Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Is my understanding that based on the wiring description for the rear defroster accessory, that it operates off the same switch as the fresh air heater blower?

Just curious there cause sometimes I have turned on the blower just to circulate air without the heat on. Perhaps I just can wire it off of the floor heater switch instead. Or use the rear speaker switch! Lol....that would be like a variable speed control! hahaha

The shared heater switch was the recommended.

If you already have a rear heater & switch that would probably be the best option if you went shared. If the extra fan switch is used, to keep defroster separate another option would be to add a switch setup and duplicate the speaker/antenna look in an unused space over on the left. Last resort you could always do something with a switch below the dash.

Yesterday's radio has a wide & thin 1940 Heater/Defroster cover that might look neat centered under the grill but looks like it's only in Beige. If he had it in another color, that might be interesting if you could find a switch for it.

Wasn't there a "DEFROSTER" switch with bezel used on some of the years? 55/56 perhaps. Wonder if that could be used as an option. I could just install it where the speaker switch is now, as that isnt hooked up to anything anyway and probably wont be in the future.

Also I noticed that both the floor heater and defroster have the wiring running along the floor and then up and under the dash. I may take advantage of having the windshield and interior out and run the wiring for the defroster along the passenger roof line and down the A-pillar into the dash. Similar to the rear harness on the driverside. Also for the floor heater, I can run the wiring up the passenger side B-pillar and down the the A-pillar as well. This should keep everything neat and keep wiring from getting chaffed under my heavy feet.

On the '55 and '56 cars, the rear defroster (option) was operated by having the fan on and the control set to defrost. There was no separate switch for it. I don't know about other years.

Hmmmm.....That's an interesting idea..... a micro switch installed on the heater lever at the defrost position and wired in conjunction with the heater switch being in the on positon would do the trick for sure. Things to ponder.

That microswitch is sounding like a very good and simple option worth serious consideration.

Don't believe there were any separate postwar labeled defroster switches that were rotary. All were push or pull and labels were directly on the various styled buttons. 55-6 had rotary switches but were labeled fan or rear fan. Those labels were oddly shaped and part of the heater bezel. They also have different size shafts and mounting. If the 55-6 Clipper knobs are the same style as yours they would work but mounting might need some massaging to work with the bezel.

I think the 55/56 switches use a wider shaft with a retainer tab if I remember right. The 51-54 use a thinner shaft and use a set screw. But I may have that incorrect. I just remember when i bought my antenna switch, it would not work with the 51-54 style knobs and bezel, so I had to exchange it for the 51-54 antenna switch.