How does one test the rear defoger without fog?

ha ha ha,

In the engine compartment (drivers side) under the black cover there are 3 fuses. Actually they control the rear "defrost"

Boy am I having a bad day here.

Ok FOCUS here, what are you asking or sugesting I do?

Very good question. I would say leave your car out overnight but that's not the best suggestion. Any luck yet on finding the problem?

Nope

OK....

If you look inside your plastic fuse block cover (front trunk)

From the top....it's labled: 1 through 3
1 through 10 and
1 through 8

You want to look at fuse # 6 on the 1 through 10.

On the cover it is labled:

air blow, rel. heat rear wind, cig.-light

it takes a 25 amp fuse......

next: In the engine compartment there are 3 fuses under the black cover on the drivers side. Those fuses are related to the rear defrost..ie. the heating lines in the back window.

Check those fuses. They should be (from the top)

25 amp, 25 amp, 8 amp.

I'll raplace all the blow fuses and make sure they are the correct amprage. Then I'll come backformore tips.


Mind you, I tried a 25 amp fuse last night on #6 and it blew as soon as I turned the ignition on. (so?????)

I don't have a clue as to why you're blowing fuses or how to track down the shorts, but you may want to check to make sure that your alternator isn't overcharging and popping fuses. Overcharging can occur when the voltage regulator poops out. To check out the overcharging thing, put a voltmeter on the battery with the car running. The meter should read between 13.5 to 14.5. If it's more than that, you have an overcharging problem. On another note, the size of the cigarette lighter plug is in fact larger than normal. Some radar detector manufacturers (like passport) actually make multiple sizes of plugs to address this issue which is common in European cars.
-Jon

Thanks for the tips here, as for the plug size, I am aware of it, the plug actually fits well. but I will check the charging system.

Fuses don't blow from overvoltage. They are current limiting devices. Something on that circuit is shorted. See if the center wire on the back of the lighter plug has popped off and is touching something. 25 amps is a pretty fair draw...
As RoninLB would probably suggest, get a 25A circuit breaker, wire 2 alligator clips to it and clip it to the fuseholder tabs. Saves replacing those little fuses while you're troubleshooting....

I had a similar problem with my lighter - tried to charge my cell phone and discovered it didn't work, kept blowing fuses as fast as I could pop them in.

In my case the problem was the hot lead had detached itself from the connection on the back of the lighter and was grounding out. Getting at the lighter is not that hard - you have to go at it from the trunk side - not the dash side. Once you get the blower motor out you will be able to see the back of the lighter and can start to trace the problem.

As to the size of the lighter socket - one cell phone I had years ago actually came with a plastic adapter for use with "certain european made cars". I remember laughing at the concept (didn't have a Porsche then) and tossing the adapter in the garbage. Now the guys at those unavoidable "wireless phone stores" just give me a blank stare when I ask about those adapters. Crap - all the great stuff I 've tossed away over the years.

I would never use the lighter for my V1 - but it suffices for the cell phone charger. You just insert the charger at a certain angle and it works fine - no big deal if you lose contact like it would be with the V1.

Good luck