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Topic
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Greetings,
As the title says – I am getting static on distant stations when I turn the rear defroster on.
I read online and I got the “basics” of it that perhaps one of the defroster’s lines is damaged or ripped, check continuity, etc.I did some tests but I am puzzled by some things, hopefully someone can help:
Before I start – the rear window was never tinted, which is the main suspect for defroster damage. Also, nothing hit the glass from inside and there is no visible damage to the window or the wires.
1. So I checked continuity in the left (driver) side of the defroster with a light tester, all lines are connected and the light tester came on very bright. Including the middle vertical strip of the defroster.
2. The farther away I moved to the right (passenger’s) side of the rear window, the light became weaker and weaker in all lines, which – to the best of my knowledge – suggests that the lines are not broken and the resistance is the same.
3. With the defroster on for about a minute, the entire window is warm when touching it on both sides.
BTW – I never had any issues with rear defroster not doing its job or even a partial defrosting, it works perfectly fine.
4. When touching with the light probe on the 2nd line of the antenna (I believe the top lines are the antenna as they do not seem to be connected to the lines of the defroster), the static disappears.So, what else can I test and can it be that the antenna module is bad? As mentioned above, I did not see any ‘direct’ connectivity between the antenna lines and the defroster lines so I don’t really understand the correlation between the defroster and the antenna/static noise.
Is there a way to test the antenna coil itself to see if it is damaged, and again – if it is, how is it related to the defroster?
Thanks in advance for any help on this.
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Replies
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It would be helpful to know what kind of vehicle you have, specifically a hatchback or sedan. This is because the wires in the boot connecting a hatchback (and thus the antenna amplifier) to the body tend to crack over time.
Anywho, a tiny scratch in a defroster wire, not enough to show on a rough resistance test, can throw around enough EM to mess up radio reception. A couple of ways to find the scratch:
1. When the defroster is on, pass extra-fine steel wool along all the wires. A scratch will cause the steel wool to spark.
2. Get a cheap little radio with a telescoping antenna. When the defroster is on, tune the radio to a station known to be affected by the problem, and pass the tip of the antenna along all the wires. Listen for static.If neither test finds a scratch, the antenna amplifier or the wiring to it may be bad.
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