Heated windshield wiper blades are an effective part for a car in winter, as standard wipers often freeze and do not always cope with their functions. That is why motorists in our country often install heated brushes or special heaters for parking areas of car wipers. In the article, we will consider options for "warm" brushes and the ability to make a parking zone heater with your own hands.
1 Methods for heating the zones of the wiper blades
To date, a special tape with leads for wires is used to heat the wiper zone, with the help of which the glass is heated. The tape tends to heat up at low temperatures and thereby prevents sticking and frostbite of wipers and glass and icing of the gum. This ensures the smooth operation of the wiper blades in the winter period of car operation.
The disadvantage of this method of heating can be considered the risk of damage to the windshield (cracking) in case of improper use, for example, turning on the heating without preheating the interior and cleaning it from heavy snow on the glass. It is worth noting that on some foreign cars, the presented method of heating the brush parking area is used by default, the tape is already built into the wiper use areas from the factory, which is not the case in domestic cars.
You can make a wiper blade heater in the form of tapes with electric wires with your own hands or purchase ready-made kitsdifferent power and length, for example, OEM 50x540W. Such kits are designed for installation on VAZ models or foreign cars, they are regulated depending on the length of the wipers and the power of the on-board network (usually 12–13 Volts). To install the tape with your own hands, you must first clean the glass from snow, ice and dirt. Then remove the protective element of the adhesive layer and carefully stick the heating tape on the parking space of the wipers on the inside of the glass so that the middle of the “parking” of the wiper blade coincides with the middle of the heater tape.
Next, one of the "ground" wires from the tape should be connected to the "ground" of the standard on-board network. Pass the second wire through the switch and fuse in the relay and connect to the 12 Volt contact. It is also recommended to connect the contacts from the heater to the side mirror heater circuit (if any) or to the heated rear window activation circuit using a parallel connection. In this case, the heater will be activated by the standard button for turning on the heating of the rear window or mirrors.
2 Frameless winter wipers with heating function
We are talking about a set of special wipers, which can be purchased at the auto shop and during the winter operation. Today, the most popular are heated wiper blades from manufacturers such as Burner, Consul Winter, ClearView, etc. The price of such wipers is quite acceptable, so they are considered universal and suitable for installation on various models of domestic and foreign cars. The wires and the heating element on these brushes have a fluoroplastic base, which allows them not to come into contact with the external environment and alcohol-containing solutions, which include anti-freeze liquid.
The principle of operation of wipers with a heater is simple - heating is carried out at the place where the rubber bands fit into the wiper, and not from the inside.
The metal base of the brush is heated and then acts as a radiator, which evenly transfers heat to the wiper frame and rubber base.
If heated brushes have an automatic triggering system with a reaction to temperature changes and glass freezing (it is recommended to purchase just such, especially for foreign cars), then a special control module is included with the wipers, which automatically determines the need to turn on heating at a certain temperature.
Installation should be carried out in several stages:
- Install the frameless brush on the holder lever (on most models this is done using a special clip);
- The electrical wire should be fixed to the contact arm of the wipers with wire or other fasteners. Corrugated material can also be put on the wire for additional insulation and to prevent deformation;
- Fasten the brush control unit in a safe place in the engine compartment and also fix it with wire or plastic holders;
- Connect the module and wiper heater power wires to the battery terminal. At this stage, you can use a special 10-15 Amp adapter to prevent battery discharge.
If an automatic relay is not provided (more budgetary versions of the brushes), then the wiper power wire must be safely routed into the passenger compartment and the control wire connected to the relay to the 12 V contact, and the control button installed additionally on the instrument panel. Or run a wire to the button for the regular heating or glass blowing (you should be careful and activate the heating only if the car interior is evenly heated, otherwise the glass may not withstand the temperature difference and crack).
3 An effective way to make DIY heated brushes
First of all, you need to purchase a standard wire with a cross section of 0.3 mm (about 10 meters), which is designed for consumption of 2.5 amperes and power up to 35 watts. On a flat surface (such as a table), drive in two parallel nails at a distance equal to the size of the wiper.
Wind the MGTF wire evenly, so that the turns do not intersect with each other until a kind of loop of wires is formed. Connect the wires with tape or electrical tape until you get an electrical loop, leaving two contact wires in the middle.
Solder two VUI type copper wires to these wires and secure the solder points with heat shrink tubing or wrap them carefully with electrical tape. The resulting cable with contacts can be wrapped in foil to ensure more uniform heating of the wires. Gently lay the cable under the rubber and plastic with your own hands (you must first disassemble them).
Install the plastic and rubber elements back, and close the exit points of the wire contacts with special terminals, put the wire itself in a corrugated pipe and fasten it to the wiper mounting levers with the wires leading into the car interior. Contacts can also be connected to the battery, but there is a risk that it will quickly sit down while using the wipers.
