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Heated windscreen


ejparrott

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20 minutes scraping yesterday got me thinking about it again, that and I'm working a late shift now and I don't much want to be spending ages scraping a screen before driving home after a long shift.,

I've always known they were expensive...£240 I thought...but a quick check with D4x4 seems to be closer to £300 now...

But then I found this...

...

ok...copy and pasting a web address isn't working...Ricky Evans Motorsport (glass) Ltd...or www.heatedwindscreen.com....he seems to be selling Series screens for £170...am I missing something?

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I paid a little over £140 to D4x4 a couple of years ago, just a few pounds more than Ricky Evans. The only reason I went with D4x4 was that they wrapped and wooden boxed the glass, while Ricky was sending them just wrapped and charged extra for insurance. I heard that there are detail differences in the terminals (wires on the Ricky version and flat ribbons on the D4x4), but that's all - the D4x4 set work very well and I have heard ne criticism of the Ricky Evans screens either.

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I bought the Ricky Evans ones last year at about that price, very pleased with the quality and well packaged. The RE version were with "ribbons". I bought the switches and timers from a chap on the S2 forum who sold them as a kit. I wanted my screens to be independent of each other (so not drawing too much juice) and he was happy to help.

Go for it - best investment I made and really easy to do if prepared to do a good job

My only piece of advice is to get a second screen and fit the glass to that so if goes wrong you can put the original back in. Use plenty of sealant to stop the whistles and leaks. Make sure the frame is spotless when you seal otherwise when you tighten the securing strips the glass will crack. "Dum Dum" paste was the original sealant but I used a black flexi sealant and works well.

Plenty has been mentioned previously so worth reading these threads.

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or if you wanted a drive across the M6 you can pick one up from Oldbury, £99 listed on the bay from V.G.S ? seems they do seals as well.

edit just noticed you wanted a series split screen not a defender, sorry........ might be worth asking though if they do series glass.

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Long ago, I fitted a heated screen to my Series 2. I bought it from Paddocks and it was only £40 or so. It was about 1990 however!

Anyway, it was one of the best mods I've ever done! I connected the two screens in parallel not in series as suggested which drew about 100 Amps but would melt ice in a few seconds.

I would go for it!

Si

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or if you wanted a drive across the M6 you can pick one up from Oldbury, £99 listed on the bay from V.G.S ? seems they do seals as well.

edit just noticed you wanted a series split screen not a defender, sorry........ might be worth asking though if they do series glass.

Who or what is V.G.S in Oldbury? Google finds nothing that appears relevant.

Thanks.

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Who or what is V.G.S in Oldbury? Google finds nothing that appears relevant.

Thanks.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Landcover-defender-90-110-heated-windscreen-/231422043382?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item35e1d424f6

in bottom of listing ispickup from Oldbury, I looked and couldn't find anything in google except VGC vehicle glass company, so they may be registered in Sutton Coldfield with a warehouse/outlet in Oldbury?

edit got it.

http://www.vehicleglazingspecialists.com/contact-us.html

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I have my screens in parallel too - faster than in series and a failure of one won't knock out the other. The total draw is well under 20A - I use a Carling Tech switch and dedicated 20A fused feed. Another 20A fused Carling switch does the rear windscreen (Defender part, fits Series doors) and the heated wing mirrors, and are equally valuable mods.

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I have my screens in parallel too - faster than in series and a failure of one won't knock out the other. The total draw is well under 20A - I use a Carling Tech switch and dedicated 20A fused feed. Another 20A fused Carling switch does the rear windscreen (Defender part, fits Series doors) and the heated wing mirrors, and are equally valuable mods.

My vehicle is 24V, so I was thinking to wire them in series so they see 12V each. Would that make them heat up as quick as yours? I guess so. I wonder how much amperage these screens draw as my alternator only puts out a measily 25A.

You got heated mirrors too?? Where can you get those and how much?

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The best wing mirror heaters are Mudstuff.co.uk's - they have woven mats rather than elements, so are more robust, heat more evenly and can be cut to suit different shapes. I use them on Defender mirrors, but if you have the larger SIII mirrors, I think they'll fit with some trimming. The dimensions should be on the website. The price will be on there too; quite reasonable as memory serves, and well worth the effort - it is one of the few mods I did to my wife's 90XS as soon as we got it.

I would definitely wire heated screens in series on a 24V vehicle - I think they'd burn out quickly in parallel.

