All,
I\'m just about to get a new (to me) Focus. It doesn\'t have a heated front windscreen although I\'d like to have one.
Does anyone know whats involved apart from changing the screen itself. I\'ve spoken to a Ford dealer and was somewhat surprised at just how little they seemed to know.
Has anyone done this before? I\'ve looked at the Haynes manual and it seems to me like it could be as simple as a new switch assembly, a relay and a couple of fuses. The $64k question is how does the screen actually connect to the car electrics as this is obviously (I\'m guessing) missing on the car I\'m getting.
Comments appreciated - and yes its too late to get one with the screen already fitted!
In anticipation.
Robert
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It's a fairly heavy electrical load, the wiring needs to be able to handle quite a lot of current.
Is there really no way you can arrange to get one with a HFS already fitted? The time and hassle in volved now in changing the car are going to be a lot less than the time and hassle involved in fitting a screen later on.
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I've taken a concious decision and bought the vehicle which I collect on saturday. I understand your comments about the screen - but it was a choice of a car with a/c & abs without the heated screen or one with the heated screen & without a/c & abs.
The screen CAN be changed - Autoglass have given me a price already. My real question is, & was, has anyone ever done this before and have any knowledge of the electricals involved.
Regards ..... Robert
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Autoglass have given me a price already.
A scraper is a lot cheaper.
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I've got a Mondeo with a heated screen which is all very nice but when its really frosty outside it takes 2 - 3 mins to clear it completely which is the time it would take you to scrape it off with de-icer!
To be honest having aircon (the option I believe you chose) is far more of an advantage than sitting in your car freezing while the elements do their job in the windscreen.
Not worth the hassle to be honest - like Dave said , get a scraper! :0)
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Knowing the way Ford work, I'd be surprised if the wiring for the screen wasn't already there, with a blank where the switch would be. Have a look and see if there are any 'spare' wires in the vicinity of the switch location and check on a wiring diagram. There'll be one in a Haynes manual if they do one for this car.
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Robert, I have no personal experience of heated front screens, but here are some comments all the same ...
As discussed in the Backroom a few weeks ago, heated front screens are not new -- they were available on Opel Monzas in the '70s. I am aware only of Ford offering them today and, if that is so, the question "Why no-one else?" comes to mind.
I would never volunteer to have a screen changed before it becomes necessary. The screen forms a vital part of the car's structural strength and problems with fitting are not uncommon.
If Ford offer a heated screen only when air conditioning is not fitted, this suggests that the air con does a good job of demisting. To have a heated screen for frost removal alone in our relatively mild climate seems an expense that is easily avoided.
A heated screen will take a lot of electrical energy and this has to be paid for in increased fuel consumption. Presumably the screen also has embedded wires that might distort vision in some circumstances.
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Heated screens are available with a/c ....... they are not mutualy exclusive.
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I've driven a Focus on and off for the last two years. I can't stand the heated front screen especialy at night when it seems to create 'starring'. I think that it definitely compromises vision although it doesn't seem to bother other people. If a car is fitted with good air con./climate control there is no need for a heated front screen. As others on this forum have said "Why don't other manufacturers fit them"?
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I had a heated screen on my Scorpio(along with heated seats and air-con)..excellent. If you looked closely at the screen you could see the heat elements but this was no problem when driving.
My current car(TD5 Discovery) is wired for heated screen, but is a factory option.Regarding the Focus:if you look under the bonnet in the "well" below screen,at either side, there maybe connectors for screen wiring.
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As discussed on this forum a month or so back I think Ford did a good job of patenting the electrically heated front screen; so no one except Ford group can use it. Must admit I've tried to find the patent number and failed .
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Land Rover were fitting heated front screens to Range Rovers WAY before they were bought by Ford.
CMark
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Wouldn\'e be without my HFS, it saves me freezing to death in the snow etc. when I could just sit in the car and wait for it to de-ice. :)
The A/C does a good job of de-misting, but if you then switch it off (a good idea with such a small engine) it seems to chuck the moisture back out onto the screen and it re-mists even more... :(
Blue
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Robert,
I think that your best bet is to have a test drive in a Focus, or similar when it is dark to see if you suffer from inferior vision problems with the HFS like some people do.
If you have no problem, then your money is yours to burn. It may be that, as someone else said, the wiring is there ready to be plugged in at both ends.
I believe that Ford have a technical helpline which may be worth giving a buzz, as there may be a kit available for this conversion.
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Thanks - I'm seeing a mate & his Mondeo tomorrow actually .....
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I've been reading this thread and desperately attempting to remember anything about the wiring of the heated front screen on my Mondeo, which I had changed a couple of months ago.
If I recall correctly (??!) the new screen is supplied with a short length (10cm?) of wire with a small plug. With the plastic shield between the back lip of the bonnet and the bottom of the screen removed (4 screws or so), the connector for the plug to mate with is obvious. Unfortunately I have no idea where the wire goes to from here. The connector was, again IIRC, on the passenger side.
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Oh, I feel I should also add that I think the heated screen is brilliant. In harsh climes (ref Mr Craggyislander?} it may take a while to defrost, but I live in Kent and with the relatively mild frosts we get down here it's clear in a few minutes and keeps the inside from misting up as well. Excellent.
However, to back up the other side of the argument, I also wouldn't have a bonded-in screen changed unless forced. I had a leak and bodywork damage when the screen was changed in an old Civic by a national company. Since the Mondeo screen has been changed there is, for no reason I can see, increased wind noise from the passenger side top edge of the screen.
Andy
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