There are several more ways to make a heater with your own hands, but they require more time and effort, so it’s easier to purchase and connect automatic or high-quality brushes with a manufacturer’s warranty. If for any reason you doubt the correctness of the installation, it is advisable to contact specialists.
At that time of the year, which is usually referred to as “closer to winter”, in the off-season, many motorists are faced with the problem of windshield wipers icing. This may be due to sudden changes in temperature or precipitation in the form of rain and sleet.
The described device will help solve this problem for those who do not have enough regular means of supplying heat to the windshield wiper area, or for car owners without this useful function.
As heating elements, you can use special plates designed for this purpose, which are available on the market.
Instead of a standard connection, it is proposed to use a circuit based on the ATtiny13A microcontroller, which will allow you to conveniently control the power supply of the heaters. This option provides for the presence of a sound notification of switching modes of operation.
Power is supplied from a car battery (12V). The KEY input is a non-latching normally open microswitch that closes to ground. The settings help you select different output modes. BZ is a small speaker from the motherboard of a personal computer.
To set up the operation of the device, it is necessary to press and hold the mic before applying the supply voltage. Applying voltage activates the setting mode: after 2 seconds it will start at a frequency of 1 time / sec. sound acoustic element. Each individual signal is a necessary setting item. After the squeak has sounded the required number of times, it is necessary to release the button and a special signal will inform you that the setting has been completed. Further work in normal mode requires restarting the circuit. With a complete table of settings is in the attached archive. You can also find firmware, the Proteus project model and other necessary files there.
One of the embodiments of the device.
After the standard procedure for making a seal, programming the microcontroller and installing all the necessary elements, we got a neat and rather miniature board.
A few words about the safety of operation.
The current consumed by the device can reach 4 A. or more, depending on the power of the selected electric heating plates. This must be taken into account when selecting the cross section of wires, which, in this case, it is recommended to take at least 1.5 mm.
The use of such heating at temperatures below -15°C may lead to the destruction of the windshield.
Attached files:
Heating the windshield wiper rest zone is a fairly common option, especially relevant for regions where negative temperatures persist for quite a long time. In addition, if there is no heating for the wiper rest area on your car, you can install it yourself.
This option is designed to heat the place where the wiper stops in rest mode. You do not have to tear off the frozen wiper, in addition, heating prevents the formation of wet snow in this part of the windshield, as well as icing and freezing of the wiper blade itself.
I am sure that every car owner has encountered the problem of brush frosting in the winter. In order to return the wipers to working capacity, sometimes you even have to get out of the car and knock down ice and snow frozen on the brush. There are several ways to solve this problem: the use, installation of a fully heated windshield, even the introduction of a special wiper function, which, when briefly pressed on the wiper control lever, puts them in a position 5-7 centimeters higher than the standard one, in the area where the glass is heated by air from the standard stove .
Heating the windshield wiper rest area is another way to solve this problem: simple, fairly effective, inexpensive, and affordable for self-installation.
How is the windshield heated in the rest zone of the brushes
Standard variant
Regular heating is arranged quite simply. On the windshield in the rest zone of the brushes there are conductive paths that heat up this particular section of the glass. To turn on the heating of the rest zone of the wiper blades, the same button is usually used as for heating the mirrors, rear window, or, much less often, a separate button.
Heating kit for self-installation
A kit for self-installation is most often a flexible transparent self-adhesive film with a conductive track and lead-out pads applied to it. Available in different capacities and lengths, which must be selected based on your car.
You will also need a relay of at least 40A, a fuse, contacts and a power button.
Self-installation of heating of the rest zone of the windshield wiper blades
The sequence of heating installation as a whole does not differ from the brand of the car. True, sometimes complete disassembly and dismantling of the front panel is required.
General installation procedure:
- Prepare the heating installation site. Remove dust, dirt and grease.
- Gently stick the tape to the inside of the car glass at the point where the wiper blade stops. The wiper stop should be in the middle of the heating element.
- Connect one wire to vehicle ground.
- Connect the other wire to the wire on which “+ 12 Volts” appears when the ignition is turned on through the switch, relay and fuse
Self-installation of heating is not the easiest task that requires certain skills. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to contact a service center that has the necessary licenses and certificates for this type of work.
Almost every car owner, especially those who live in the northern latitudes of Russia and do not have a warm garage, has repeatedly encountered the freezing of wiper blades in their parking area and icing on the windshield. As a result, the "departure to the track" was postponed until the functionality of the windshield wipers was returned, and the view for the driver was cleared.
Today, unfortunately, very little attention is paid to this problem by automakers. Although many technologies have been developed for equipping wipers with thermocouples, spot heating of windshields, supplying heated non-freezing liquid to the wiper parking area with further removal of ice from the windshield and others. However, they are not used or included in a set of expensive options, which, in both cases, is not available to the vast majority of motorists.
