XJ rear heated glass

I have a 1995 XJ that I love dearly. It doesn't have a rear window defroster (no heating element in the hatch, just clear glass) and no switch on the dash. My question is, was this as option that was available for Cherokees? All the other XJs I've ever owned have had a rear defroster.. are they pre-wired for heated glass? Could I buy a factory switch and hatch from a junk yard with the heating elements bolt it on, and maybe find wires behind the dash/above the headliner? Thanks for you time and any information!

Rear Defrost may have been optional. Almost all the other 97-01 options are plug and play.

Tim_MN said:

Rear Defrost may have been optional. Almost all the other 97-01 options are plug and play.

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Thanks. I have a 1997 also and have done some plug and play upgrades (heated mirrors, fog lights, injectors, etc.) everything went flawlessly and all the wires were there.


Does anyone else's Jeep not have heated rear glass?


Mine is a 1995 sport 5 speed with manual windows/locks

XJ_eep i know this doesn't answer your question. I have a 1995 country and it has the rear heated glass. Power everything so yours might be pre wired for a heated rear glass. It's worth looking into. Good luck.

I've got a 94 with no rear defrost, and I just finished a pretty major interior overhaul. I'm probably 90% certain that I found the plug for the glass just inside the body by the hatch. IIRC, it was on the driver's side near the taillight box/fuel neck area. I did add a few accessories that weren't installed on mine (a former fleet vehicle with basically no options) and in most cases the plugs were there, labelled and waiting for the other half of the harness from a donor vehicle.

Joeygo said:

XJ_eep i know this doesn't answer your question. I have a 1995 country and it has the rear heated glass. Power everything so yours might be pre wired for a heated rear glass. It's worth looking into. Good luck.

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Thank you. I will be taking the dash apart first to look for any connections there. That seems easier than dealing with the headliner right now.. I'm assuming that if it's pre-wired for a switch there's a chance it might have wires for rear glass as well..

In my 1997 the wires for the defroster (if I remember correctly) connect in the cargo area. Behind the large plastic panel on the driver's side. Does anyone know if it would be in the same location on the pre '97?

Another comparison, and again, not apples to apples, but my '96 Sport 5 speed with manual windows/locks does have heated rear glass.

My guess is that your wiring is there, but I would check for it just to be sure before I spent any money on a new back window.

Note that in addition to the switch and the glass you may also need the special relay for the defrost circuit. If I recall correctly it is a red relay. It has a timeout function built into it. On the other hand, if you already have the red relay in place that would be a good indication that this job will be plug and play. On my '96 I think that relay is in a panel under the dash, right about where the driver's knees are.

My 96 didn't have heated glass, but the wiring was all there. I found a switch, a defrost control relay, and the glass at a wrecking yard, plugged them in and it works great. You'll want to find the relay used because they are very expensive new (hundreds of dollars).

There should be no need to remove the headliner. My glass connections were under the rear hatch trim panel, the relay plugs in under the dash, above my right leg and the switch connector was in the dash to the left of the steering column. I might have had to add a fuse too, I can't remember.

Anak said:

Another comparison, and again, not apples to apples, but my '96 Sport 5 speed with manual windows/locks does have heated rear glass.

My guess is that your wiring is there, but I would check for it just to be sure before I spent any money on a new back window.

Note that in addition to the switch and the glass you may also need the special relay for the defrost circuit. If I recall correctly it is a red relay. It has a timeout function built into it. On the other hand, if you already have the red relay in place that would be a good indication that this job will be plug and play. On my '96 I think that relay is in a panel under the dash, right about where the driver's knees are.

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Thank you very much for the advice! I'll definitely be doing some checking this evening!

jabinco said:

My 96 didn't have heated glass, but the wiring was all there. I found a switch, a defrost control relay, and the glass at a wrecking yard, plugged them in and it works great. You'll want to find the relay used because they are very expensive new (hundreds of dollars) ........ There should be no need to remove the headliner. My glass connections were under the rear hatch trim panel, the relay plugs in under the dash, above my right leg and the switch connector was in the dash to the left of the steering column. I might have had to add a fuse too, I can't remember.

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This is EXACTLY the information I needed! :clap: Thank you very much! :cheers: I will let everyone know what I find tonight.

As it turns out I do not have a relay, switch, or the heated glass.. I took the dash apart and found a connector (not plugged in to anything) that I can only assume is for the defrost switch.. I will be going this week to pull as much stuff as I can find from the junk yard. I think I'll be searching for a complete hatch, dash switch, and relay.

Thanks for the help everyone!

XJ_eep said:

As it turns out I do not have a relay, switch, or the heated glass.. I took the dash apart and found a connector (not plugged in to anything) that I can only assume is for the defrost switch.. I will be going this week to pull as much stuff as I can find from the junk yard. I think I'll be searching for a complete hatch, dash switch, and relay.

Thanks for the help everyone!

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I would not worry about a hatch to much. Doing a rear window in a '96 and down appears to be nothing like a '97 and up. In a '96 and down more like doing a cargo bay window. Easy to remove and replace by yourself. Unlike when I changed all my glass in my '00 to privacy glass I might have been able to do the rear window myself but had my glass guy do it. It is a little more involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPrzggWBKsc

Ralph77 said:

I would not worry about a hatch to much. Doing a rear window in a '96 and down appears to be nothing like a '97 and up. In a '96 and down more like doing a cargo bay window. Easy to remove and replace by yourself. Unlike when I changed all my glass in my '00 to privacy glass I might have been able to do the rear window myself but had my glass guy do it. It is a little more involved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPrzggWBKsc

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Thank you for that information! I've been a part of replacing the rear glass on a 97+ and wanted nothing to do with that again.. this however, like the cargo windows, doesn't appear to be too difficult..

Now for the fun part.. :eyes: finding the parts!

Thanks again everyone!

XJ_eep said:

Thank you for that information! I've been a part of replacing the rear glass on a 97+ and wanted nothing to do with that again.. this however, like the cargo windows, doesn't appear to be too difficult..

Now for the fun part.. :eyes: finding the parts!

Thanks again everyone!

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The PO of my '00 had put cheap aftermarket tints in. They turned purple. Bugged the hell out of me. I priced getting them removed and having new tints put in. Think it was $200. Might have been $250. Was awhile ago so I can't remember for sure. Anyway I was able to score Factory Privacy Glass, which is what Jeep calls there tinted glass, from the boneyard for $200. I did the rear doors and the cargo bay glass but had my glass guy do the hatch glass. $100 to him to remove it from the boneyard Jeep, remove mine, and install the glass from the boneyard Jeep in mine. Plus $33 for a new rubber molding. As much as I like to try and do my own work, save a couple bucks, bragging rights, etc, sometimes it is just better to let an expert handle certain things.

Do not forget to bring a meter with you when looking for the glass. You want to check for continuity of the rear defogger ribbon. Just put the + on one of the tabs the electrical connector goes on and - on the other to do so.