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Shop Screwed up Rear Defrost - Need Help Please!

S

Suba Blu

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jan 6, 2003
Messages
1,943
Location
Madison, Wisconsin
I'll attempt to condense this as much as possible..

Sent a total of 2 SVT's in for PDR (Paintless dent Repair)

Got the first one back and the rear defrost no longer works... its 100% completely not heating up, there is not any broken wires or portions that defrost. The dash button DOES light up and turn itself off. Checked every single fuse possible and everything looks great

Called the shop to explain that my defrost absolutely worked prior to dropping it off and that I think there must have been some sort of wire or harness that they disconnected when they removed the headliner, sunroof and whatnot to remove dents from the roof. They proceed to tell me that I am crazy and that there cant be some sort of harness or plug that they forgot to plug back in.

Received 2nd SVT back a few weeks later and the rear defrost no longer works on that car as well.. again the roof was repaired so they removed the headliner, sunroof and whatnot to get to the skin of the roof. The dash light DOES NOT light up nor does it really "click" when pressed. We search a little bit more and found some sort of module laying on the floor. Again, no fuses blown, no damage to the grid wires and no areas which heat, its 100% dead like the other one.

Obviously they must have unhooked/unplugged or disturbed something to make BOTH cars rear defrosters no longer work.

can someone please help me solve this as its driving me completely crazy and I really dont have faith in the shop to understand what I'm attempting to prove when I know its their fault and something just isnt right. I hate being that pesky customer who the shop later hates.

I already searched high and low in the rear trunk compartment to see if there was any sort of harness that lead up to the wiring grid (they removed at least 1 of the trunks for repair and a respray) and didn't find anything which looked like it was unhooked.

See attached photos of the "module" that we found laying on the carpet in the 2nd SVT that came back... I'm not sure if this is something that should be plugged in underneath the headliner or underneath the dash.

http://www.teamneco.com/defrost/

thanks in advance... I hope and pray someone can help us as its VERY irritating in the least with the Wisconsin Winter.
 
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That is the Central Timer Unit. Goes to the Passenger Compartment Fuse box under the dash, left of steering column. Your 12-second-interior-light delay is not working too. If you have heated outside door mirrors, that is also not working.

Edit. Read this thread and link in it.
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1218023&Forum=trouble&Words=Im%20having%20trouble%20finding%20the%20passanger%20compartment%20fusebox.&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=1218023&Search=true#Post1218023

Figure 5 from Autozone link.
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1b/da/a9/0900823d801bdaa9.jsp
 
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thanks.. I'll crawl up under the dash and see if I can figure out where it goes and what gets plugged into it..

Anyone have any ideas on whats the deal with the rear grid though? :(
 
NVMYSVT said:
...Anyone have any ideas on whats the deal with the rear grid though? :(
Click to expand...
I guess I wasn't clear in my post. The rear defrost also goes through the CTU. Maybe 15 minutes or so (can't remember the exact length of time). Plug that back in and you should be good to go.
 
Yah understood.. it will make the light on the dash light up and then turn off on its own...

the 2nd problem I have with both of the cars is that the grid is basically dead... I'm hoping that someone either has taken the headliner down and knows where the grid plugs in or has a detailed wiring diagram on that area.

remember, I'm talking about 2 cars here... the first ones timer works properly, it just isnt defrosting at all anymore since they did the roof repairs...
 
After plugging the module in does the defroster work?

The only reason I can think both cars would have inop rear defrost after being at the same shop would be that they removed the CTU (module that was on the floor) to stop the interior lights from coming on while they worked on the roof. Check the other car and see if the module is disconnected.
 
I'll get back to you all soon... unfortunately its below zero here in Wisconsin at the moment and the garage is completely occupied with a storage vehicle..

thanks for all the replies... I'll try and work outside in the cold later today.

I'm pretty sure the 1st SVT to come back has the module connected as the interior light delay does work, as does the defroster light on the dash.
 
thanks for the links... I plugged the timer unit in again this afternoon and it fixed SVT #2 --- I still cant figure out SVT #1 though... the timer unit is installed and appears to be working properly, its just as if the grid is dead :(

I think they did remove and reinstall my drivers side door to refinish it though, I'll have to re-read your posts about the harness again
 
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