Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting defrost static

Does anyone deal with static on the radio when the rear defrost is turned on???

No....do you have an aftermarket radio? If so you may be getting some inteferance from the way you wired your car. You are suppose to run the power cord (for the amp) and the RCA's on the oppoisite side of each other. Dont run the wires together.

But static from your defrost....thats weird

that happens in my dads accord, but he was the window antenna. u have the regular mast antenna?

Is the static on AM/FM or CD/MP3 or both? If it's on CD/MP3 it would be power noise, if only on radio reception, radio interference.

The Coninental my Dad used to drive wouldn't pull in any radio station with the rear defrost on. Really sucks to buy a Premium Stereo and not get to listen to it, doesn't it?

Now, there is actually a TSB for that on the Lincoln Towncar, Continental, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Ford Crown Victoria. However, all those cars have antennas in the glass. The remedy was to move the rear window defroster ground or something like that.

However, I doubt simply moving the ground will fix your problem. When this happened on my Contour, it turned out to be a serious wiring problem with the rear defroster. Basically some of the insulation of the defroster wire in the rear of the car had worn away, and so had some of the insulation on the antenna lead in the trunk. When I turned on the defroster and current started to move, it electrified my passenger's side rear fender and zapped my antenna, making it unoperable. I had to have some wiring replaced, needless to say.

My suggestion would be to take your trunk liner apart and look for any wires with abrasion on the insulation.

This only applies if you radio doesn't work. If your CD does the same thing, then you have a problem with your HU or your wiring. In which case, I'd check the wiring first and then have the headunit bench tested.

Its only when the radio is on and only on some stations. Never happens when a cd is playing.
I had noticed that some more of the 'lines' across the back window have burned out and wont defrost any more. Its not a motorized antenna......ummmmm ......not sure what to check next.

any other ideas? Hey does anyone else out there get the crap shocked out of them everytime they get out of the car and grab the metal part of the door????
Man I'm about tired of that!!

touch the metal before you stand up

Try fixing the rear defogger strips, find the gaps in the strips. There is a kit, Loctite Quick Grid Rear Window Defogger Repair Kit part no. 15067 of special copper color paint, works well, I have had scratched elements in other cars. I wonder if it's sparking, although if you can see the nick it probably would not. Also, check the connection wires to the rear window, maybe one got broken, sometimes the paint can fix it. Note: I am not sure if the defroster stripes are on the glass surface, if so, you can fix it.