Rear screen heater broken-ish

[shnazzle]

Anybody else encountered an issue with their rear screen heater only functioning on the middle two elements?
When the rear is fogged and I put the rear screen heater on, it clears a horizontal space of about 6 inches. The rest remains fogged...

Any clues?

 

[MadMarkDH]

Yes, my FR TDI 08 has the same problem.
I can clearly see where the elements are worn away on my window though.
I don't know if conductive paint might solve the problem...

 

[shnazzle]

Tricky one that one...
A quick google search does indeed mention conductive paint. But also that this may be a bit hit/miss.

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/doityourself/a/aa112302a_3.htm
Seems easy enough though.

I'll give Halfrauds a go and let you know.

 

[paulfs]

Have similar - won't demist the top few elements - i reckon the elements came off when an advertising sticker / decal' was removed as I can see elements missing over the same rectangular width...

 

[shnazzle]

I'm going to go for this solution:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/electrically-conductive-silver-paint-36275

I will use masking tape to carefully define a straight line where the break is in the heater element. Paint this on using a small brush. Let it dry, and maybe a repeat before removing the template.

Test after the first application with a voltmeter or the like. Should do the trick!

 

[Slimy]

The Maplin stuff works fine. It doesn't actually work as a heating element itself, but it does conduct electricity to allow the rest of the strip to work.

I'd go with the Maplin version over the Halfords one as I somehow have more faith in a Maplin supplied product being better...

 

[Slimy]

Have similar - won't demist the top few elements - i reckon the elements came off when an advertising sticker / decal' was removed as I can see elements missing over the same rectangular width...

Yep, that's a common cause, some sales sticker stuck in the back window from whatever POS dealer had your car at some point. And of course it's always somewhere where it's likely to do damage when you remove it, rather than lightly stuck on to the rear panel or something.