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Sounds like Snagger & SimonR had very different screens if one pair drew 100A and one pair live on 20A.

I bought mine ages ago from D4x4 because Uroglas refused to sell direct :glare: no bu&&er at D4x4 could answer the question of whether they should be in series or parallel & did they need to be on a timer or could they be left on so I wired them in series, which works OK but very slow to clear, when I sort the wiring I'll re-do them in parallel.

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12V parallel wiring is very quick to clear, FF, so you'll be pleased with the results when you rectify it. As I said, for 24V, use series, likewise the mirror heaters. Rear Defender screens are wired for 12V, but you could add a ballast resistor if you can find out their normal 12V current (sub 10A, but fuse is normally 20A and will also cover mirrors at 12V).

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Cheers Nick.

The only thing slightly worrying now is what the power drain is going to be if I fit 3 heated screens and a pair of heated mirrors. Obviously they only work with the engine running, the mirrors aren't much by the sound of it, and it doesn't take long to clear the screen, but it's only 2 miles home from work, and it worried me that i'll end up with battery issues if we got 4 days of frozen screens at midnight (my shift pattern is 4 on 3 off). I'm already in the process of changing to LED bulbs for everything but the headlights anyway, low power use but also no bulbs to fall out of the holders on a daily basis...! Should I be worried?

I've got to change the screens in The 109 too, they're so badly scratched we can't use her in the dark...I'll practise on those first..they'll only be plain screens, she doesn't get used enough to warrant heated screens...not just yet anyway. I've previously asked Nick about fitting them and he says double sided neoprene tape, what do other folk use? I've seen Tigerseal mentioned many times, but I worry that'll be a pick to remove should I need to change a screen again.

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I don't think you'll have a problem. As memory serves, the screens take 14A a pair at 12V, the mirror pads about 2A and a heated rear screen (Defender type) less than 10A. A battery will only take about 8A maximum if it is heavily discharged, regardless of your alternator capacity, so allow about 15A for the lighting, under 30A for all the heating (including fan) and transient loads for indicators, brake lights and a couple of amps for a radio, and a 60A alternator will cope fine - that's all I have on my 109, and I have all those accessories plus extra lights and seat heating, and it copes just fine. Of course, if you have a difficult starter, then short journeys are going to take their toll, but charging the battery at the weekends should suffice, especially with an 82AHr battery (light truck size).

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  • 6 years later...

My Partner bought 2 screens for his land rover, he didnt fit them for probably a week after receiving the box and then when opening the box which did have a small hole in one side we found that one was cracked
Motorsport website says
"What happens if my glass gets broken during transit?
This does not happen very often but if it does please contact us within 24 hours of delivery for a replacement and also make sure you take some photos as we will need these."
OK On making the call there was nothing that could be done and they said that it has never happened before and basically that there is a lot can happen to glass between taking it out of the packaging and taking it to the vehicle to fit it.
Basically they didnt believe that it could have been damaged.Also we didnt notify them within the 24 hours of receiving the package.
So much for ""All glass is wrapped prior to despatch. It is then foamed in its box to avoid damage, but dont worry our shipping is insured.""
SO BEWARE  OPEN THE BOX AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE IT OR IT SEEMS YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A REPLACEMENT..AND THERY AREN'T EVEN INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT ANY PHOTOS.
( have to give one star as wont post with none)

We conceed that we didnt make the call within the 24 hours as we were busy with other things. So in that respect hands up!
But we didnt expect to basically be told that we were telling lies!
Very Disappointed with the attitude.
Had to purchase another item at £136 included in that price was the £44 for packing and insurance which seems to be non existant.
Ever tried to insure glass or crockery with a courier firm?
They are both on the list of EXCLUDED ITEMS so you can't insure GLASS
So when you pay for the insurance all you are doing is paying for the packaging not the insurance as there is none.
Thats a good CON isn't it.
Anyway  not much more to say except  Buyer Beware!

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@ LWB 109 Driver

As a 1st post, not a happy one.

Obviously, without seeing the box and not knowing you, it is difficult to say anything really.

However, you signed for delivery of glass without checking the box - something you should always do, esp. when the content is fragile.

You did not contact them within 24 hours after the delivery to make a claim as mentioned in their terms.

Not living in the UK, I can not comment on the insurance.

I suggest you make a new tread if you want to talk about this

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