Nothing common about common sense

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Just watched my neighbour pour very hot water from her kettle over her very frosted car windows (-5 this morning), sure enough I heard some cursing because a major crack appeared on the windscreen.

Sometimes I can't believe she is a senior research scientist. :D
 
It should be remembered that hosing down the car in the middle of summer can have the same effect.
 
TBH, the more brains people appear to have, the sliding scale of common sense almost always seems to head towards "zero"

I known RAF pilots that have reported a system fault as "#### system does not work in OFF mode" :thinking:

Simply fixed by "#### system tested & works fine in ON mode :lol:

Mick
 
Hacker said:
Just watched my neighbour pour very hot water from her kettle over her very frosted car windows (-5 this morning), sure enough I heard some cursing because a major crack appeared on the windscreen.

Sometimes I can't believe she is a senior research scientist. :D
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Just goes to prove that really clever people have little common sense, I know a few and just as well they have high paid jobs, they have no idea about real life

Doog said:
It should be remembered that hosing down the car in the middle of summer can have the same effect.
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Oooh I didn't know that :eek:
 
Hacker said:
....Sometimes I can't believe she is a senior research scientist. :D
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:thinking: Maybe she was doing it in the name of science :shrug: :lol:
 
Some people pour boiling water on screens year in and year out without mishap. I wouldn't personally.
 
best way to clear a screen is with either a good scraper, pressing the heated wndscreen button, or leaving th heater on for 10 minutes to clear it. Though you have to sit in the car in the cold to stop some scrote nicking it on the last one....
 
I have to say its true in my experience, levels of common sense are directly and inversely proportional to intelligence levels. I never cease to be amazed by the number of our incredibly well paid, professional, customers who have no idea how to put air in their car tyres, never mind the detrimental effects of not having correctly pressured tyres. Scientists, professors of law, doctors, etc etc... :bang:

or fill the washer bottle for that matter...they will actually book a car into the workshops because the windscreen washers aren't working!
 
I just found out last night that my lovely heated windscreen now only heats the passenger side...:'(

I had to stand there scraping away with all the other proles at 01.00...
The air temp dropped from about +4C to -6C in five hours...

Time to price-up a replacement heated screen I think - mine's getting to the state where it's more a patchwork of Autoglass repair resin than original glass...:lol:
 
Arkady2 said:
I just found out last night that my lovely heated windscreen now only heats the passenger side...:'(

I had to stand there scraping away with all the other proles at 01.00...
The air temp dropped from about +4C to -6C in five hours...

Time to price-up a replacement heated screen I think - mine's getting to the state where it's more a patchwork of Autoglass repair resin than original glass...:lol:
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Have you checked to see if it's just a wiring problem. I was under the impression they worked on two seperate sections anyway, if it was a case of intermittent lines not working I'd say it was gone. If you have windscreen cover on your insurance, then perhaps a kettle of hot water is your cheapest option.:thumbs:
 
lawrie29 said:
best way to clear a screen is with either a good scraper, pressing the heated wndscreen button, or leaving th heater on for 10 minutes to clear it. Though you have to sit in the car in the cold to stop some scrote nicking it on the last one....
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Personally I find that my pump spray bottle of de-icer works better than all the above on my car. Although for ultimate efficiency couple that with the scraper...

Not one of those useless aerosol cans btw - a proper sprayer.
 
Arkady2 said:
I just found out last night that my lovely heated windscreen now only heats the passenger side...:'(

I had to stand there scraping away with all the other proles at 01.00...
The air temp dropped from about +4C to -6C in five hours...

Time to price-up a replacement heated screen I think - mine's getting to the state where it's more a patchwork of Autoglass repair resin than original glass...:lol:
Click to expand...

