So, when the car is started, the defrost light turns on like the button has been pressed. I'm not sure if it really goes on for no reason, or the light itself just turns on... I have yet to check the tailgate grid with an ohmmeter. Any reason this could be?
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'89 245 DL B230 Manual

Well, looking through the tailgate hinge isn't pretty. The right side I decided to replace, (being the more important harness IMHO) and now it works fine. The left looks torn and non functional. Yet, the lic plate lights function, so i decided to put that off. For peace of mind, 9 dollars @ eEuro doesn't seem horrible. It's only a slight bear, and 2 person job to change that harness. Interesting though the seat heaters are on the same relay.
Which, BTW aren't working as well. I'm thinking that's a ground issue. I'm going to "spiff" up that ground connection when tackling the blower motor. Makes a good excuse for taking out the driver's side seat. Anyways though, I'm looking forward to busting out the ohmmeter and doing some fault tracing.
Thank you Art Benstein for the relay diagrams and if i find it's shot, I'm actually looking forward to taking it apart and seeing what's wrong before spending that whopping 40 clams on a replacement.... I really wish there were decent junk yards in the NYC area... alas.
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'89 245 DL B230 Manual

That timer relay would be my first suspect. It is configured to start de-energized.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

"Hanging is too good for a man who makes bad puns...
....he should be drawn and quoted."

Ok, good place to start i guess. does this mean it's constantly on?... or because it's a relay, does it mean it's constantly off?... Anyways, I'm only seeing a replacement part as 40 some bucks from eEuroparts. Little bit of a bummer. Are any other ones interchangeable? I did a part search for Relay #1324675 and a few used ones came up.. should i trust this method for obtaining a used one, and saving a bit of cash, or is that a bad idea?
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'89 245 DL B230 Manual

A very rural couple took their teen-aged son and daughter and drove far to a large city for the first time in any of their lives. The parents thought it was time to expose the kids to city life just so that they knew that there is a world outside the remote mountain village where they had always lived.

They found their way to a huge mall and the father decided it best, since he had bad feet, for the mom and daughter to go off exploring things and the son would wait with dad and all would meet up there later. As they sat astounded at all they were seeing all for the first time, the dad became interested in the two shining metal panels with lighted numbers over the top. As he contnued to watch, the two panels slid apart, startling the dad and boy. Several people walked out of the panels and they slid back together. Amazed and a little afraid they continued to watch. Soon a very large and obese woman approached the panels and they slid apart and the woman walked in between the panels. They watched as the numbers changed and lights flashed. Then, suddenly the panels slid apart and a voluptuous young blond woman stood where the large woman had just been. "SON!" the dad shouted, "GO GET YOUR MOTHER! HURRY!"

For all who find this not funny or stupid, you can partly blame the guy who lives near Baltimore, as he tends to bring out the humor in me and life. Thanks, Art, for ALL you do. If you find it amusing and you smiled, thank me.

No, a $40 guess isn't something I would do either. Maybe a $5 one from the yard wouldn't be too risky. The defrost timer seems too specific a function to get lucky and find another function using the same "relay," but I see in my notes it is used to time the seat heaters in the older cars.

If you're into electrical guts, this might help you save a couple bucks. Who knows, maybe a re-solder or a capacitor replacement will fix it? Perhaps a t-gate harness short caused the contacts to weld?




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Art Benstein near Baltimore

A husband got in big trouble after his wedding anniversary.
His wife told him the day before: "Tomorrow there better be something in the driveway for me that goes zero to 200 in 2 seconds flat."
The next morning the wife found a small package in the driveway.
She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale.

The defrost timer seems too specific a function to get lucky and find another function using the same "relay," but I see in my notes it is used to time the seat heaters in the older cars.

Just an ounce of clarification, as I see I was not clear: The seat heaters in an '89 are not on this relay. The type of relay is the same for seat heaters in older cars (85 and older, I think). Just to give you a clue where you might find one in a yard.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

"There's nothing like a home opener, whether it's at home or on the road."

ah, ok... thanks for the clarity. i wish there was a decent yard or two around here. thinking it might be the harness. got to do some fault testing to be sure.
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'89 245 DL B230 Manual

Does the light go off after several minutes and then come back on again at some other time? If so, it's possible that you have a short somewhere in the system that's drawing energy from some other circuit, triggering the relay as if you had hit the button. Is it a wagon or sedan? I'm going through just about the same issue on my wagon. I think it's bad wiring in the tailgate, I just haven't had the time to get into it.

wagon.
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'89 245 DL B230 Manual