Episode 708 – Fix That Rear Defrost

This Week In Jeep

But Are The Wheels and Tires Still Good? 

A freight train derailed Tuesday evening in Ravenna Township, Ohio. 

On the train there appeared to be at least two new Jeeps, but knowing how these train cars are configured it’s safe to say there could be 20-something more Jeeps in there. All those Jeeps, now possibly headed for the crusher. Authorities said no one was injured in the incident and out of the entire line-up of rail cars, only 22 of them derailed. 

Apparently, lots of rock salt also got spilled, but nothing hazardous. Crews were at the scene over the last couple of days conducting a big clean-up. Norfolk Southern, the rail company involved in this, said that the train was heading from Bellevue to Conway, Pennsylvania, and had 237 cars and four engines. The train was carrying a variety of freight, but the involved cars were predominantly auto carriers and hoppers carrying rock salt. One of the local TV news stations managed to get a reporter on-scene and spoke to a delightful local man who witnessed the incident and said that his boat had been destroyed in the derailment and that he is excited to get a check from the railroad for it. Stellantis said in an official statement that they are aware of the railcar derailment in Ohio, and confirmed that there were Jeep vehicles on board. As the incident is still under investigation and the site is being cleared, they are not confirming just how many Jeeps were involved. The Jeep brand however will be reaching out to any impacted customers directly and will work to replace vehicles as quickly as possible.

This Is Just Insane “26 Flees Police, 2 year old thrown from Jeep”

I blame the parents. If you have kids and are within the sound of my voice, I beg of you just tell them to comply when talking to a cop. If they’ve done nothing wrong, then they’ve got nothing to fear. The person in this story did not have good parents I’m guessing. And because of that, parts of Washington Street near Round Street in Union Township, Pennsylvania were blocked off earlier this week due to a police investigation involving a Jeep. According to New Castle police, just after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, a Jeep with a Kentucky registration was pulled over on Lowery Street near Falls Street in New Castle. Little far from home ain’t ya there Jeeper? As the officer exited the patrol car and approached the Jeep, the driver sped away from the traffic stop, driving erratically down W. Washington Street. As police were rounding a bend near Round Street in Union Township, they saw that the Jeep had crashed, flipping over multiple times and that the driver and a young girl around 2 or 3 years old had been thrown from the vehicle.

The child was given immediate medical care and flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The driver was taken to UPMC Jameson to be treated and was turned over to the police once released. Charges have now been filed against the 26-year-old driver (help me out with this one guy) Dai’Ryon Mitchell, including felony child endangerment, fleeing and eluding, and reckless and careless driving. The girl remains at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh but is doing better. Mitchell remains at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. His condition is unknown at this time, and god willing will never get to drive a Jeep ever again, especially with kids inside.

2-Door-Electric Jeep Gladiator

For those who haven’t been following Greg Henderson’s sneak peeks of this build through the Zoom room during our Tuesday round table episode recordings, here is the culmination of all that work. This last week in Vegas, the 2022 SEMA show was going on, where this one-of-a-kind Jeep was unveiled. Using a Wrangler 4Xe Rubicon as a base, Quadratec worked with master Jeep fabricator and mad scientist Greg Henderson to create the most amazing 2-door Overlanding build that appears to be capable of conquering any trail. By basically cutting the Jeep in half, right behind the front doors, Greg then added factory Mopar body panels and a new bed that may or may not be available to Jeepers by a company called Motobilt. The cabin as it now was, was successfully shortened and converted to fit 2-seats as opposed to 5. 