I'm having the same problem. Autoglass replaced the windscreen earlier this year so I'm guessing it's a wiring issue.
 
fabs said:
I'm having the same problem. Autoglass replaced the windscreen earlier this year so I'm guessing it's a wiring issue.
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I might try removing the scuttle sections and see if I can squirt some WD-40 on the contacts there, but if I remember rightly it's a royal PITA to access them...
I'll check the fuses as well, since I've not used the heated windscreen for over two years as I was away for the better part of the past two winters... it worked OK the last time I had to de-frost it back in 2008, with just a couple of 'dead' sections.
 
lawrie29 said:
best way to clear a screen is with either a good scraper, pressing the heated wndscreen button, or leaving th heater on for 10 minutes to clear it. Though you have to sit in the car in the cold to stop some scrote nicking it on the last one....
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I just give the windows a quick spray with de-icer, then jump in the car, switch the auto wipers off, then start the car up. Heated windows and mirrors switch on automatically if the temp is below 3C. If extra help is required, put heater blower on Max on the windscreen and drive away.:thumbs:
 
nilagin said:
I just give the windows a quick spray with de-icer, then jump in the car, switch the auto wipers off, then start the car up. Heated windows and mirrors switch on automatically if the temp is below 3C. If extra help is required, put heater blower on Max on the windscreen and drive away.:thumbs:
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On a Mk2 Mondeo...? :shrug:

Didn't on my old Ghia-X or the ST200... :thinking:


I think you might be driving.....


...something else...:suspect:
 
Arkady2 said:
On a Mk2 Mondeo...? :shrug:

Didn't on my old Ghia-X or the ST200... :thinking:


I think you might be driving.....


...something else...:suspect:
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I think you suspect right.
2006 Mondeo ST TDCi:thumbs:
First cold morning I started the car up and went to switch th eheated screens on I thought I was losing my mind because they were on and couldn't remember switching them on.:lol:
According to my hand book, (now I've read it :bonk: ) It's only featured on diesels.:thinking: But my mates 2003 Mondeo Ghia doesn't have it so it must have been one of the later upgrades.
 
Heated windscreens - Had one on my Fiesta - What a bloody fantastic invention. Never really understood why only Ford ever seemed to use them.
 
Mickwreay said:
TBH, the more brains people appear to have, the sliding scale of common sense almost always seems to head towards "zero"
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Agreed with this - my father was a clever, intelligent man, but could sometimes be as thick as mince. A few people I've known who have degrees in their subject appear to know well about that subject, and that's about all.
 
2 buckets of water, 1 cold first, then one warm second on the screen...screen wash has anti freeze so driving straight away no problems

problem i have at the moment is since the wet valet of the interior the inside of the car is freezing up, my steering wheel was iced over this morning (at -10)

brrrr
 
Well after struggling in the freezing temperatures last year, I've given in and bought a cover to put on my car overnight . . . and yes I know it looks silly !!!

The problem I have is that it's a hardtop convertible and in order to open the doors the windows automatically drop an inch when you pull the door handle . . . except when it's frozen and the window won't drop down! Which means that you have a car that you can't actually get into :bang: :bang: :bang:

Trying to scrape and de-ice around the window seals is neither easy, nor I suspect very good for the seals.
So making my car wear a silly hat seems a small price to pay to actually be able to get into the car. :shrug:
 
I think the problem is sudden changes in temperature so chucking a full kettle load of hot water very quickly is asking for trouble.

Luckily I rarely every use my car 1st thing in the morning as I cycle to work, but when I used to commute by car I used to use a couple of buckets of very hot water from the tap which must have been about 60 degrees.

I'd start by pouring it very slowly so as to gradually heat the screen and it always seemed to work fine. There is no way I was going to faff around with an ice scraper or leaving the engine running like many of the neighbours used to!
 
Nothing to do with ice but I once saw a guy jet washing a (real) mini at the garage, the beeper went off to say he had 10 seconds left, the car was clean but he had to use that last 10 seconds, he was holding the lance over the rear windscreen on the high pressure cycle when it stopped

The sudden drop in pressure caused the lance to drop right through the back window, this was in the days when windscreens were toughened but not laminated so it smashed into a thousand pieces.

I could hear the swearing over the radio as I waited in the queue :lol:
 
This is why I love the heated windscreen on my Focus, jump in give it a minute or so and use the wipers to clear the slush :p
 
Benj said:
This is why I love the heated windscreen on my Focus, jump in give it a minute or so and use the wipers to clear the slush :p
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Me too. Best invention ever :D
It really is a shame other cars don't use them as I'd like to change to a bigger car, but am reluctant now because I'd miss this.
 
swag72 said:
Heated windscreens - Had one on my Fiesta - What a bloody fantastic invention. Never really understood why only Ford ever seemed to use them.
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That would be because Ford have the patent on it.
 
