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Thanks again, Dave. I did go out within an hour after my previous post, and attended to the other mirror. While I noted that there didn't appear to be much corrosion, I acknowledge that it doesn't take much. I had opportunity to test the previously ailing mirror a couple of days later, and it's still working. Other side as well (I didn't break it during my cleaning).
So the mirrors are fine. In spite of many older cars not having that feature, I value that more than the rear defrost, since if that needs to be done, I'm almost always having to scrape or wipe other windows anyhow.
And yes, the rear defrost is still not working. After going over the wiring diagram Bill provided, there is obviously no connection between the two, but I was hoping that I may have been wrong in condemning it. The grid seems to be intact. In spite of what you said, mine appears to not have a protective coat. I didn't have to pierce the grid to measure continuity. It's kind of a soft gold in color viewed from the outside, and silver from the inside. Glass is Volvo / Sekurit, dated '94, which is consistent with the car's early '95 build. Or perhaps I'm in error with my diagnosis. I don't see how I could botch a simple continuity test, but perhaps...
I did note 12+V at the bullet terminals hidden under the carpeted tailgate cover. Looking back, I should have disconnected there, and checked for continuity at that point. It would seem to me that the issue lies between those connectors and the glass. But again, perhaps I misdiagnosed...
Regardless of how this turns out, I've seen worse. That's a bold assumption at this point, but anyone whose had to deal with a BMW e61 wagon tailgate would likely agree. On that car, I had to essentially rebuild the harness between the body of the car and where it enters the top of the tailgate. There are even kits for this purpose, but since I was in there with a soldering iron anyhow, I used bulk wire and made it myself. The saving grace on that car was the audio system speakers in the headliner (yes, that's right). Removing the speaker gave access to the harness so I didn't have to remove the entire headliner. I think I had to splice in 11 wires or more. There was a lot going on in the tailgate of that car: external button for the hydraulic lift, button on bottom to close the tailgate when open, solenoid to release the tailgate, button and solenoid for the glass that opened independently of the tailgate, defroster, center, high mount brake light, antenna for the radio, antenna for the keyless entry remote, some functions of the tail light (reverse, and a panic light if you brake extremely hard), license plate lights, maybe part of the tail light, I don't remember, the wiper motor, and maybe something I'm forgetting. A lot was going on with that tailgate. So once I make the time to dig into it, I'm confident the Volvo defroster won't be so bad.
Anyway, this is lower on my list of priorities (for the car, and in general), so I may not get to it for a week or two. Knowing me, the winter will hit, and I'll get tired of having something broken, and will address it with freezing hands. Too bad I didn't leave the cover off, but I can't stand driving a car with interior bits missing.
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