I am the lucky inheritor of a 1993 Corolla - in great condition with 50K miles - that my Dad drove in south Florida.
Only problem is there is no rear window defroster - I guess it’s not required in FL. I live in MA.
What can I do that’s cheaper than having the rear window reinstalled with defroster & wiring? Any DYI solutions??
Used to be, you could buy a stick-on sheet with embedded wires. The sheets would discolor after a time, though. . .
Just looked on-line. You can buy a kit from J.C. Whitney that appears to be stick-on wires, no backing sheet, here:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/Defrosters/GP_2002923_N_111+10201+600002300_10101.jcw
Might be finnicky to install. There are others; search on ‘rear-window defroster’ with Google or other search engine.
/Mr Lynn
Thank you Mr. Lynn!
I tried the stick on rear window defroster kit–in fact I tried a couple of them. They are finicky to install and the two I installed didn’t hold up very well. I bought two inexpensive 12 volt fans, probably at WalMart,and attached them to the package shelf in front of the rear window. I ran the wire behind the seat and connected the fans to a switch under the dashboard. These worked well, although some of my friends thought it looked goofy and also thought I took the cheap way out. I think I did this for $10-15. The car involved is a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon, which is a fsstback model. I bought the car new and it didn’t have a rear defroster. The rear window on a fastback really needs this. At any rate, I still have the car with the goofy defrosting system. Back in the 1940’s, fans were available that clamped onto the steering column to defrost the windshield. Many cars didn’t have defrosters.
Maybe you can live without it, You should have driver and passenger side mirrors, and it may turn out not to be a problem.
The side mirrors help, but being able to use the rear window does help. My first car was a 1947 Pontiac Streamliner and the rear window was more like a skylight and almost useless. I did buy a pair of mirrors from Western Auto and installed them on the car. As I remember, a rear window wiper was available for these old fastbacks, but no rear window defroster was available as factory equipment. The 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon came with left and right side mirrors as standard equipment–but no rear window defogger. The 1971 Ford Maverick Grabber I owned did have a rear window defogger as a factory option. It was a blower that drew air from the passenger compartment and directed it onto the rear window. This worked reasonably well. That is where I got the idea to use fans on the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon.
You sir or madam have an impressive history, I guess from a few trucks with a camper top and towing boats and campers if the rear window fogged I would not call it a critical situation.