<E30> rear defrost. problems

["K.C. Boyce" <k_boyce@xxxxxxxxx>]

Recently, my rear defroster stopped working.

First thing's first, so out came the DMM.  No voltage between the two
sides of the grid.  So, fuse, switch, and ground check out okay.  What
could it be?  Well, trying to determine whether the harness was the
culprit, I discovered my problem: one of the contacts had rusted off
the defroster grid.

I cleaned it up as best I could with my fingers and a screwdriver, and
just shoved it back in between the gasket and the window.  Presto, 8
(not 12) volts between the two sides of the grid.

My questions are two:  First, how can I get 12 volts across the grid
without getting new glass?  Can I just get creative with a soldering
iron?  Second, what could've caused the rust on the contact?  Could it
have been shodily installed glass (my best guess)?  I really don't
want to take the rear glass out sometime in the future to find all
sorts of body rot hidden back there...

TIA.

   KC Boyce
   '85 325e
   E30 Eta Page: http://rikki.cc.colorado.edu/~k_boyce/





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