[ponchonutty]

Been using this product for the area dealerships that have customers not wanting to give up their heater systems. Works great and can be added to vehicles with out the heated system. They have one unit specifically just for GM cars affected in the recall.

http://www.alphathermusa.com/

 

[sailfish]

:thumb: I plan on ordering this after the first of the year.

 

[ponchonutty]

I just odered a crapload for the shop. Can't keep them in stock. I was surprised in how many of these actually were installed in GM vehicles!!!! $100 shipped or $149 installed isn't too bad of a deal!!!!!

 

[ponchonutty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJjjOWZ4-Xg

 

[tsc1969]

Has anyone tried this in an Outlook yet?
Sounds like it plugs in where the old one did and that's it.
Tim C.

 

[lewisr]

Has anyone tried this in an Outlook yet?
Sounds like it plugs in where the old one did and that's it.
Tim C.

There may be a bit more to it if you had the dealer remove the original. My question has always been, what did Alphatherm change on this version? or did they?

 

[ponchonutty]

The GM kit is simply plug and play. The only other thing you need to do is replace the fuse the dealer removed when you had it in for the recall. Now I know on my old unit in my saturn I couldn't run it with a 50amp fuse but with this unit I can. Alphatherm did to major changes to this. First one was they changed the controls for the heater itself. They lowered the temp and also made it control the temp better than the GM design. What was happening was the GM design was getting the fluid way too hot. When you couple that with the alchohol content of the fluid created issues when the GM design over heated the fluid. The other was to make the outside cover more water tight. The GM design allowed a lot of moisture inside and could cause it to corrode inside and arc across the man power and ground terminals.

Yes, I have this installed in my '07 Outlook XR and has been working fine. You can tell the fluid is much lower in temp coming out but it seems to work better in clearing ice and junk off the window.

 

[medicrxdoc]

Alphatherm was the GM OEM supplier for these. There was a lawsuit, bankruptcy and now Alphatherm emerged back to life. Do a google search about it.

Here is a little cut and paste from here: http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/18/report-blame-game-erupts-over-gms-heated-wiper-fluid-recall/
Two year later, GM is recalling another 1.5 million vehicles due to problems it claims are caused by the HotShot. Microheat went bankrupt after that first recall, but the company born from its ashes with the purpose of getting the product back to market, AlphaThermUSA, is still claiming that GM's electrical system is at fault. The only real changes are that lawsuits that both companies have against each other must wait for GM's bankrupt shell, Motors Liquidation Co., to be given the go-ahead for legal proceedings, and that the amounts that each company is trying to recoup have gone up.

 

[ponchonutty]

Yes I found that out as well. The sad thing about all of this is that no one actually knows what is causing these fires. I mean really.... 2.5 million or so vehicles sold there were 41 reported fires. I think that's actually pretty good figures considering the odd electrical issues ALL Gm vehicles have on their own. Heck, not all of these fires had the "hotshot" system installed. I also spoke to the rep of Alphatherm and he stated GM wanted lowered specs to minimize their total investment i.e. make them cheaper. Even so, the jury is still out there. I'm just offering those a way to get their system back to working like it did prior.

.....The NationalHighway Transportation Safety Administration's Office of Defect Investigation received two complaints that a vehicle owner's 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe spontaneously combusted while parked with the engine turned off.

NHTSA soon opened a preliminary investigation requesting that GM provide data about reports of underhood fires in its full-size trucks and SUVs from model years 2006-2008.

In an April 25, 2008, letter to NHTSA, GM said it found 41 reports of underhood fires in nearly 2.5 million vehicles, but “no pattern or trend” as a cause.

Not all of the vehicles that caught on fire were equipped with HotShot.

 

[medicrxdoc]

Nobody wants to admit to anything anymore due to the damages that they could be liable for...I loved my heated WWF. Mine wouldn't work all the time. Something was broke and since the recall, they wouldn't even try to fix it.

Maybe the fires were just mice playing with matches.

 

[lewisr]

The GM kit is simply plug and play.

My understanding from reading these forums is, that in many cases when the dealer removed it they cut wires as well.

 

[tsc1969]

The wires were cut on mine but the cuts were made between the plug and the unit, leaving the vehicle harness intact.
Bythe way, I just ordered the new unit for my vehicle. I will post my results after the install.
Tim C.

My understanding from reading these forums is, that in many cases when the dealer removed it they cut wires as well.

 

[ponchonutty]

Yes, the wires that are cut are on the old heater's side of the plug. This way the dealer completely removes the unit, cuts off the plug that's on the heater, wraps up the wires with tape, then snaps the plug with the cut wires back on to the car.

 

[ponchonutty]

BTW, here's an email I got from one of the owners of Alphatherm


.......I read this article. It is from June 18th. After GM announced the recall, there were thousands of articles like this. Every blog and rag in the industry was repeating each others stories. XXXXX's email message left out the most important part of the article. The last paragraph of the article states: In the meantime, the South Koreans might be the first to get the redesigned HotShot system: AlphaThermUSA has licensed the technology to KCW, which will begin producing it for Korean automakers next year. The critical word in that sentence is "redesigned". The reasons the Koreans are working with us is that we are a different company, with a different product.

What is with XXXXX's opening statement: Hey, I thought this was a different company???? The above paragraph clearly indicates we are different. Did XXXXX ever look at our website?
We are a different company, but we don't hide where are patents come from. AlphaTherms website has a page dedicated to the history of heated wash including the past with GM and the HotShot. The web site includes a 24 page document outlining the changes AlphaTherm made to the original HotShot. The website goes on to say that AlphaTherm submitted this data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to avoid being linked to the GM recall. Everything is out in the open.......

 

[tsc1969]

I just finished installing the AlphaTherm unit into my 08' Outlook. Installation was simple, considering it connected right to the factory harness and the factory bracket. It works great!! :thumb:
Tim C.

 

[ponchonutty]

Glad you got it! Just used the heck out of mine tonight!!!!

 

[ponchonutty]

Glad you like it! Like I've told others this isn't something I personally would be using a lot since I have a heated garage but there will be a time I wish I had it. Funny thing is that shortly I installed it, it got real cold as I drove and got a decent amount of ice build up on the wipers. With the vehicle warmed up and at a stop I hit the heated washer system and about a minute later they were almost ice free and working a lot better.