Therefore, many car owners are forced to use "folk remedies", and there are currently three of them:
- heating the parking area of the wipers with improvised means;
- heating the parking area of the wipers using a regular stove;
- heating the parking area of the wipers with an electric heating tape.
Let's consider each of them.
Heating the parking area of the wipers with improvised means
Judging by the numerous videos from the famous YouTube portal, there are a lot of folk improvised means to combat frozen wipers to the glass. However, there are only two most effective and simple ways among them, which are used by most motorists. This is heating the wiper parking area and the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe windshield (or only on the driver's side) with a warm air stream from a hair dryer or an anti-freeze heated to room temperature.
- Advantages: availability, low cost, speed.
- Flaws: obligatory availability of a power source for a hair dryer or heating a liquid, freezing of the wipers and icing of the windshield on the move or during a short-term parking at sub-zero temperatures, some laboriousness and discomfort.
Heating the parking area of the wipers using the car's stove
It is possible to eliminate the freezing of windshield wipers and ice on the windshield using a standard stove only if there are two car options. These are: blowing the windshield with warm air and the function of moving the wipers 5-7 cm up from the permanent parking area. Then, as practice shows, even in severe frosts, the glass thaws and is cleaned while the engine is warming up.
- Advantages: a high-quality overview even in severe frosts, freezing of the wipers to the glass is not observed when driving or in short-term parking at sub-zero air temperatures.
- Flaws: the obligatory presence of the above two options and making sure that the wipers are constantly 5-7 cm higher from the standard position.
Heated wiper parking area with electric heating tape
The use of an electric heating tape to prevent the wipers from freezing to the glass is recognized as the most effective among the available, low-cost and uncomplicated methods. It works most effectively in cars with the option of warm windshield blowing at almost any sub-zero temperatures outside and regardless of the state of rest or movement of the car. For cars where there are no windshield heating systems, there is no better way either. True, you have to put up with increased wear on the wiper blades when they move for some time on the windshield ice until it disappears.
- Advantages: when properly installed, it not only prevents the wipers from freezing to the glass, but also provides an automatic mode for turning on and off the heating of the wiper parking area.
- Flaws: there are none, except for some physical and financial costs, but they more than justify themselves.
How to properly install a heated electrical tape in the parking area of the wiper blades - step by step instructions
- Step 1- the purchase of an electric heating tape, which should be 1-2 cm longer than the brushes at both ends. The width of the thermoelement is usually standard and is 5 cm.
- Step 2- Dismantling the dashboard cover for free access to the wiper parking area from inside the car.
- Step 3— Cleaning and degreasing the parking area of the wipers from inside the car according to the size of the heating tape, or otherwise the place of its installation.
- Step 4- Installation of the electric heating tape in place, by means of its own adhesive backing.
- Step 5- Connecting the leads of the electric heating tape to the heating circuit of the rear windows or side mirrors.
- Step 6— Checking the performance of the electric heating tape.
- Step 7- Mounting the dashboard cover in place.
If you operate a car in harsh winter conditions, we recommend buying high-quality HALLO wipers.
IMPORTANT! In order to avoid overheating of the electrical tape in excess of the norm and excessive load on the vehicle's power system, it is impossible to connect thermocouples separately and directly to the common "plus" and "minus" buses. Otherwise, the glass may crack at the place of heating, as well as interruptions in the operation of on-board computers and other malfunctions in the general electrical network.
Additional windshield heating can significantly reduce the time required to prepare a car for a trip in winter, especially at night, which, unfortunately, prevails in northern latitudes.
Many modern cars are equipped with electrically heated windows already on the conveyor. Also, such glass can be bought and replaced with the usual regular one. But there is another option - to install a heated windshield with your own hands right on the spot, gluing ready-made heating threads fixed on a transparent adhesive tape.
Working heated windshield
Filaments heated by electric current are usually located at the bottom of the windshield.
The principle of operation of heating is simple - an electric current heating them is applied to the filaments applied to the glass.
Heated glass produced in an industrial way differs only in the choice of the place of heating - along the contour of the glass, along its area, partially or completely covering it. Filaments heated by electric current, applied in the direct field of view, can be distracting, so contour heating is usually preferred, which has a more frequent location of the threads at the bottom of the glass - where the disabled wiper blades stop.
Commercially available sets for equipping glass with heating are also available in various versions. The windshield heating threads are applied on a self-adhesive film and have leads for applying voltage to them.
More "advanced" types of heating are equipped with a control unit with a built-in timer that turns off the power after a specified time interval.
The windshield heating filaments should not be visible and interfere with the view.
Making a windshield heating with your own hands is not difficult, and it is not necessary to remove the glass at all.
