My rear defroster hasn't worked for a good two months now and I started to get fed up with it yesterday (not to mention that the little light stays on ALL THE TIME and is getting damn annoying). I inspected all the coils and found one that looks to be broken. There's a gap that's one to one-and-a-half inches wide. What do I use to repair this? Will solder work here?

Thanks, I'm getting sick of not being able to see what's behind me.

 

you can re-solder it, but its very difficult, and very tedious. Make sure your getting power to the defroster before you start repairing. Check the relay, which is over by the power antenna.

 

Even if you have gaps in the strips it will still work - so if you are getting nothing it is not that - if the light stays on all the time it sounds like you are getting no power - test the connection at the window with a test lamp. By the way you can buy a repair kit at any parts store - little bottle of metalic paint and masking etc. which you just paint over the broken strip.

 

The defroster is run by a timer in the switch. If the light is on all the time, it means there is something wrong with the switch and it needs to be repaired or replaced.

The gap in your defroster can be fixed with a defroster repair kit, available from Mazda or any auto parts store.

 

The light stays on only dimly all the time and then, when I push the button, it goes on brighter (the on brightness). If I try to turn it off, it just goes back to the dim light.

I'm going to go and check the connection at the hatch. I'll post again in a few minutes with the results.

 

Well, there appears to be no power at the connection. I also checked that funky fuse that controls the defog, appears to be alright (although that is one weird fuse). In the process of testing, I managed to blow out my hatch light bulb and the fuse on my stereo.

Yippee.

I'm assuming that since there was no power, the switch in the dash has gone awry. That kinda makes sense. Now that I think about it, the problem began right after I had torn apart my dash wiring something into my lightswitch, I probably shorted something in there. So, what do I need to replace/repair?

 

The "fuse" is actually a breaker. As for the switch, just get another from the wreckers. It's not worth the effort it takes to repair the old one.