As a result of this smaller cabin, the “JTe” as they are calling it, has an additional 10.5″ of bed space versus a regular Gladiator, but with a remarkably better departure angle. This Jeep bed doesn’t have anywhere near as much of the bed hanging over the rear axle as a stock Gladiator does. The Wrangler 4Xe Rubicon’s PHEV powertrain was unaltered, meaning the JTe features a 17.3 kWh battery paired with a 2.0-liter turbo I-4. Total power ouput is 375 hp. The JTe features a custom “Quadratec” green paint job, a J5 50-inch LED light bar, Oracle Lighting flush-mounted LED tail lights, bronze 17-inch Lynx TrailGunner wheels, and 37-inch Nitto Recon Grappler tires. And just because they can, the JTe has been equipped with a Lynx 2.5-inch Suspension Lift along with a Lost Canyon Bed Rack and Rooftop tent. Other additions include a Quadratec RES-Q Brand Winch and Carnivore front/rear bumpers making this Jeep just as mean-looking as it is capable. Inside, custom Katzkin 4Xe seats have been added along with Quadratec all-weather floor mats.

Overland Outfitters storage bars have also been equipped opening up the possibilities for all sorts of outfitting and configuring. Quadratec will use the JTe extensively over the coming years as part of its ’50-for-50′ Trail Clean Up Initiative. The 50-for-50 is done in partnership with the not-for-profit organization Tread Lightly! and aims to clean a trail in each US state over the next 2 years. 12 states have already been covered with over 15,000 lbs of trash collected.

 

 

Tech Talk with Jeep Talk

TOPIC/QUESTION: Repairing A Broken Rear Defrost

I have seen it a hundred times. A hard-top Wrangler rolling down the street, windows all fogged up from a leaky freedom top, and the rear window has about a three-inch stripe of clear glass on it, the rest – completely fogged up. Hell, I’ve owned a vehicle or two over the years where the rear defrost only had a few lines of working defrost-ability, or it plain didn’t work at all. Sometimes the problem is more serious, like a relay or a broken wire somewhere. A broken wire is more common than you think, especially on older Jeeps. With that wire going into the rear hatch, and that hatch opening and closing a million times, it’s bound to break over time, especially if there is any corrosion. Another common rear defrosts issue with Wranglers, is the main tab coming off the bus bar. This is where the power from the vehicle attaches to the glass, there is a connector that will sometimes rip off. It’s going to be easy to diagnose this issue, as the connector is right there in plain sight at the edge of the glass. That repair will require a different product and technique but is essentially the JB Weld version of cold soldering, and if you follow the directions, you can reconnect that broken tab and get your defrost back.

The go-to for this repair is going to be Frost Fighter, and you can get it at most auto parts stores for under $50. But, more often than not, it’s simply a broken or burnt-out trace in the glass. What I’m referring to are those little goldish-brownish orangish-colored lines that cross the back window. Just about every vehicle on the planet made since the 50s (and that has a rear window) has these. Those orangish-colored lines are actually parallel linear resistive conductors that are in or on the glass. When power is applied, these conductors heat up, thawing ice and evaporating condensation from the glass. These conductors may be composed of a silver-ceramic material printed and baked onto the interior surface of the glass or maybe a series of very fine wires embedded within the glass. If you have the kind that is embedded within the glass, unfortunately, the window will need to be replaced, as there is no way to service this kind of rear defroster. The surface-printed variety is prone to damage by abrasion… you can actually feel the conductors if you run your fingernail up the inside of the rear window. If you can’t feel the conductors with your fingernail, then your rear defrost is embedded, and your glass will have to be replaced. If you have a surface-mounted kind of rear defroster, it can be repaired easily with a conductive paint material. Repair kits for this very task can be found at virtually any and every parts store across the land. My favorite is the Permatex Rear Window Defogger Repair Kit. These sell for less than $20 and have everything you need to repair that broken conductor trace on your rear window. As with most things, prep is the key to a successful repair. The process involves cleaning the window, masking off the area you want to work on, and securing the included template in just the right position over the broken trace. Then you simply paint on a new conductive line where the old one was broken. If you take care of the prep work and follow the instructions, you’ll be defrosting that whole window again in no time.

 

Links Mentioned in this Episode

NEXEN Tires USA https://www.nexentireusa.com/

Trails 411- POWERING Your Adventure https://www.youtube.com/user/backcountrydriver

The 4×4 Radio Network http://4x4radionetwork.com/

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