Hey folks, So I replaced my rear hatch struts last week which came with the brackets to connect the defroster wire. Well, after replacing the struts, you guest it, the passenger side wire broke loose off the window, and I broke the bracket off of the strut itself (nearest to the truck).. The driver side wires and brackets for the defroster however, were complely unharmed and connected.

So- Thinking that I'd broke my rear defrost, I went today and purchased a circuit tester and tested to see if any power was going through the defroster grid. To my surprise a circuit is flowing through every inch of the defroster grid with one side not being attached!!! My question is- Does this mean it is working now? or Is there not enough power running thru the grid to defrost or defog when nessecary due to one side being disconnected? Any answers? Thanks!

 

Really depends on how hot the glass gets. You may have reduced heating.

The problem you have in front of you is how to affect repairs if the heating of the glass is compromised. If the solder pad is still on the glass, you can re-tin the pad and clean and re-tin the connector and solder it back on. Just be careful with your heat. Only enough to flow the solder.

If the pad is no longer attached to the glass, then you may have to get some dielectric adhesive. I have not been all that successful with the stuff, but others have. You may have to clean off the outer coating back a bit on the traces to expose more of the conductive layers to the adhesive for proper current flow, but it can be done.