Hi

I park my car on the drive at the side of our house and because I go to work at 0530 have done the following. I bought a waterproof remote controled exterior socket from tool station and turned it into an extension lead by fitting cable and an RCD plug, the socket is mounted on the external wall, the cable passes through the wall and plugs into an internal power point. An electric greenhouse heater is placed in the back of the car pluged into the remote control socket. When I go into the kitchen at 0500 I switch on the kettle, zap the remote socket and by the time I leave 30 mins later the windsreens are all cleared and the interior of the car is warm. Total cost including heater around £50.Obviously this is only any good if you can get close to your house.

Good luck to you. Greenhouse heaters are normally 1000-2000W and there's no way it would find its way into my car. I sense a 'I've done it dozens of times and my car has never caught fire before moment!'

If you must go this route there are plenty of heaters designed for internal use that are far, far safer.

What a good/simple idea.:yes:

Were do you place the heater ,and what wattage is it?

Amazon have a best seller of 60 watts that looks suitable.

60W is lightbulb territory (incandescent), did you mean 600W? Is it designed for the purpose? If so then you'll be OK but I would certainly not go the Greenhouse heater route, unless there are some very low power greenhouse heaters

Why not fit one of these:

http://www.emergencyequipmentshop.co.uk/lock-relay-unit-p-278.html

Unfortunately manufacturers make retro fitting such things complicated. You may well find as mentioned that the switch is integrated into the air conditioning control panel and that the function of the windscreen is controlled by the electrical distribution unit, which could be a different part number to the one fitted. Consideration would need to be given to how the screen operates. When I retrofitted one to my 20 year old Ford, it has a power relay, a timer relay and will only operate when the engine is running and that's a basic one with its own sub wiring loom and no computers controlling the electrical system.

Also the variety of screens used in a range of cars is much more, clear, tinted, rain sensor, light sensor, antenna, special coating and heated are all considerations in obtaining the correct screen and effect the price. The major replacement glass companies seem to me to charge premium prices, admittedly I know people in the automotive glass business, which was why I paid a fitted charge of £120 for the screen in my Ford, but if you shop around and include the local independents you may get a better deal.

You can get low wattage fan heaters that are designed to plug in to a 12v socket, eg: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310359131402. I'd suggest it might be best not to plug it in until the engine is running, to avoid draining the battery.

I did find a time switch that plugs in to a 12v socket but it can only switch 8A which isn't enough for that heater.

You can get low wattage fan heaters that are designed to plug in to a 12v socket, eg: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310359131402. I'd suggest it might be best not to plug it in until the engine is running, to avoid draining the battery.

I did find a time switch that plugs in to a 12v socket but it can only switch 8A which isn't enough for that heater.

That link only produces this message; This listing () has been removed, or this item is not available.

Fred

That link only produces this message; This listing () has been removed, or this item is not available.

Must have sold them all

There's loads more listed on eBay and Amazon