I just spent an hour looking at the 255 posts that contain the key word "windscreen" in them. A lot of people have had problems with it (me included) and I was wondering if anyone ever actually solved their problem? I have an undamaged windscreen with the vertical elements in it, the switch on the dash, relay 8, 2-40 amp fuses intact, connections by the firewall hooked up... The switch lights up for about 10 minutes before it turns off but with no noticeable change to the windshield itself. What's up with that? Anyone ever fix it?

 

Have you checked your grounds? I don't have much to add after that mine came replaced with a non heated windshield, but they hooked up the wires and tucked them up toward the windshield taped off to make me think it was still good(pretty evil in my book bc I was pumped to get the heated windshield). Anyways when I pushed the button it would stay on about 10min before going off. Maybe it's on a timer??

Anyways after tightening the main ground block in the rear it will stay on until I turn it off. Not sure if it's related at all or was just a coincident. I haven't put in a heated windshield yet though so I don't mess with the button anymore since I found it didn't have anything hooked up to it.

 

Most cars do have a timer for heated windows. I remember having a car that had a TSB for not having a timer, and it would drain the battery if left on because the alternator couldn't keep up with it running the heated rear window 100% of the time. The fix was to installed a later switch that had a timer built in to the switch.

If you check with a meter do you have power when the light is on?

 

What switch is for the heated windscreen? I have a cracked aftermarket non heated windscreen on now and I have the wires under the cowl for the heated one. I just want to make sure I have it set up from the factory with a heated one since I live 5 hours from the nearest dealer.

 

Mine never worked either. However, I had to change my windshield cowl ( the black plastic piece), and had better access to the wires that lead to the heating elements, so I sprayed the area with electrical contact cleaner, and lo and behold, the heated windshield started working. However, it only worked on 2 vertical sections in the center of the windshield, so I am assuming that the heating element is broken n the windshield somewhere.

Caveat here....DONT remove the cowl just to spray those wires. It will break, and probably not worth the effort.

 

Yes, it's on a timer (and I'd say less than 10 minutes).
Mine only works on the driver's side. Thankfully the driver's side.
I love it as a feature here in Ontario winters. A godsend.
Still haven't been able to work out why it doesn't work on the passenger side... it's on the list.

 

I get 4-5 sections that work, pissed me off, there was a short list of "why buys" I had, and this was one of them.

But, I just figured they will all work when it gets a new window, and where we live, that'll be soon. Montana = sanding for ice with 3/4 mix, I swear to Allah.

It's on me-list.

 

Yes, it's timed. Mine works great and will cycle off after about 6 or so minutes. It works well enough that I don't ever have to scrape the windshield here in Colorado.
Check your grounds and the condition of the heater element plugs up under the hood.

 

Can anyone explain to me how they work exactly? Mine did work when I purchased the D2 but last winter I noticed only about a 4 inch wide section in the middle of the passenger side was working. It made sense for there to be a passenger and driver side section but why on mine is it just one little spot in the middle of the passenger side that is working. Just seemed weird to me and figured something I probably cant fix without replacing but was still curious

 

The switch IS timed for exactly 5 minutes and after some research I learned that the timer can be turned off by a reprogram of the BCU.

How do I know? My windscreen was replaced with a nonheated unit. The connections were left below the cowl so I wired my four Hellas up to them and when I press the front screen defrost button the Hellas stay lit for EXACTLY 5 minutes.