as the title states. what do i need to check?

 

Car?? Details? Blown fuses?

 

Do you have a voltmeter?

 

yes i got a volt meter. didnt see any blown fuses but ill look again. 98 civic hx coupe 5spd

 

OK so with key on switch engaged do you have 12v at the defroster connectors?

It's a pretty simple circuit. Switch sends 12v to the relay relay sends 12v to one side of window, other is ground.

I suggest checking at the glass first just because it's accessible. And if it's there you have a break in the defroster lines.

If no 12 v at the glass, check the windows ground side to chassis, then check the relay.

 

Also check where the wires connect to the defroster window lines. Sometimes this mount can get broken off from the window.

 

well i checked and the switch works, fuse is good, i tested the glass at the connections where those little tabs are and with my volt meter touchin the tab on one side and the tab on the other side there was in fact about 12 volts. so i guess there is a break in one of the lines maybe? i didnt see one really. if there is a break then how do i fix it? can a break in just one of the lines cause the whole thing to not work? thx for the help

 

If only one line is broken the others will still work.

Gently remove the wires. Set the meter to ohms, diode check is even better if the meter has it as you get a tone.

Put the meter on one tab and touch areas of the strips. When you loose continuity, No tone or infinite resistance you have found the break.

If no lines are working the break will be near the tabs. Unless somehow a scratch was made across all the lines cutting them.

 

And yes lines can be fixed. Haven't done it in years, but the process is fairly simple. There is some repair material that comes in a brush on form. I had to repair 2 lines on my 280z. masked off the bad area then painted the stuff on.

 

nice. ill give that a try a bit later as it is dark now. what if the glass is tinted? would i still just mask off the area and paint the stuff on or do i need to somehow take off the tint?

 

Tint is doing to act like an insulator and make testing very difficult. Also may be the root cause of the problem. If someone got heavy handed putting it on thye may have damaged the defroster.

Also holds in the heat being generated.

 

i know i messed up mine from just putting a sticker on the outside of the rear window and it blew out evey line that it covered =o/... ive been wanting to fix it but didnt know what to look for ...