Just bought a beater car. A 2000 Pontiac Sunfire GT. Got for 2 grand its got 220,000kms but it runs good, its a beater anyways. Just tuning it up now, plugs, winter tires, oil change, various ****. But one thing is pissing me off. The rear defroster doesn't work, and i need it the most because it gets fogged up and i cant see ****!! When I push the button the light comes on but it wont defrost. Would you think it is the wiring? Or something else is broke?

 

Just toss a gallon of boiling water on the window in the morning.





























/sarc

 

lmao i actually started laughing when i seen that...good one

 

It's even funnier when you see some mook doing it.

 

In your miatas owners manual there is a section on fixing the rear defroster on most cars first find where the electric starts and verify juice then look to the grid o solve your problem.

 

use your side mirrors

 

you'll see the power source for the defroster on the side or top of the glass. just follow the "grid" lines until you find it. find the wire going into it and see if you're getting voltage there. If not, you may have a blown fuse. If the fuse is good and you're getting voltage to the grid, the grid itself could be bad, but not likely.

 

any time i had fixed one it was just the plug that connects to the rear glass, usually poor connection due to surface rust...hope that helps you

 

ya im going to go over it tn, i finally dont have to work...so i will tell you how it goes.

 

$2,000 Canadian! Dude, you could have retired here in the states with that! To think that I used to burn your money for heat. Make sure to keep it off recirc and stop getting it on in your beater, that should help defrost also.

 

Check the connector going to the rear window for power, just unplug it and use a volt meter. If there is power, than its most likely an issue at either the connection with corrosion as mentioned by whaaamx5, or an open on the actual defrost circuit itself (you can usually spot those pretty easy on the glass). If there is no power at the rear defroster, then find the relay and make sure it is working and getting power in/out on both sides. If it is a wiring issue, this should help you narrow it down in the circuit, between the high current side and the low current side (Its most likely not the low current side since you said the switch seems to be operating correctly).

 

This should help you out with any wiring issues you may come across with it:



Make sure that 30A fuse isn't blown as well. Also forgot to mention if there is power at the rear defrost, a bad ground could also cause issues. Hope this helps some.