The wire that the plate plugs into on the rear window came off so I went to my local auto parts and picked up a repair kit. The defroster worked for a little while then stopped so I took it to my local Chevy dealer to see if something else could be wrong and they looked at and checked to see if there was any contact with the plate and the grid and they told me the glue melted and that there was no contact between the plate and the grid. They said I would have to get the rear window replaced. Is this true? That there isn't any other fix for this. This 5 min check cost me $45.00 plus tax. It still hurts when I bend over.

Dave

Place a small strip of metal on top of the plate to hold it down, and glue the ends of the metal strip to the glass out away from the electrical contact (and away from the heat). The dealership doesn't fix parts, it replaces parts.

The metal plate is still glued to the rear window. I don't understand what you mean.

Sounds like Roy has done this before so he should be able to help..you!

In My situation I had the similar problem and phoned around to local glass companies to see if they knew of anyone who does repairs to the rear defogger /connections etc.
Eventually I did find one and am happy to report that it still works. They have some sort of special commercial grade electrical resin bond they used, that is so strong.
Mine was clean before they did it, without any previous attempt at repair though.

Moved to SUV/ Truck thread.

What always worked for me was apply some solder to the mounting plate. Clean the window, while holding the plate with needle nose pliers, apply some heat to the plate and the solder should bond to the grid. Btw Not all dealers are parts changers.

The DIY kits are not a good fix. I like what Greg recommended.
I am wondering how well the solder will stick after a DIY repair though..
Cleanliness is going to be everything with soldering.

On those repair kits, the glue is only good if enough of the metal/contact area is still on the glass.....if it isn't, then they don't work or don't last long......

I would try an auto glass company for this repair...otherwise, you end up buying a new glass.....