electric defrost windshield

[neverpa]

Does anyone know how the electric defrost works in the eGolf? I want to know specifically if the electric wires can be turned on and off independent of the other types of defrost in the vehicle.

 

[GadgetGav]

Does anyone know how the electric defrost works in the eGolf? I want to know specifically if the electric wires can be turned on and off independent of the other types of defrost in the vehicle.

When I bought my car, the salesman showed me the heated windshield. From what I remember it was controlled via a menu selection on the touchscreen - I don't have the manual handy right now. He said it was odd that they put it there rather than on a dedicated button. It is completely independent of other defrost options as far as I know. He said it was more efficient to use the heated windshield than to set the blower to defrost like you might do in an ICE car.

 

[neverpa]

I find that living a snowy, icy, and rainy area of the country, I use/waste a fair amount of energy just keeping the windshield clear even if I don't need the cabin to be particularly warm. In other words the only way to clear the windshield in the LEAF is to run the heater and burn about 3-5000 watts to heat the whole system up. If you only do this once and pre-heat the car while it is plugged in, this is not really a big issue. However, if you make several or many short trips and stop the car for 30 minutes each time (giving it a chance to cool down), the range is adversely affected as it must run at high current to re-heat the whole car. Being able to simply turn on the electric defrost without using the whole heating system would save 10s of miles of range each time. A heated windshield represents real progress in EV technology as far as I am concerned.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

I find that living a snowy, icy, and rainy area of the country, I use/waste a fair amount of energy just keeping the windshield clear even if I don't need the cabin to be particularly warm. In other words the only way to clear the windshield in the LEAF is to run the heater and burn about 3-5000 watts to heat the whole system up. If you only do this once and pre-heat the car while it is plugged in, this is not really a big issue. However, if you make several or many short trips and stop the car for 30 minutes each time (giving it a chance to cool down), the range is adversely affected as it must run at high current to re-heat the whole car. Being able to simply turn on the electric defrost without using the whole heating system would save 10s of miles of range each time. A heated windshield represents real progress in EV technology as far as I am concerned.

I concur. The heated windshield is one of the most compelling features of the eGolf over the Leaf.

As a work-around to what you described, I went to Harbor Freight and spent $10 on one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/12V-Auto-Heater-Defroster-with-Light-60525.html

It draws 180W instead of 5kW, and it does a decent job of keeping the windshield clear (assuming you turn it on immediately and keep it on - it does not have enough power to clear a fogged windshield).

 

[Ggggio]

Does anyone know how the electric defrost works in the eGolf? I want to know specifically if the electric wires can be turned on and off independent of the other types of defrost in the vehicle.

When I bought my car, the salesman showed me the heated windshield. From what I remember it was controlled via a menu selection on the touchscreen - I don't have the manual handy right now. He said it was odd that they put it there rather than on a dedicated button. It is completely independent of other defrost options as far as I know. He said it was more efficient to use the heated windshield than to set the blower to defrost like you might do in an ICE car.

If you reference the quick start guide (page 31) it explains the windshield defrost is activated by pushing the max defrost button.

 

[WillC]

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

 

[cove3]

When I set defrost to max, the fan comes on max, but I'm not sure the electric windshield is turned on automatically because when I press menu below auto, the icon for the electric windshield isn't showing set to orange...it shows as white off. I have to touch the icon to get it to show orange-on

Ron

 

[NeilBlanchard]

Thank you, Will - this is exactly correct.

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

Using the A/C for defrost is all well and good in rainy conditions, but in the winter when all water is frozen, we need heat-only defrost. I wish that car engineers could learn this. Anybody who has driven in a freezing rain would know this.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

Thank you, Will - this is exactly correct.

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

Using the A/C for defrost is all well and good in rainy conditions, but in the winter when all water is frozen, we need heat-only defrost. I wish that car engineers could learn this. Anybody who has driven in a freezing rain would know this.

Note that A/C is NOT the same thing as cooling, although it has come to mean that in the common vernacular. While the A/C is necessary to cool the air, it is also necessary to DRY the air.

 

[GadgetGav]

Thank you, Will - this is exactly correct.

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

Using the A/C for defrost is all well and good in rainy conditions, but in the winter when all water is frozen, we need heat-only defrost. I wish that car engineers could learn this. Anybody who has driven in a freezing rain would know this.

Note that A/C is NOT the same thing as cooling, although it has come to mean that in the common vernacular. While the A/C is necessary to cool the air, it is also necessary to DRY the air.

Exactly! You can have the A/C on and the temperature set to 78F.
When the A/C is on, the air is passed over cool coils to take it below its dew point thus removing the moisture. Then it's heated to the desired temperature or left cold in the summer. Car engineers and HVAC engineers have learned this a long time ago...

Thank you, Will - this is exactly correct.

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

Using the A/C for defrost is all well and good in rainy conditions, but in the winter when all water is frozen, we need heat-only defrost. I wish that car engineers could learn this. Anybody who has driven in a freezing rain would know this.

Note that A/C is NOT the same thing as cooling, although it has come to mean that in the common vernacular. While the A/C is necessary to cool the air, it is also necessary to DRY the air.

Thank you, Will - this is exactly correct.

You can independently activate the windshield defroster via the touch screen.

Select "Menu" on the center dial that says "Auto" above "Menu". Then on the screen activate it by tapping its icon. When on it turns orange and is present at the top of the screen along with the battery and cellular signal strength indicators.

Using the A/C for defrost is all well and good in rainy conditions, but in the winter when all water is frozen, we need heat-only defrost. I wish that car engineers could learn this. Anybody who has driven in a freezing rain would know this.

Note that A/C is NOT the same thing as cooling, although it has come to mean that in the common vernacular. While the A/C is necessary to cool the air, it is also necessary to DRY the air.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

It cools the air to dry it. Same difference. In an ice storm, you don't want any cooling, believe me.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

If you heat up the air, it will have the same moisture content as it started with, but will temporarily be able to hold more moisture while it is still warm. But the air will cool quickly when it comes in contact with a cool surface such as your windshield. Yes, it certainly uses more energy than simple heat, but it is far more effective. That is why A/C is always used for defrosting a windshield in a modern car.

As for the weather, I live in Syracuse NY. I have seen plenty of ice and snow storms. You want the A/C to dry the air rather than just using heat, believe me

 

[mjperry]

I really don't care how the defrost works. I have a parking pad and not a garage. It snowed two days and I've swept off the snow and scraped off the ice I could. Now I need to defrost the windshield before I do my carpool tomorrow.

My touch screen looks nothing like what is stated in the previous posts. I push menu and I have six options and then if I slide the touch screen over to show the last couple of icons and nothing says "auto" that's above "menu". "Menu" is the top option on the left-hand side. There's nothing above it.

Is anyone able to post a picture showing what you need to do to get the defrost to work? I'm sorry I'm so stupid but I really don't care how it works, I just want to get the ice off my car.

Thank you,

 

[f1geek]

I think you pressed the menu button on the touch screen. This is the wrong menu button. You need to press the physical menu button inside the fan speed dial. The fan speed dial is below the touch screen and is in the middle of the console, with the driver temp dial on its left and the passenger temp dial on its right. Good luck!

 

[miimura]

This is the Menu button (inset in the center climate control dial) that you press to manually activate the heated windscreen.