One of the important components of safe and comfortable movement by car is a good visibility of what is happening on the road, and this especially applies to the cold season. The process of cleaning snow and ice from the windshield is not only physically tiring work, but also takes some time. Usually this work has to be done in the morning, at a time when you urgently need to go somewhere. Recently, car enthusiasts have simplified this task a little by applying windshield heating. With your own hands it can be installed at home without significant financial costs. This invention allows you to keep the glass surface in the unfrozen state even with heavy snowfalls and frosts. This review shows the types of heating and how to install them on the windshield yourself.
Heated element device
A glass heating system is a set of filaments of a certain purpose, which is equipped with a windshield. This device is powered by the on-board network and the electronic control unit. Depending on the type of heating, the location of the filament may be different. Often on a car only the heating of the wiper area is set. This is necessary to clean them from snow and ice crust, as well as to give elasticity to rubber brushes. Everything else works due to the standard system. Heated windshield without filament is also widely used. Often, such a device is installed by craftsmen on cars whose windows are not equipped with standard heating.
The second option is the location of the thread around the perimeter of the window. In this situation, all the glass is warmed up completely. The first time after installing electric heating, drivers feel some visual discomfort, as the strips of the device are striking. But after some time, the eyes get used to, and the driver simply does not notice them.
Pros and cons of this heating
Like any device, heating the windshield in the parking area of ​​the wipers and around the perimeter has its advantages and disadvantages. Comparing these characteristics, motorists themselves have the right to decide whether to install them on their cars or not.
Advantages : the preparation time of the vehicle before departure significantly decreases (snow, ice - all this disappears in a few minutes), excellent visual control of what is happening on public roads, the glass does not fog up and does not take frost from the inside even at the time of downtime.
Disadvantages : for the first time, incandescent filaments are striking and distracting, sometimes it’s not possible to get used to them. If the car’s battery is not of the first freshness, it discharges during a long idle time at the parking lot, so you need to monitor and remember to turn off the heater block.
Installation of various heating elements
If you want to mount the windshield heating on your car with your own hands in the plane of the wipers, it is not necessary to completely dismantle the windshield from the car. You just need to purchase heating tapes in the car shop and stick them on the inside of the glass opposite the original position of the wipers. The conclusions of the wires for connecting the heating can be carried out under the plastic elements of the cabin, so they will not spoil the general view of the interior. To power this windshield heating from the cigarette lighter will be the best option, since for the summer period it can simply be removed.
Wipers with heating
The wipers area can be equipped with another type of heating - this is the heating of the elements themselves. With this option, they themselves will be cleaned and contribute to melting snow. The control unit for the heating elements and the power supply must be connected to the on-board electrical system of the car or to connect the heating of the windshield from the cigarette lighter. This connection method is very convenient, since when the device fails, you do not need to pick your car wiring, but simply pull the plug from the connector on the standard outlet.
Heated elements are installed instead of the standard kit. Electric wires from them can be drawn through the technological holes in the body. Then, in the passenger compartment, under the dashboard, the control unit for the wipers is installed, the power supply is better placed in the engine compartment. It is important to install a safety element during installation in the wiper circuit in order to avoid a possible short circuit.
Factory glass with heating
As for the installation of a fully heated coating, this is not the case here. Installing this heated windshield with your own hands is much more difficult. At the same time, the windshield itself is more expensive than the standard one. First, you should dismantle the regular car and clean the seat from the remnants of glue. Then, on the heated glass, you need to find the ends of the bends for connection. They are usually located at the end of the glass. Next, these wires need to be connected by soldering. The connecting sections must be insulated with liquid insulating materials. After the work done, the glass is mounted on the car, like the standard one, and proceed to its connection to the electrical on-board network.
Connection method
One of the heater outputs must be connected to the positive terminal of the battery using a fuse. The second output is connected directly to the heater control system, which, in turn, will control the glass warm-up time. In this case, the block timer is set for a certain time, after which it will automatically turn off the heating. Basically, the operating time of an electric heater depends on weather conditions and the degree of icing of the coating.
Do-it-yourself windshield heating on a VAZ
To carry out these works, you need to be able to work with a conventional soldering iron and have an idea of ​​the device and electrical equipment of the car. If there is no such knowledge, then it is better to seek the help of a specialist. There are two ways to equip glass with this system on your own: mounting the tape in the plane of the wipers and gluing it around the window. The heating zone for the wipers has been described above, so that we will talk about how to install the tape at the edges of the glass.
Unfortunately, cars of domestic production are not equipped with such glass from the factory. Therefore, motorists have found a way out of this situation. They buy self-adhesive tapes in stores and mount them on a car themselves. This car addition is a heated windshield without filament. It is made in the form of a thin transparent strip film of various widths and lengths, depending on its application.
Element mounting
Before sticking the film, you first need to wipe the inside of the glass with a rag from stains and dust. The strips should be glued very carefully so as not to damage them and make the installation as even as possible. After that, the windshield heating (WHA) needs to be powered into the vehicle’s power system. As mentioned earlier, we connect one output to the positive wire, and the second to the control unit.
For more convenient use of a car in the summer, the system can be equipped with additional controls. For example, an additional windshield heating button is installed in the dashboard, which can completely turn off the power supply to the device.
After mounting this element, you need to check it. We start the car’s engine, turn on the heating for a few seconds and check its circuit using an electronic tester. When connected correctly, the device will show a value of 12 V at the output of the circuit. This means that the circuit has no breaks and the system is working.
Output
Based on the presented review, you can make a choice - to clean the windshield manually and spend your time and energy on it daily or not to be too lazy once and do the windshield heating yourself. Due to the presence in the car dealerships of various complementary devices for cars, a “warm” windshield can be made independently without any special financial costs. After that, your car will be ready for use in the winter at any time, regardless of the vagaries of the weather.