rdk0420

Has anyone had issues with the rear defrost not working?

DoctorQ

np w/ my rear defroster. Have you checked/swapped out the fuse?

grrr428

I had a problem with my rear defroster. It was in the wiring. More time consuming than anything.

BTW that's the only problem I've had ;-)

Glenn

other than having to turn it on for more than one cycle no problems

Lime GT

Read the TSB 04-24-05. It may help you.

ScottyinLouisville

I'm having an issue on my rear defrost as well (2007 Mustang GT, 16K miles). The wire connection to the vertical bus bar on the passenger side has somehow separated. I have no idea how. What I do know is that no one drives the car but me and I've never hauled anything near that back window or done any kind of modifications. This seems like a classic solder joint ... those things can fail, and it's possible that the original connection was not 100% perfect to begin with. I also learned doing some internet research that the rear defrost is the biggest amp draw of any accessory in the vehicle ... there's a lot of energy running through there, and it seems to me that a lot of energy, plus a less than perfect connection, plus heavy use could cause it to fail or separate.

Anyway, this looks like a simple solder repair. The wire connection has about a round, 1/2 inch diameter piece of the vertical brown bus bar still attached to it. Looks like it can be simply re-soldered there, or something similar.

Took my car to the dealer yesterday and I got concerned when they said Ford asked to see 12 pictures of the area in question. Apparently, Ford believes that I caused this damage myself and is refusing to cover the warranty claim. Ironically, nothing in their TSB (04-24-05 I believe) mentions excluding repairs or claims like the one I am mentioning -- although they do exclude a lot of repairs/claims on the horizontal gridlines assuming the owners damaged them. And they give a very detailed but relatively simple procedure (0.4 hours of labor) on how to fix my problem using a solder or conductive epoxy approach. Hard to understand why you'd need 12 pictures to decide on whether to do a 24 minute repair.

Apparently the dealer has had mixed experience with trying to re-solder the joints and is trying to say that an entire new rear window could be needed as windows could sometimes crack during the process. I'm pushing the dealer to get Ford to accept the claim, and if not successful there, I'll seek arbitration. I expect to hear from Ford tomorrow. Of course, it sounds like a $15 repair ... assuming I won't damage the window, I could have someone more competent than my dealer do the work.

Anyone else have a similar situation? Hard to believe that such a straightforward item could become such a big issue of contention.

Pendarus

I had mine fixed about 5 months ago and it has seperated again. Only problem is the dealer who fixed is an hour away. I am thinking about trying the conductive epoxy fix.

Anybody have any experience with conductive epoxy?

ScottyinLouisville

Pendaurus, do you know how the connector became separated from the window the first time? Was it under warranty at the time, and did the dealer fix it under the warranty?

Pendarus

It was broken when I bought the car. It was fixed under the bumper to bumper warranty. I assume Ford warrantys the repair for 12 months. I may have to take it back to the dealer I bought it from to get it fixed since the car is no longer under the bumper to bumper warranty.

ZachMacQ

My rear defrost isn’t working… I replaced the fuse and reconnected it using a repair kit and none of the stranding going through the rear window is broken. What can I do??

05stangkc

See If This Link Helps Any!

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...orking-546562/

KC