Hi Jag-Lovers,
I have a lovely early model XJ6 Series 1 which does not have a rear demister (defogger) - i.e. the circuit has been removed from the glass. Can anyone suggest if there is an alternative to replacing the glass (with one that has the demister intact)? I have done a bit of searching but can’t seem to find an answer.
Sincerely appreciate any thoughts.
Cheers,
Ed
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In the good old days there were designated aftermarket heating elements to be glued on to the ‘bare’ windows, Ed. Don’t know if they still exist, given heated rear windows have been standard equipment for a long time…
Apart from a heated fan or heater bar on the rear shelf, I cannot suggest any alternative but to replace the glass…?
Frank
xj6 86 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)
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Thanks Frank.
I tend to agree with you that replacing the glass is likely to be what is required; conveniently the seal is in need of being replaced also (the chrome stripping is coming loose).
I guess my concern in doing so (aside from wasting a perfectly good window) is that these pieces are second hand and testing a demister might be a bit tricky.
Luckily it’s summer time and not likely to be used. As such, I will give it some more thought and report back should I find a novel solution.
Certainly open to any other thoughts Jag-Lovers.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Ed, I had to get a replacement for my '72 - spares dealers have them, mine was $95.00 supplied with all filaments tested. You must be very careful of the spade terminations! Fortunately, there is a conductive glue to rebond them - know from bitter experience. Paul
Thanks Paul,
I must try looking a bit harder next time before posting… I will make some more calls.
Also, I found the following company online which seem to have an aftermarket solution: https://www.frostfighter.com/catalog.htm (although melting snow, as they claim, is not likely to be a problem I will face).
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Ed
One of my previous Jaguars was a very early xj6 series 1, chassis no. 171. There was a HRW switch, but apparently no working HRW.
There were lots of differences with later cars, but I found out it did have a HRW all along. It was called a " goldline " , because the heating elements were in the glass, and nigh on invisible to the naked eye. You had to hold a sheet of white paper behind the glass to see the lines, which I think contained or were gold. A problem with the wiring was sorted by an Auto electrician.
This was a uk market car.
If you car has the original rear screen it may be worth further investigation.
Hi David,
I’ll be damned… you’re absolutely correct. Very (very) fine lines running vertically through the rear screen. For the benefit of others, mine start about 25cm (10") in from the edge of the glass. Please see the photo below, taken from the inside of the car with a sheet of white paper on the outside.
This has prompted me to look further at the entire system and I now note that the switch is also faulty; will begin with the switch and see if it comes to life.
As mentioned previously, the seal is in need of replacement. Do you have any idea where the ‘goldline’ connects to the screen? Presumably through the seal somewhere? I am somewhat nervous to change this myself now… but will eventually find the courage after a bit more learning.
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge David. Without doing so, I likely would have stuck a 3rd party item on top or scrapped the screen all together.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Ed
Glad to be of help. You have a very rare screen there.Imagine trying to find one…
Unless the rubber is very bad, it may be better to leave well alone. I have in the past used rubber paint from Frost restoration to spruce up the appearance of a screen rubber. Not easy to get good results, but screen guys normally take out the screen " at your risk " - if it breaks, there’s no comeback on them.
I can’t remember the connection details to the wiring, but I’ll have a look through my old books and so on.
Hi David,
Hmmm… this sounds like very good advice. Ultimately the seal is still working and there are no signs of rust. My main concern was that the chrome stripping is coming loose. Perhaps I will address this with some glue; particularly if the demister is operational.
Probably best to put off removing this screen until it is no longer an option.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Edward,
I also have one of these goldline screens,I owned the car for about 5 years before I noticed it was there - but once you’ve seen it you don’t miss it again.
My screen was non - operational but I did get a good look at it when the screen was removed to replace the seal. At the bottom of the screen there is a pair of two small cutouts (about an inch apart) on the bottom edge of the glass. These have small electrical contacts (I tested mine and it showed resistance indicating the demister would still work if I could connect it). The guy replacing the seal said that this was the big problem with these types of screens as the connectors were usually broken when the screen was removed (which mine seemed to have happened to it at some point in the past)
I attempted to solder in two small wires which could wrap around the inside edge of the screen rubber but I couldn’t achieve a good connection the rough handling required to get the screen into position would almost certainly have knocked them out anyhow. I have thought since then that probably there was originally two small spade connectors soldered in here which bent up the inside of the rubber seal to allow a connection to the wiring (possibly this could be better achieved with the conductive adhesive cement mentioned above).
Anyway - something to have a look out for to see if they are still there and possibly to plan to repair if your do remove that screen and replace the seal.
PS the guy doing the screen did mention it was laminated (two sheets of glass sandwiched together with a sheet of vinyl (to prevent the glass shards flying) and the heating element in the middle) these are more fragile than a standard toughened screen and are prone to breaking
Hi Doig,
Thank you very much for the note; it will be very helpful when I do get around to removing the screen.
I recently replaced the switch in the dashboard and the demister is working correctly 
. The seal and chrome stripe are still a problem, however, I have managed to hold everything in place with a black SikaFlex product and have been happy with the results, albeit probably a temporary fix - which may end up being in place for several years!
Thanks again for all the responses here, very helpful indeed. I do hope I can repay the favour when my knowledge proves useful.
Cheers,
Ed
Hi Edward,
Can you see the wires going to the element - I don’t know whether they go through the seal or are visible from the inside of the car
Hi Doig,
It seems the wiring goes through the seal as the wires are not visible. Unfortunately my seal is quite hard so I a not able to push it aside and sneak a peak…
Cheers,
Ed
