I did search before asking this.

I have the usual fogging in the lower corners of my rear window (1983 300sd) plus the rear defogger only seems to heat up in the top half of the window. The bottom 50% of the defogger she no work. Clearly I'm getting power or it wouldn't work at all.

I was hopeful that I could find a bodyshop that would remove and reinstall the window with a new seal as part of a partial paint job and either repair the defogger or send it out. However I've now been to two high end shops and gotten a similar response

(1) "I'm not touching that window - too easy to break it, unless you sign a waiver that it's at your own risk".

(2) "That's a wire based defogger - not printed - the regular paint-on repair compound isn't going to work. Don't know where to get a new window and it will be very expensive."

My guess is that neither shop has 126 experience and that I should keep looking. But ...anyone tackled this before? Any advice on the job?

Mine works exactly as you describe.
Haven't looked at it yet.
Assumed it was a bad connection at the lower wires.

Like a break or something to stop current from reaching the lower part.

__________________
80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250

He's basically right. Mine is the same, only works on part of the window and even that is a bit weak. The wires are sandwiched in the window and can't be repaired with the conventional repair kits. I investigated poor connections and that is not the case. The resistance is high, which indicates there are some opens in the circuit in the glass itself.

yes, the wire is inside the glass. You can check your connections back there. One is power (driver's side) and other is ground. Otherwise, I'd live with it unless your window seal is leaking. If it is, then would be the time to replace it with a known good used rear window. You could test the circuit in the glass beforehand and if you go that route it doesn't matter if the glass is broken on removal if you are replacing it anyway. But, do really check the connections. Mine hadn't worked very well for years. Last fall, I removed the glass and replaced the seal because it was really old, cracked and leaking. I made sure my electrical connections were clean and tight. Now, that window heats 100% and fast. As strong and fast as anything I've ever seen on any vehicle. Big difference due to improving the connections.

__________________
'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

Thanks - I'll make sure the connections are clean and tight and see what that does.

When the budget allows to do the back window, my local Apple Auto Glass dealer has a tempered replacement back window with a conventional printed defroster grid for $425 Canadian installed. And the guy knows 126's - he told me to order a new seal on the internet as "they always leak a bit and you can get them cheaper on line than at the dealer".

Be careful using a defogger that only works on half. You will heat up half and the 2 halves will not expand the same. One cold day poof your defogger problem will be solved with a new window. This happened to my parents car once. Probably not as bad when temps are mild. be very carful in very cold weather.

Gary T

well, you can get them cheaper but you might not want to. Mine cost me $78 from the dealer. I put it in myself and it has not leaked. Others on this forum have regretted using a cheap seal. You might want to reconsider this.

__________________
'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.