Making a windshield heating with your own hands is not difficult, and it is not necessary to remove the glass at all. It is enough to carefully degrease the surface on which the tape will be glued. Hastily “sticky” heating will flake off in places, making it useless. In addition, poor heat dissipation in places where there is no glass contact can lead to filament failure.
Do not glue heating on cold glass, in general - such work is best done in the warm season - it will stick more reliably.
You can do a heated windshield like this:
Heated windshield
If you bought only tapes with heating filaments, do not forget to “embed” a replaceable fuse in the case into the positive power wire.
As you can see, the windshield heating filaments are located in the wiper parking area. Such their arrangement will warm up the contact lines of the working edges of the brushes with the glass, which will prevent the gum from tearing off the base if you accidentally touch the wiper switch lever while the car is not warmed up. Sometimes the rain sensor also works out of place - when the "wipers" have not yet thawed out - this happens in the spring at "near zero" air temperature.
It will not be difficult to lay the power wires if you pre-mark the points of their connection to the threads, or rather, the locations of these points. In order that extra wires do not offend your aesthetic feelings, hide them under the lining of the front pillars - the latter can be easily removed.
If you bought only tapes with heating filaments, do not forget to “embed” a replaceable fuse in the case into the positive power wire. If there is no information about the power of the threads, first put a 10 amp fuse, if necessary, replacing it later with a 15 amp fuse.
It is also advisable to think over the connection scheme to the standard wiring - the heating powered by the cigarette lighter on many cars will work even when the ignition is off, which is undesirable - it is better to play it safe and make the heating work possible only when the ignition is on.
Heated windshield installation
Heated windshield installation
First of all, you need to buy such glass. Original auto glass for many foreign cars is usually expensive, but there are more affordable domestic and Chinese counterparts. And here, when buying, you need to be careful, because low-quality glass - with or without heating - can be made with such defects that you will regret that you started replacing the standard glass.
Signs of a good windshield:
Well, the windshield should remain transparent under any circumstances.
- It should remain transparent when exposed to direct sunlight - the cloudiness of the glass indicates poor sizing.
- In the zone of active vision (in the 28-degree viewing sector when looking in the direction of movement) there should be no distortion of the outlines of objects.
- Heating filaments should not stand out - they are barely noticeable on good glasses.
- An indirect sign of a good product is a distinct brand and carefully executed packaging that prevents any possible damage during transportation.
Windshield Heating Tapes
When it comes to windshield replacement, it’s better not to save money and trust the experts.
It is better to replace the windshield in a specialized car service - despite the seeming simplicity of work, cutting out old glass, applying primer and sealant, as well as observing the drying rules, not everyone can do it qualitatively. It often happens that after a few months, or even immediately after the replacement, the junction of the glass and the body begins to leak. Yes, and body parts, mercilessly stripped by a string, are covered with rust - especially the front edge of the roof.
A real professional will not even need to clarify whether the glass is heated or not. In addition, it will bring out the wires from the heating so that you do not have to disassemble the “jabot” when connecting.
How to connect a heated windshield
Heated windshield connection
It is better to put the windshield heating switch on the car, with powerful contacts and a reinforced housing.
It is better to connect a heated windshield in the engine compartment - this is where the wires are output, but the “positive” wire will have to be brought out into the cabin - to connect a button or key. Use a car switch, preferably one that has a suitable designation on the case - it will be more convenient to use, and the buttons designed to turn on energy-intensive devices have more powerful contacts and will not melt.
Do-it-yourself heating of "wipers" and windshield washer nozzles
Heated windshield wipers
If it was not possible to buy nozzles specifically for your car, then you can always buy and install universal washer nozzles.
Heated windshield washer jets (including fan nozzles) are available from auto parts and accessory stores. If there are no such ones on sale specifically for your car, then the so-called universal nozzles are produced. There is no difficulty in installing them. The main thing is to carefully wire the wiring so that it does not hang down, but also does not break when the hood is opened. This also applies to connecting the heating - the power wires should not interfere with the operation of the mechanism - the "trapezium of the wipers".
Unfortunately, even heated nozzles cannot prevent the washer from freezing in cold weather - on many cars, the tanks are located, as they say, "outside" - outside the engine compartment. Therefore, some craftsmen equip the tank with heating by installing an electric heater at the bottom, which is also powered by a battery.
Do you need a heated windshield?
Homemade washer nozzle heating
Before you buy a heated windshield, you should finally decide whether you need it.
In general, before you buy a heated windshield or similar "bells and whistles", decide whether you need them at all. Often, excessive enthusiasm for such things either reduces the battery life, or - if they are carelessly installed - to burn out the wiring. Undoubtedly, such devices make life easier for a motorist, but, unfortunately, not everyone has the patience to do everything correctly - to conduct wiring, protect wires from breakage or short circuit, connect a fuse, etc.
As they say - "measure seven times"!