tortoiseracing

I used a small flat screw driver to open up the sides of the black hinge thing. I had to permanently bend the metal a little bit so the bumps would slide out of the holes. Then, use a bigger screw driver to pry the two halves apart. It just takes some force.


Are you talking about the rubber connector on the side of the hatch? If so, then yes, you have to cut the wires at the connector, and then reconnect them when you are done with the repairs.

Is the "demister" what is also referred to as the "defroster"? The wire running through the rear window to clear it up? If so, that is the thick wire on the inside hinges going to the glass (one wire on the left side inside hinge, another wire on the right side inside hinge). I'm not sure if the wires for the rear wiper is on the right or left, but it is one of the outside hinges.

tortoiseracing

I spent about 8 hours spread out over three days on my project. It took a little longer than I expected after reading about other people's experience. However, the more I read, the more tricks I learned about removing certain items. IMO, this repair is more tedious than difficult.

puppy

I am also having an issue with my rear de-mister (Defroster).

I am getting power to the window elements (I have measured 14.5V), but nothing seems to happen window is still misted. I'm guessing the wire is partially cut and the window isn't not getting enough current to do the job!.

Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow.

Great thread BTW

gigity1107

I had the same issue and found one wire completely severed. TBH I can't remember which one it was, but I think it was the live. It was the right most hinge on the left side of the car anyway. Was one of only 2 wires in there and LIS, completely severed. Managed to tidy it up and add a bit more length to the wire and now all is working fine. Well the demister anyway.

The rear wiper still has a problem with not centering when it stops and not stopping when I switch it off...but I guess that's another story.

cmg535

All,

I managed to repair these looms now and collected a fair bit of info from the various sources. Would be good if there was a wiki to post it to.

In summary here is some general guidance:
- it is a design fault; all of these wires will break sooner or later, so there is no point replacing individual wires, you should do the whole lot.
- if yours is has not yet been repaired, but you can still open the glass on the tailgate, you should remove the inside trim on the tailgate and connect a wire-tap to the brown/red and brown wires that go to the locking solenoid before it is too late. This will allow you to open the glass using a 9V battery attached to these wires. Otherwise you can end up in the most ridiculous situation where the wiring in the hinges breaks, preventing you from opening the glass (no manual mechanism, only electric), but then you need to open the glass to fix it or even to reach the solenoid at all - catch 22 .
- it seems to be too tight a bend-radius for the type of insulation used, probably exacerbated in cold weather. Replace with silicone rubber cables otherwise your replacements will also fail
- for longevity the joints should be inside the sealed dry area of the car, i.e. on the inside of the grommet by the speakers in the car, and on the far side of the grommet on the tailgate.
- it is a long repair but the most fiddly part is dealing with those stupid cable guides. Be sure to push out the plastic pin and carefully remove them
- if you took it to a garage to fix, it would definitely cost a lot due to how much work is required. Still, they may well not use silicone cables, and may only fix the broken wires.

Things still niggling me:
- the LHS side to the glass contains the aerial cable, one of the de-mister wires and the water hose. I haven't attempted this one but do have the repair kit from Sencom.

Best of luck!

cmg535

FYI - demister wires are:
- brown on the LHS side to the glass lid
- red/white on the RHS to the glass lid.
These are 2.5mm^2 wires

Wiper motor is:
- black/green and the brown in the RHS to tailgate
These are 2.5mm^2 wires
- mauve/red in RHS to taligate - 0.3mm^2 - some switch/sensor.

Glass lid opening is:
- brown/red to the solenoid, white/red - microswitch in lock. In LHS to tailgate
- brown/black is the push-button switch, in RHS to glass.

HTH

cmg535

Oh - last thing.. if your demister is partially working i would advise not using it at all. There will be a lot of heat generated where the cable is damaged. Someone on the forum reported this causing the washer hose to get melted and leak water inside the cable duct.. great design...

gigity1107

That company that sells the repair kits Sencom TQ, have this video showing the entire replacement process.

cmg535

Yeah, that video is great. As they went to the trouble of making it, I used their kits! Whilst the kit is expensive for what it is, you have all the right diameter silicone cable (not easy to find), sheath and grommets, saving you some bother in this lengthy process.

Of course it does make it all look soooo easy. The video does clearly show the right places to cut and join the loom. For the end which goes in the receiver unit with connectors, i soldered these as it could be done on the bench rather than in the car.

To fit their kit you need a good crimp tool which can do the usual red/blue/yellow insulated crimps but *also* you need a special small one that does "mini green" ones - like this: Tools Equipment/Hand tools/Crimp Tools | Rapid Online These are not common - I've never seen anyone sell the mini crimp connectors. I also fitted heatshrink over the crimps. The kit which fixes the aerial line needs a specialist hex crimp tool to fix the coax plug. I'm not sure what the right one is and any such tools are very expensive, so I've left this for now.

If you choose wires yourself, make sure they are the same diameter as the original loom. Any thicker and you will not be able to close the damn cable guides when you finish. For feeding the wires through the grommet by the speaker and adjusting the position in the guides, this stuff is useful:
Ideal Yellow 77 Wire & Cable Pulling Lubricant 950ml | Rigid Conduit & Trunking | Screwfix.com
I think there is meant to be some tension in these concertina grommets by the speakers, so that it takes up the slack as the tailgate is opened/closed.

One mistake i made was trying to undo the torx bolt which hold the grommet that the glass window closes against. You can pull the grommet and then the plastic away without loosening the bolt. I made one of mine come loose and it is not possible to fix it back..

puppy

Rather that trying to repair the harness, I have just ordered a full kit for the tail gate.

Shop

I have found an auto electrician who will fit it for £100 max, which is better that I thought.

Looking forward to having a working de-mister