Well , as I expected the car has just got past 60k and now all the faults start.

My rear heated screen has died a death.

The light comes on on the button but it doesn't clear the screen.

The fuse seems ok assuming I'm reading the chart correctly so I guess I'll be taking the tailgate apart to check to see if the electrickery makes it that far.

How easy is it to detach the plastic cover and then refit it without breaking all the clips?

Where does the wiring connect?

Are there any other likely places for this to have died?

Hi Alex,

Might be worth checking if you can hear the relay operating in the first instance - It will either be in the fuse box under the dash or in the one by the battery - whichever, you should be able to hear it click when you swith on.

John.

Yep , that clicks ok so the input side of the circuit is all present and correct.

It's somewhere on the output side that isn't :(

Alex, you won't be breaking the clips, they are the metal type and very strong, just be carefull not to bend the trim.

Did you notice a funny smell at all before it went to pot?

Did you notice a funny smell at all before it went to pot?

Nope.

Why , what melts?

It won't melt, the foil can however burn out.

Its possibly as simple as disconnected at one end.

Nope.

Why , what melts?

Don't know, but i noticed a smell like the first run of a new heater wire coming from a loaner octy II I had and the rear screen wasn't working well.

Get a multimeter, put it in continuity then touch each side of the horizontal lines running across the rear glass. When you spot one with very high to infinite resistance narrow down the spot, then get a fixing kit. Looks like nail polish and a cardboard template to paint through.

If part of the mesh is broken there is a kit you can buy to fix it. Its not ideal, a little messy (SWMBO's old Micra broke and I tried it)

Just a thought when you buy replacement rear glass, does the heated rear window elements already come applied? or do you have to purchase this separately afterwards?

They're applied in the factory.

Right , I've fished the plastics off enough to get at the screen and am no closer to finding a fault.

There's terminals on opposite sides of the screens - the one on the driver's side has a good 12v supply that comes on and off as it should (14.4v actually) and the cable on the other side that disappears into the tailgate frame has a good connection to earth.

That's a good supply of electrickery going into the screen then which just leaves the heater element itself. With the two cables disconnected I get 1.1 ohms between the two terminals on the screen which doesn't sound too far off the mark , so why isn't it getting warm?

The

F00ked if I know

They're applied in the factory.

Sorry can you elaborate, the Skoda factory or the factory that makes the replacement glass? Thanks

Sorry can you elaborate, the Skoda factory or the factory that makes the replacement glass? Thanks

I'd be very surprised if skoda made them themselves.

They'll just be bought in from a component supplier who make screens for a number of manufacturers , and replacement glass suppliers will get them from the same place

does the £50 replacement window thing work from car insurance on a rear window?

I would have thought so, however it might be electrics somewhere. Just because the voltage is there, it might get switched off as soon as a certain current is pulled so you would need to make sure it's the rear window first.

That plus every single wire going at the same time is a bit random.

Current or no current, 1.1 Ohms sounds just about right for a good screen. Maybe 1-2 **** lines, but not a major meltdown like this.

Oh well, I guess my vote goes to the relay then. It's timed, as well as a relay, so more ways than one of getting knocked out. It probably clicks into place initially, but slowly slips away after that.

If you have a spare fuse try shorting the rear window's terminals together after a few minutes of operation. If the fuse doesn't fry it's probably the relay.

Maybe try leaving the meter connected to the terminals, turn on the switch and see how long the voltage stays on for and also if it drops at all.

IIRC theres no timer on the mk2, there was on the mk1.

Yeah, the Mk2 is timed too. 20 odd minutes though.

The Felicia/Octavia Mk1 and Mk2 all have very slow rear window heating for what its worth...

Well , bizarrely it's working today.

Maybe there was a bad connection somewhere that was fixed by my fiddling.

Hopefully it will stay working now

My Mk2 rear window is timed at 10 minutes which is more than sufficient.

IIRC this can be changed with some VCDS jiggery pokery.

Yeah, the Mk2 is timed too. 20 odd minutes though.

Are the wing mirrors timed?

IIRC, yes, timed and thermostat controlled. They go on for 20 mins initially then for a while every now and then. If you stop the car you need to move the switch back to the other positions and to defrost again. Hope I'm not confusing the Octi with the other cars.