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Purpose of the lines on the upper section of the rear window?

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Old Aug 9, 2023 | 11:46 PM
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Purpose of the lines on the upper section of the rear window?

While attempting to install a dashcam, I placed an adhesive material on the upper section of my car's rear interior window. Upon removal, it seems to have stripped away some of the linear coatings. I'm now hoping this wouldn't cause anything bad.

I'm curious about the purpose of these lines. They don’t appear to be related to the rear window defrosting system, as prior tests showed no warming in that particular section (the heating wires seem inherent in the glass?). Are they merely decorative? I couldn't discern any functional connections between them. Can anyone shed light on this? Thanks.

Update:
I believe it's at least related to AM radio as when I touch the lines, the AM radio quality deteriorates. I'm not sure if the AM quality is already affected by this peeling of coating. No impact on FM but I'm not sure if it's because FM is more noise-tolerant. I also see people say it's related to keyless entry (on a BMW forum).

It's the dark lines in this pic (more pics can be seen at https://www.ebay.com/itm/26625604312...cZF75jwbOnLI):


Last edited by Colliot; Aug 10, 2023 at 12:32 PM.
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 06:34 AM
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picture?
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 06:42 AM
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When I mounted my rear Dash Cam I purposely put the camera just below those lines. I always assumed those were to defrost the rear window. I live in Florida, so I have never needed to use my defroster.
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 12:25 PM
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Based on the description, it sounds like the rear defrost lines. Some slight peeling of the conductive line should be fine, if you turn on the rear defrost and touch the lines it should feel slightly warm. You could repair it with a conductive ink pen and painters tape.

https://www.chemtronics.com/solderle...fogger-grids-2
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 12:32 PM
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Originally Posted by ygmn
picture?
Updated! Please take a look.

Last edited by Colliot; Aug 10, 2023 at 12:37 PM.
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by fun33
When I mounted my rear Dash Cam I purposely put the camera just below those lines. I always assumed those were to defrost the rear window. I live in Florida, so I have never needed to use my defroster.
Defroster should be the part just below them. I did some testing and found the top part not heating at all, while the other parts do.
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Old Aug 10, 2023 | 12:36 PM
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Originally Posted by vincheung
Based on the description, it sounds like the rear defrost lines. Some slight peeling of the conductive line should be fine, if you turn on the rear defrost and touch the lines it should feel slightly warm. You could repair it with a conductive ink pen and painters tape.

https://www.chemtronics.com/solderle...fogger-grids-2
Thanks! But they do not heat up and I'm now pretty sure they are related to AM radio.

Glad to hear that I can repair it with "conductive ink pen". I believe it should work whatever purpose it serves. It actually looks like silver so maybe I should get some "conductive silver ink pen" like
this one this one
.
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Old Aug 11, 2023 | 05:58 AM
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look lke defroster lines to transmit power to the small thin ones you can barely see...
One positive and the other negative as they are connected to the wires
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