Hot. Steamy. ****!

[Big White]

Ordered and received a Alpha Therm AT- 38- OD windshield fluid heater, and installed it in about a 1/2 hour's time.
Works great, can't wait to see how it helps on cold snowy mornings.
Perfect spot for it just outboard of the engine computer. When I get inspired, I will trim the wires.

Maybe some action shots on a cold morning? Should look like the de-icing operation on the ramp at the airport!

 

[rexster314]

Had one on my Buick Enclave. You'll really like it on a cold icy morning

 

[BakerEdition]

how much and where did you get it....

 

[rexster314]

Welcome to AlphaTherm the world leader in the development of Heated Wash

 

[Big White]

AlphaTherm AT-38OD Windshield Washer Fluid Heater : Amazon.com : Automotive

 

[BakerEdition]

thanks for letting me know...i see pumps for GM did you use a universal on for the Expy?

 

[Big White]

thanks for letting me know...i see pumps for GM did you use a universal on for the Expy?

That one right there from amazon. I think at one point they were OEM for gm?

 

[Captain Morgan]

The customer review ratings ratio is very high for this product. Being able to cut the ice will also add life to the wiper blades.

Now to just add de-icer to the fluid and you'll have hot de-icer.


.

 

[Big White]

The customer review ratings ratio is very high for this product. Being able to cut the ice will also add life to the wiper blades.

Now to just add de-icer to the fluid and you'll have hot de-icer.


.

Already done!

 

[Captain Morgan]

Dude you're funny, you don't need to quote the person above you

I took another look at your pic, is that sandwiched between the battery and firewall?


.

 

[Big White]

Yes. I through bolted to the lip of the plastic cowl cover (wiper linkage cover) because I HATE drilling into metal going into salt season. The unit is not that heavy, so it should not stress anything.
The wire is at least 8 gauge, and about 2 feet or so too long. I just coiled it up and zip tied it out of the way for now.
The unit draws about 50 amps once you start the vehicle. It senses when the voltage is over 13 volts, which is what it uses to sense when the car is running. After it is heated, it draws much less current, on the order of an amp or two to keep it up to temp.
Full heated shot is available about 40 seconds after the car is started.

 

[rexster314]

These things came out several years ago. As I said, there was one on my 09 Enclave. However, after a couple of years GM did a recall on them and disabled them due to the fact they were causing some underhood fires. The origina maker of the heaters went bankrupt and GM never replaced the disabled units, going so far as sending out 100$ checks to those who had them disabled instead of replacing with a newer version of the heater. Alphatherm took up production and actually improved the design, making one version for those GM cars using the same wiring and one such as the OP installed. The GM version had a separate switch on the dash to activate the heater, looks like the generic one has some sort of sensor to turn on when the washer button is pushed since it looks like it's constantly "on"

 

[Big White]

Yes, it heats up initially with a high wattage coil, and keeps it hot with a low wattage one I think.
IIRC, GM did not fuse the units correctly or not at all? Dunno, remember reading something about that. The people that had them loved them though....

"While it is a small feature, it has been one of those little things that made a good luxury car stand above its peers and build model loyalty. Being able to melt away ice is an extremely nice touch…assuming it doesn’t burn your vehicle to the ground. "

http://fourwheeldrift.wordpress.com...sher-fluid-heaters-and-the-resulting-recalls/

Hopefully they got this one right!

 

[Captain Morgan]

Yeah it doesn't look too complicated, that principle of heat on demand is used in a lot of applications. I wish it were a tad cheaper.