I've never felt one get warm - I'll soon get an opportunity to try it I guess.

Ok, how about checking the voltage across it with the heater running? If it drops significantly you're looking for a bad connection. If not then we have to assume the window heater element is in trouble

[Kiwi]

I've seen them steam but I've never felt one get warm - I'll soon get an opportunity to try it I guess.

Ok, how about checking the voltage across it with the heater running? If it drops significantly you're looking for a bad connection. If not then we have to assume the window heater element is in trouble

The voltage I measured was at the lucar terminals with the heater running. Do you mean to measure the voltage on the actual element / screen where the termimals
attach or.. where ? Yes, it used to steam before and if the screen was fogged it used to clear in minutes. when it was steaming was when I felt it was warm. Thanks.

[steve_earwig]

So this 14.5 volts was measured across the heater element from the actual connectors themselves, with the element turned on & the engine running? I was thinking maybe a bad connection elsewhere was dropping the voltage enough to stop the window clearing effectively but that kind of rules out that idea

[lozz]

Arnt these wired in sequence with a Timed Relay?
noticed on the picasso the heated screen turns itself off after a min,
dosent seem to clear condensation very good, not had frost yet to try it properly,

[Doggy]

The 406's, (well mine at least), stays on for 10 minutes.

[Kiwi]

I think the problem has been fixed. When I refitted the loom spade connectors to the screen terminals I noticed that they were tight to push on but were not " secure ",i.e., they rocked on the spade terminal. I used a thin blade screwdriver between the terminal and the insulator sleeve to tighten the female terminal and the result was a secure connection.

Yesterday morning I had a couple of mm of ice on the screen ( -5C ) and the ice was melting while I was scraping the front screen. Here's hoping..............
Thanks to all those who have offered info.