Marcel said:
Me too. Best invention ever :D
It really is a shame other cars don't use them as I'd like to change to a bigger car, but am reluctant now because I'd miss this.
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That'll be a Mondeo then.:thumbs:
 
Room temperature water works fine. Pour, wipe, drive.

Having said that, all I do, is get in, start the car, windscreen blower on, HRW on, get out, scrape the side windows with an old credit card (or similar) - by the time I have done that, the front and rear screens are pretty much melted. But then, my car does have an "assisted heater" apparently.
 
nilagin said:
That would be because Ford have the patent on it.
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I believe the patent has just expired so I'm sure we'll see it on other cars. I've just traded my Accord in for a Mondeo TDCi and picking it up tomorrow afternoon :D Good to hear the Quickclear works so well what with the sudden weather change.

Never liked Fords in the past but I think after 2000 and more into the mid-2000's they really picked their game up with reliability and quality. Not a big car person but when I do get a car I like it to just...well work! lol
 
:thinking: .... I have a Fiat Ducato motorhome and it has a heated windscreen ..... :shrug: ....... although I've never needed to use it due to the overcab sleeping area!
 
swag72 said:
Heated windscreens - Had one on my Fiesta - What a bloody fantastic invention. Never really understood why only Ford ever seemed to use them.
Click to expand...

nilagin said:
That would be because Ford have the patent on it.
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Land Rovers have them too, but that's only because Ford bought them. Two minutes and my Discovery screen is clear.
 
Maybe she thought the ice was that thick it wouldn't break the screen, thus strenthening the glass underneath, just a possible scientific observation :lol:
 
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Arkady2 said:
I just found out last night that my lovely heated windscreen now only heats the passenger side...:'(

I had to stand there scraping away with all the other proles at 01.00...
The air temp dropped from about +4C to -6C in five hours...

Time to price-up a replacement heated screen I think - mine's getting to the state where it's more a patchwork of Autoglass repair resin than original glass...:lol:
Click to expand...

nilagin said:
Have you checked to see if it's just a wiring problem. I was under the impression they worked on two seperate sections anyway, if it was a case of intermittent lines not working I'd say it was gone. If you have windscreen cover on your insurance, then perhaps a kettle of hot water is your cheapest option.:thumbs:
Click to expand...

Be careful with QuickClear screens on Fords, they're not cheap and some insurance companies won't cover the full cost of replacing them, so probably best to check before going near it with a kettle....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Be careful with QuickClear screens on Fords, they're not cheap and some insurance companies won't cover the full cost of replacing them, so probably best to check before going near it with a kettle....
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My policy covers it - I specified that when I renewed. Whether I can actually find one for a 2000 Cougar is another matter...
 
Arkady2 said:
My policy covers it - I specified that when I renewed. Whether I can actually find one for a 2000 Cougar is another matter...
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There's probably someone sitting with one they can't get rid of too :lol:

Somewhere I've got a link to a site where all the dealers list their clearance parts, I'll see if I can find it.....


Here we go Parts Reunited
 
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I park my car in my garage. Solves all this de-icing problem. It was -3 in the garage this morning but the screen was clear.

Number of people that complain about having to de-ice that who have a £50 mower and some childrens pushbikes in the garage rather than their car ...
 
broom for the loose then a Bucket of COLD water will clear the ice for you.

I personally sit in the car and wait for my heated windscreen to do the job for me :swarmy ****: I sometimes have a little scrape to really appreciate my HEATED FRONT WINDSCREEN. :lol:
 
nilagin said:
That would be because Ford have the patent on it.
Click to expand...

How can a heated front windscreen be patented? Surely that's like patenting a box on 4 wheels and calling it a car, so no one else can make one! Isn't there a patent then on the rear heated screen? What's the difference?:shrug:
 
I am just amused by the Ford owners bragging about their clear screens, what about all the other windows?

My preferred choice is start engine, turned on HRW and fans, hit each window with some de-icer, leave for a few moments and away we go.

If its snowed, the garden broom gets rid of it, its like a great big credit card :D


oddly we had a really heavy frost last night, the cars were thick with it, this morning it was melting, it has now gone completely and feels like its warmed up to 4 or 5 degrees, even the frost on the grass that has been constant for last 3 or 4 days is almost gone. Still, should be ok, according to the bbc weather report, it will be snowing here in the next half an hour :shrug:
 
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