My rear defroster is not working... There's power going back to it, but still nothing. Any ideas?

 

If there is power going to it, the next things to check would be ground and continuity of the defroster grid.

 

Also make sure that the clips on the window are completly conected

 

Hi
I'm new to the site but not to cars I am usually pretty knoweledgable when it comes to cars but I have a 03 monte SS which I purchased new it has just turned 30,000 miles and I am having the same problem. When I turn on the rear defroster i can hear the relay clickwhich is in the passanger side fuse block, the light comes on at the switch as if it is onbut it doesn't clear the back window. I have checked the connectors and cleaned them and still nothing.
The owners manual shows the fuse block and lists the fuses as outside devices such as; Back up Lp relay trunk roof, b/u Lp which i assume are the back up lights, rear defog relay, ect;,,just to the right it lists inside devices such as pwr seat BRKR and Rear defog BRKR which it says these are circuit breakers. When i pull the fuse cover I can account for all the fuses listed under outside devices but cannot account for either of the circuit breakers there is a grey cover just to the right of the fuse block that looks like the breakers would be under (as looking at the picture in the manual) but I pulled it of and all I saw was the wiring going into the fuse block Anyone know where exactly the circuit breaker for the rear defroster is located because I seem to think this may be the problem and If so is a self reseting breaker or will it need to be manually reset.
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I live in Ohio and over the last 48 hours we have received over 19 inches of Snow from mother nature and its about 6 Degrees here lol and a back defroster is like a must have in ohio lololol heck I think I would actually trade of the premium sound,tilt,cruise,and moon roof for the rear defrost hahah I got keep them heated seat tho
Again Hi all and thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide.
Gr1dLoC|<

 

Use a test light connected to ground and carefully probe the grid on the window. the light should light up from the drivers side and move toward the pass side. As long as the grid is good and there are no breaks the light will come on progressively dimmer as you movetoward the pass side as the normal voltage drop occurs. you may have an open in the ckt toward the power side(drivers). If this is the case a you can get repair kit from a good parts store.

I had similar thing on my wife's 2000 and found the terminal on the drivers side did not have solid contact causing high resistance to the supply strip. I couldn't see it but a test light or a VOM can.

Be very careful using either one the tip on the probe can damage the grid and cause more problems.

 

Gridlock... Did you ever find the location? I am looking for it as well. Makes no sense. I look at the manual and then the fuse block and can only find the outside devices

 

The metal tab on the glass is not making good contact and is causing the high resistance as previously mentioned. Happens to them all if they get used a lot. The mini breaker you seek is in the passenger side interior fuse panel. Don't even bother changing those mini breakers they almost never fail. Check the metal tab for loosness on the back glass and repair it with a defroster grid repair kit from a part store.

 

I have a huge issue with mine and I've been told the only fix is replacing the whole back glass!!

 

btw this thread is older than dirt and the guy whoe recently replied (bmoc) did not realize that

 

Thanks. I know it's an old post. Just I see the outside devices but not the inside devices. I will try the grid repair