Rear Window Defogger

[alf2109]

One of the rear window defogger connections was ripped off by the dog on my '00 Limited. Any ideas on what to use to re-cement / re-attach it???

Thanks

m

 

[ExplorerDMB]

You should be able to use something like solder and that'll work. There may be a kit to repair it.

-Drew

 

[stevearcher]

alf2109 - did you manage to get this fixed?
Mine came off yesterday. Have tried soldering it but can't get it to stick. My only other thought is Conductive Silver Epoxy. Will try to get hold of some in the next couple of days and see if this works.

Steve

'99 Explorer 4.0 (UK)

 

[pfeffer1728]

i would think the conductive epoxy would work..provided its conductive enough...good luck with that.

 

[jp450]

got insurance? Comprehensive may have no deductable glass coverage. It does in Mass...

 

[madymo3d]

I would love to know if and how anyone has fixed his. The tab on one side broke off. Tried to repair it yesterday with solder but wouldn't stick, just beads up and falls off. Heated up the tab a bit and the connector came off. So now I have no tab at all on one side. Will try an auto shop today to see if they have repair kit that comes with a tab.

 

[87vert]

i know advance and autozone both sell a rear defogger repair kit not sure what it includes though

 

[alexefron]

conductive epoxies should work. I believe they sell some type of conductive adhesive for repairing electrical parts at radio shack

 

[madymo3d]

Went to Autozone and Murray's. Both have the same kit and it doesn't contain the tab. The guy at Autozone tried to convince me it has the tab because the label says it'll fix tabs. He wouldn't open the package to prove it. Good thing I didn't believe him. I guess I can get a piece of copper and use some conductive epoxy to make a new tab. It is copper, isn't it? Or is it some other material?

 

[stevearcher]

Got some conductive epoxy at Maplin (UK equivelent of Radio Shack) and had a go at sticking the tab back on.
Used a file to clean the excess solder off (from my earlier attempt to fix it back on), mixed the epoxy up and stood there holding the tab on the rear screen for a good 10 or 15 minutes and starting to wonder if it would ever stick! Eventually, it seemed to stick pretty well but I'm going to leave it a couple of days before I dare to put the connecter back on!
I don't think it helped that it wasn't especially warm here (although warmer than it has been) - the instructions said that it would take about 4 hours to bond in 75F - it was mid 60s when I was working on it.

madymo3d - The tab does seem to be copper.

I'll let you know if it holds (and gives a good connection) in a couple of days.

Steve

 

[madymo3d]

Went to Radio Shack yesterday and they didn't have any conductive epoxy. So I went to a hardware store and got some solder. Tried the one which specifically said for copper (and other) alloys, which also happened to be the most expensive. I think it's 96% tin and 4% silver where as the "normal" solder was 60% tin and 40% lead. Worked like a charm. Cleaned it with flux, heated up the surface, touched the solder and it flowed. Did not bead up, and stuck in just a few seconds. It did take me several tries to get it to a good position. I ended up using a spade electrical connector, probably of some steel alloy. I supposed I should turn it on tonight and try it out.

 

[gijoecam]

The key to using the solder is to get the glass good an hot as well, otherwise, nothing is going to stick to it. However, if you get a single point on the glass hot, it's likely going to shatter, at which point, you've got an insurance claim on your hands.

A conductive epoxy would work.... Hardman makes a product called Double-Bubble that would probably work well, although I haven't found anyplace that'll let you order it in anything less than case quantities. Might want to check with Newark Electronics (www.newarkinone.com) or RS Electronics in Livonia, MI.

-Joe

 

[stevearcher]

madymo3d - Good job on getting yours back on!

Went to attach the wire to mine just now - the connector on the screen looked and felt like it was on solid. The connector clicked on fine...
Then I tried to put the plastic cover on - did it as gently as I could - and the connector fell off the screen! :fire:

Not sure why it went wrong - perhaps it just wasn't warm enough, the glass wasn't clean enough or I didn't use enough epoxy.

Might try the solder again soon.

 

[wkules]

Midway Auto supply online has a Loctite product that is specifically for this problem. I haven't tried it yet but will need to soon. Here's where I found it;
http://www.midwayautosupply.com/manufacturerminorcategory.asp?Defogger Repair
I don't know how to do the hyperlink thing so you'll have to copy and paste it to your browser.

 

[madymo3d]

I was afraid of shattering the glass as well. The nice thing about this 96/4 solder is that it's low temp, so it only took a few seconds to heat up the glass or connector before the solder flowed. The instruction said to heat the surface and not the solder directly. I used a pencil torch.

The key to using the solder is to get the glass good an hot as well, otherwise, nothing is going to stick to it. However, if you get a single point on the glass hot, it's likely going to shatter, at which point, you've got an insurance claim on your hands.

A conductive epoxy would work.... Hardman makes a product called Double-Bubble that would probably work well, although I haven't found anyplace that'll let you order it in anything less than case quantities. Might want to check with Newark Electronics (www.newarkinone.com) or RS Electronics in Livonia, MI.

-Joe