Windshield Repair Forum

Can these be repaired?

What has happened?
Give DK a call and ask for help.

Lighter element not heating. Want to take it apart to test but noticed manufacturer used a funky set screw which requires a special bit. Could be lighter plug but that's a rivet sealed item also. Guess I'll just have to cut wires to test. I would call Delta but not sure it's appropriate since I didn't purchase it from them. Thanks

Chances are the wires are broken where it connects to the 12v plug,thats what happened to mine.
I couldn't see any way to open the plug to re-attach the wires so I stripped them and connected them directly
to my battery.

Starbrite wrote:Lighter element not heating. Want to take it apart to test but noticed manufacturer used a funky set screw which requires a special bit. Could be lighter plug but that's a rivet sealed item also. Guess I'll just have to cut wires to test. I would call Delta but not sure it's appropriate since I didn't purchase it from them. Thanks

DK will offer help, regardless where or when you purchased your product.

More often than not the contacts just need to be cleaned. This can usually be accomplished without taking everything apart, however it may void your warranty so I would only suggest this if you are outside the warranty period. I'll e-mail you the instructions for this procedure. If that doesn't work give us a call. We can generally repair the Dry Star for a reasonable fee, or we can sell you a refurbished tool for a very good price if you need a replacement right away.

If you are still within the warranty period you should send it back to the retailer or manufacturer.

Most 12v plugs have a fuse inside. There's usually a finger nut around the spring loaded tip.

Thanks Brent, unscrewed the push button (which I was unaware could be unscrewed) and saturated with electronic contact cleaner. After pushing the stem a dozens times and let dry out....it worked again. My DryStar is probably 7 years old, so I would imagine things clog up or become dirty during that duration. In the future I will do this every 6-8 months as a preventative measure. As a side note...I really wish this was designed with a switch instead of a button.

No problem. I'm glad you got it working. I don't think the buttons on the newer models unscrew so for anyone else having this problem I would recommend accessing the contact points through the end of the tool.

How clean the points stay depends on how you use and store your tool. Contact cleaner works well for cleaning if the contact points are not too corroded, but you may have to carefully file or scrape the points if the build up is more significant.

A word of caution concerning drystar. Don't leave it plugged into your battery pack when not in use. Mine was and when loading up stuff in my car I layed some things on top of it by accident and the button was depressed, nearly causing a fire in my vehicle. Dryster is a great piece of equipment but should always be unplugged when not being used.