TheSamba.com :: View topic

Mon Oct 17, 2022 12:21 pm

vwwestyman wrote: mikedjames wrote:
It also is slightly smaller than the Just Kampers replacement I had before - this was about 2mm too high.

You're saying that the windscreen you got from Just Kampers was 2mm taller than this one?

Curious where the JK windscreen came from/was manufactured? I wonder if it was of the same Chinese production that some here report having to file down a bit to get to install correctly? Perhaps some here would find it worthwhile to get one of these windscreens so that it is more likely to fit properly?!

Before the wind blew it over and then I rolled it up in a polypropylene tarpaulin, jumped on it then rolled it up again in the polytarp to make it look smaller, the JK windscreen had VW markings on it. Must have been the fact the front of my bus has been rebuilt more than once caused the fitting problem.

And that when I rebuilt the lower edge windscreen surround I made sure that it sat low down on the alignment bulges in the inner panel.

Mon Oct 17, 2022 12:36 pm

I completed the relay controller - at the moment, the alternator has to bring the battery voltage up to 13.5 volts to cut in, then the relay stays closed down to 12 volts.

There are two parallel channels in the firmware, one for the left, one for the right hand screen panel.

One press of a push button runs the heater for 4 minutes at present, or 5 minutes if the temperature is below about 38F.
An additional push extends the time. Press and hold turns it off.
If the ignition power is on, the LED on the push buttons are on dimly. If the timer is running and the relay is on, the LED lights fully. If the timer is running and the ignition supply voltage is too low, the LED flashes about once every 2 seconds between two lower intensities.

The timer uses an about $5 STM32F030 prototype board so I can change its behaviour, with an external voltage regulator and four transistors and some other components.
Two MOSFETS drive the relays - the relays I used need about 0.15 amps to close the contacts, and there are two switching transistors to separately drive the LEDs.

Still to do:

Get the temperature measurement to indicate correct values. It keeps insisting the temperature is about 86F..

Implement a dimmer feature for the LEDs that tracks the dashboard dimmer voltage as they are quite bright.

Make a better bracket for the switches - this was a quick hack out of a scrap PC power supply case. It is too thin, flexible and springy.

Left hand LED : panel off
Right hand LED : panel on

Edit - here is a schematic I drew based on my prototype board wiring.

Fri Dec 30, 2022 12:08 pm

NASkeet wrote: Starting the engine from cold, of my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 “HL Special” (for which an electrically-heated front windscreen is not yet available!), on some cold winter days, after I had defrosted the external surfaces of the front windscreen and other windows, using an ice-scraper and alcohol-based de-icer fluid, it was noticeable after driving less than half a mile, that ice had started to form on the interior surface of the front windscreen, as a consequence of my moist breath condensing and freezing on the cold glass, seriously impairing visibility. This forced me to stop the car in a safe place and defrost the interior surface of the front windscreen.

Following that experience, two possible contributory factors came to mind. Reflecting on what I had done and not done, I surmised that residual alcohol-based de-icer fluid might have evaporated, cooling the front windscreen glass. Consequently, I resolved that in the future, I would wipe off any residual de-icer fluid using an absorbent cloth or old newspaper, before starting the engine and driving off.

Hello again Eric & Mike.

How are you faring with the performance this winter of your recently installed 1968~79 VW Type 2 electrically-heated front windscreens?

I have since recently learned that there is at least one source in the West Midlands, England, of electrically-heated front windscreens for the 1975~80 Triumph Dolomite Sprint, which would also fit a 1970~76 Triumph Toledo 1300 like mine, but it would be rather expensive at the price of £504 including VAT that was quoted on the website, which would have to be collected rather than sent by courier.

https://shop.retro-engineering.co.uk/laminated-front-screen---heated-125-p.asp

Mon Jun 26, 2023 10:26 pm

Local Sambanista came over today in his OG early Westy and we installed a heated windshield in his Bus. it was one of my 2 extra pieces of glass from Ricky Evans. One left still in the shipping box. His windshield frame was in remarkably good shape. New gasket from GoWesty as well that was left over from my 78 repaint as I accidentally bought the two seals at different times, not remembering well. :o

Sat Jul 01, 2023 11:45 am

otiswesty wrote: Local Sambanista came over today in his OG early Westy and we installed a heated windshield in his Bus. it was one of my 2 extra pieces of glass from Ricky Evans. One left still in the shipping box. His windshield frame was in remarkably good shape. New gasket from GoWesty as well that was left over from my 78 repaint as I accidentally bought the two seals at different times, not remembering well. :o

Unless I'm somehow mistaken, that is a 1973 model-year, VW Type 2 Westfalia campervan or motor-caravan, but it looks as though a few decades might have passed since the elevating-roof & roof rack were last washed! :shock:

So, what switching & relay system did you finally decide to use for the electrically-heated front windscreen and what have been your experiences so far with regard to demisting and/or defrosting?

Sat Jul 01, 2023 12:07 pm

As a follow-up: the heated windscreen has been used regularly during colder months. With the timer programmed to 5 minutes, it manages to warm the windscreen noticeably - it can thaw out ice if it is not too cold .

And it proved extremely useful when driving down a country road after heavy rain.
We drove through about 6 inches of water: the hot air coming into the cabin was suddenly full of water vapour that condensed on the screen. After a couple of minutes the screen cleared where it was heated, long before the two unheated strips at the far edges of the screen.

Sun Dec 17, 2023 7:13 pm

I have put my extra heated windshield up for sale in the classifieds if anyone here is interested or looking for one.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2656978

Mon Dec 18, 2023 10:06 pm

otiswesty wrote: I have put my extra heated windshield up for sale in the classifieds if anyone here is interested or looking for one.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2656978

I drove otiswesty's bus last summer and he had to point out the heated glass to me, the grid is SO subtle. It's MUCH clearer than most people's windscreens are most of the time. :lol:

This is a dang good deal.

Can't speak to the function, as it was mid-nineties all week…
Robbie