Heated Front Windscreens

[mowogg]

Has anyone fitted one of these new Heated Front Screens? Are they worth paying the extra for? How visible are the lines in the screen?

[bpr81a]

We're in the process of fitting one now. I can't see the line without looking very closely, they are very thin. Once I've go it wired up and a seat in the car ...and an MOT.... etc I'll report back with opinions!

[mike.perry]

It is cheaper to open the quarterlights.

[chesney]

I would have thought a heated rear screen would be better.
With the front screen you can open quaterlights/wipe etc, but it's a little more difficult to wipe the rear..
I only noticed this as I have to reverse in from a main road into the garage - and the rear window is mighty annoying!

[Matt]

I have the heated front screen on my "modern" car - the proper sort with embedded wires (incidently ford held (hold??) a patent on them).

The one on my car clears frost and any condensation inside the car within about 30 seconds without needing to let the freezing air outside the car in to the car - or for you to be moving. I switch the screen on, de-ice the side windows and by the time I have done that the front and rear screens are clear of ice! Now I have had one, it would certainly sway my decision whether to buy a (modern) car dependant on whether one was fitted or not!

The wires arn't that noticable - you have to look for them to see them as when you are driving they are outside the focal range.

[jollyroger]

I have had a heated front and rear screen for the past 5 years and have covered 33,000mile in my daily driver.
The front one is great and you can hardly see the wires at all. It takes about 2 mins to clear the screen and is one of the best upgrades I have ever made.
The rear is very visible - it looks like a stick on job but isn't. It takes a lot longer to clear about 3 - 5 mins.
You will need to upgrade to an alternator to run them as they take a fair amount of current. You cannot put them both on at the same time or the battery will drain unless you are going on a long journey. Bought them both from Bullmotif. When they arrived one of them was broken. I had to send them a photo of it and they replaced it. Apparently they can't get them insured for delivery.

[simmitc]

I have used a heated front screen in the Minors almost since they were first produced, and wrote the review used by Birmingham. I can say that they are fantastic and worth every penny if you use the car in the winter. I have never regretted fitting them. Even in autumn, they just clear the mist in no time at all, and in winter the screen ice is something you just don't worry about. You will certainly not see the heating elements in normal use.

[Jefftav]

What he ^ saidx2

My mate put me onto them as he has one in his 4 door and as I start work at 5am most days it certainly save me a few mins. Wire it through a relay and make sure your wiring is up to standard as they do have a heavy draw of current.

[Matt]

The one in my '95 transit (Ford fitted them from the mid 80's ) draws over 40A so you do need a good charging system and suitable relays

[simmitc]

The Minor one is smaller than a Transit, and draws less than 15 amps.

[Matt]

Granted the minor screen is smaller than a transit one, but 15A sounds optomistic to me...

[simmitc]

Some of us use calibrated instruments to measure these things...

[Matt]

Fair doo's some of us also have calibrated instruments to use

But I havent had a heated screen in a minor...

Believe it or not I have had to use a calibrated steel rule in the past and some measurements using them have to be marked for indication only . If there is an instrument of any sort in my industry it must be callibrated...

[smithskids]

The big divisions on the ruler are for boilermakers and the small ones are for engineers !!!!!

[lambrettalad]

or science teachers and art teachers

[ASL642]

Well I don't care what it's callibrated in so long as it works and I don't have to spend 10 minutes cleaning the windscreen when it's really frosty!

[bmcecosse]

A jug of warm water fixes it for me...

[dp]

Should the heated front screen feel warm? I've got one but haven't used it in humid weather yet. Definately a current going through it but I couldn't notice it feeling any warmer than before.

[Jefftav]

MIne isn't warm to the touch and it takes 2/3mins for anything to visibly happen.

[bmcecosse]

They don't get noticeably warm - the one in our Fusion is great for clearing misting on the screen - which it does in a few seconds. But the only time I tried to get it to clear frost - I gave up and jumped out with a scraper. I'm sure it would have got there eventually...... Rear thing for us -car sits facing south and if there is frost there is usually a clear sky...so the sun clears the screen before I'm likely to want to go anywhere.