Hi KLN,
I just PM you on this issue for the defroster cuz I havent seen this new thread.
Anyway, I am doing this plastic to glass conversion now, I have ordered the new soft top with glass from hardtopguy and I was wondering what else should I buy to make the defroster work.

 

If you are going throughh with the trouble of installing the defroster, go all the way and install the dash-mounted defogger switch. You just need to study the circuit diagrams, get an '02 defogger switch, pull out your Dremel, and get a few RadioShack parts. You would need to do a heart transplant for the '02 switch (change to DPDT), and connect up a few vital arteries and veins.

 

Why should I put the defroster in the dash and not in the center console?
There is a dead switch behind the ashtray next to the headlight cleaner switch.

 

The console is exactly where you should put the switch. That's the location of the hardtop defroster switch for '00-'01 cars. It'll be easy to install and only take a few minutes. Installing it in the dash would be much more difficult and time consuming.

 

Well, ask anyone who has the console switch and see if they like it. I found that it felt pretty cheap. Not at all up to the fit of the rest of the car's instrumentation. The switch was always loose. It fits in just with the friction of a couple of plastic tabs. It was as often crooked as it was straight. Since it happens to be right where your right arm is resting, it also is susceptible to being turned on inadvertently. Since in the '00 and '01 models the defroster switch must be turned off manually, unless you were in the habit of looking at your right arm, you would not notice that it was on. You are more likely to see the dash-mounted switch's indicator light on. Being unaware that a heating element is on is not safe. Especially if you have the top down. Maybe the smell would alert you. Except the top is down and the breeze blowing through your hair is carrying away the fumes until the top melts. Just exaggerating, but I didn't feel that it was a safe situation. Remember, the defogger circuitry was meant for a hardtop. The '02 and later models had an interlock to keep the softtop window defogger off when the hardtop was installed. I don't know if the interlock could also sense that the top was up or down.

I agree that it's not an easy task to install the switch on the dash, but I think you would wish that you had done it in the first place if you installed the console switch. By the way, in the US market vehicles, there is no headlight cleaner switch. There is an inviting spot on the right side of the dash instrument cluster that is meant for the dash switch. Anyway, I did make the change as soon as I realized all of the disadvantages of the console switch. Just thought that I would share my observations for those who may benefit.

 

Thanks!
You did the right thing.
Although I know the problem with the location of the headlamp cleaner (I have actually disconnected it cuz many times with the top down I was accidentaly having bath), I havent thought that the same could apply for the defroster

..so I guess I ll have it on the dash

 

Okay, I'll ask myself. I've had the console defroster switch for over a year and have never accidentally turned it on. I understand that others may have a problem with it as I've read many comments about the headlamp washer switch being a problem. But, as with many things on an internet forum, a complaint by a few can seem like a widespread problem when its actually not. Also, my switch is neither loose nor crooked and the quality is exactly the same as every other switch of the type that I've used in any Honda product.

I understand the downsides of the console installation but they are not greater than the pain of installing the switch in the dash in my opinion.

 

[QUOTE]I didn't hook up the defroster but it should be fairly easy to do.

 

Sorry I didn't spell out the details for you. I HAVE A HARDTOP!!!! Therefore, I have a hardtop defroster switch. When I speak of not hooking up the defroster, I'm referring to the soft top defroster of the '03 top I installed on my '00 car.

 

I've had the glass window conversion done on my car, using the existing '01 frame. I opted not to have the defogger installed, though if I did, I would have had it done on my dash, not the console. However, I would not have done this work myself, so my opinion is based solely on aesthetics.