Dear Tom and Ray:

My husband just bought me a '94 Chevy Cavalier. It has a rear defogger. If I had this disconnected, would it be harmful to my car in any way? The reason for disconnecting it is that we live in a hot-weather climate and had the windows tinted. My husband was told that the rear defroster would make the tint peel off, and I don't want to turn it on accidentally. Can I disconnect it? -- Sylvia

Tom: Sure you can. It won't do any harm at all.

Ray: And I'd do it now so that when the tinting peels in six months, you'll be completely blameless, and your husband will have to face the fact that his cousin Edgar did a lousy job installing the tint.

Tom: Ask your mechanic to see if the rear defroster has its own fuse. If it does, simply removing the fuse will do the trick.

Ray: If the fuse is shared with some other crucial accessories, like the glove-box light or the light on the vanity mirror, then your mechanic will have to disconnect the wire from the back of the defroster switch. But that's simple, too. Good luck, Sylvia.

Tom and Ray lead you step by step through the process of finding and buying a reliable used car in their pamphlet How to Buy a Used Car: Things That Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know. To order, To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1996 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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