Ok, so I bought my jeep about 4 months ago and I'm just now starting to tool around and start adding some stuff. I have noticed that the hardtop that was on it when I bought it is not the hardtop that came on it from the factory. from looking at other pictures of 97 wranglers I have seen that it isn't even the same year. it looks like it is from 2003 and up. it has a heated rear window but it isn't hooked up to my jeep. I see that there is a spot for a relay in the fuse box for a rear defroster but there isn't a relay in there and there isn't a switch/button in the jeep for it. what I'm wondering is, is there any way I can hook the heated rear window up in a jeep the didn't originally come with one. also while I'm doing this, I would like to see if it would be worth my time to install a rear window wiper or if that would just complicate things. thanks
Rear heated window and wiper
- Thread starter TJ_Man99
- Start date
It can be done. I hooked up a hardtop to my 2006 by adding in a bunch of wires and switches to make the wiper and defroster work, and adding a pump and hose to run the washer. I believe someone made a guide in the how-to section.
Does your hardtop have vents on either side of the rear window? If so, it's a 97-02 hardtop. If not, it's 03-06, or possibly aftermarket. (Adapted YJ hardtops also have vents, but are very rare on TJs.)
Does your hardtop have vents on either side of the rear window? If so, it's a 97-02 hardtop. If not, it's 03-06, or possibly aftermarket. (Adapted YJ hardtops also have vents, but are very rare on TJs.)
If you want to do a factory wiring job, it takes a bit of work. You'll need the wiper and defroster switches (Davey's Jeeps probably has them), a fuse tap, a matching wiring harness (I bought a 97-02 to 03-06 adapter and cut the harness off), several wiring harness pins, a new washer bottle with 2 pumps, a washer line check valve (early JK ones work), washer hose, and some wire.
The defroster is surprisingly complex to wire in stock. The switch sends a signal to the instrument cluster, which sends a signal to the HBL relay, which sends current to the hardtop (and back to the switch indicator lamp). The instrument cluster provides the timer function to shut it off after 10 minutes on the first activation and 3 minutes on subsequent activations.
The rear wiper simply receives current from the wiper switch to activate. The washer pump is similar, but the pump current is actually wired so it goes from the switch to a splice in the hardtop and back to the engine compartment to the pump. This prevents activation of the washer pump with the hardtop removed.
There are 5 pins on the hardtop. In no particular order, they are ground, HBL, wiper, and washer X2 (internally connected).
The HBL and wiper both use 12VDC nominal, so if you don't want to do a factory wiring job, you could simply wire the wiper to a switch and the HBL to a relay triggered by a switch. If you do that, make sure you use ignition switched signal, because the wiper and HBL especially will drain the battery quickly.
HBL = Heated Back Light (aka rear defroster)
The defroster is surprisingly complex to wire in stock. The switch sends a signal to the instrument cluster, which sends a signal to the HBL relay, which sends current to the hardtop (and back to the switch indicator lamp). The instrument cluster provides the timer function to shut it off after 10 minutes on the first activation and 3 minutes on subsequent activations.
The rear wiper simply receives current from the wiper switch to activate. The washer pump is similar, but the pump current is actually wired so it goes from the switch to a splice in the hardtop and back to the engine compartment to the pump. This prevents activation of the washer pump with the hardtop removed.
There are 5 pins on the hardtop. In no particular order, they are ground, HBL, wiper, and washer X2 (internally connected).
The HBL and wiper both use 12VDC nominal, so if you don't want to do a factory wiring job, you could simply wire the wiper to a switch and the HBL to a relay triggered by a switch. If you do that, make sure you use ignition switched signal, because the wiper and HBL especially will drain the battery quickly.
HBL = Heated Back Light (aka rear defroster)
we should trade Jeeps, I disconnected and removed the wiper/washer/heater years ago
the tricky part might be drilling the holes in the glass
the tricky part might be drilling the holes in the glass
I do like the black. My window has the connections soldered on, not drilled in the glass.