The rear window defogger has not worked for the last two snowstorms. The fuse box looks nothing like the one in the owners manual and I can’t find the fuse box under the dashboard driver side. The indicator light still works. What do I do??
defogger
The fuse box under the dash is above the parking brake pedal and has a black cover with white lettering telling the fuse locations. The other box is under the hood on the drivers side. Could be a couple of fuses or the relay. 1 fuses and relay under the hood, the RR DEF relay or the 50 amp fuse on the card with the blue top. There is one fuse under the dash marked A/C NO 2.
I would tend to think that if the power indicator light was working then power to the heater element would be okay but there could be a seperate circuit I suppose. I suggest you check for power at the connections to the heater grid and see if you have power at that point. There could be a break in the grid traces causing an open circuit condition.
Here is the diagram.
Thanks for the data @knfenimore. That’s a big help. I see what you are talking about. It should be pretty easy to locate that 50 amp fuse and verify power is getting to both sides of it. If that is ok and power isn’t getting to the heater grid the relay would be the best suspect for the problem I would have to say.
There are two tabs attached to the rear window. I’ve seen a lot of them broken off, usually from someone removing the c pillar panel for whatever reason. Attach a test light to ground and turn the defrost switch on. If you gently sweep your test light probe against the inside of the rear window you should see it light up, and then get more dim as you move further along the grid. If you see it go out, then you probably found the break in the grid. But I bet you have a broken tab behind one I’d the c pillar panels. If the light does go out, you still must check the tabs for power and ground because some grids stop the power halfway. Hope thus helps, this is how I proceed with a complaint on an ro for this complaint.
“Trial” Relay Swapping Is Easy And Cheap (Free!).
Looks Like That VSC2 Relay Could Be The Same Part As The Rear Defog Relay.
If those relays carry the exact same part number, I’d unplug them, swap their locations, and see if the defogger works. You might have to run some cold water over the window (cool the glass slooowly), in the shade, and breathe on the glass to fog it. Run a controlled experiment - fog the glass and try it before swapping relays and after swapping relays.
If the relay swap fixes it then swap them back and go buy/order a new relay for the failed unit.
CSA
Usually the problem is with the window heating element or the connection to the heating element. These can often be repaired by a qualified shop.
Are you just not able to see any fuses? There are fuses in the engine compartment, and there are fuses in the passenger compartment. The owner’s manual should show exactly where they are located. In any event you usually have to remove a cover to actually see the fuses. Get a flashlight and look around for a panel you can remove. The fuses will be under it, and there’s usually a diagram there too. On my Corolla there’s a big fuse panel to the left of where the driver’s left leg is.