diff --git a/browser/base/content/browser.js b/browser/base/content/browser.js
index a172251baa8b..e84fb05ed117 100644
--- a/browser/base/content/browser.js
+++ b/browser/base/content/browser.js
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ const MAX_HISTORY_MENU_ITEMS = 15;
 // We use this once, for Clear Private Data
 const GLUE_CID = "@mozilla.org/browser/browserglue;1";
 
-var gURIFixup = null;
 var gCharsetMenu = null;
 var gLastBrowserCharset = null;
 var gPrevCharset = null;
@@ -1966,37 +1965,25 @@ function checkForDirectoryListing()
   }
 }
 
-function URLBarSetURI(aURI) {
+function URLBarSetURI(aURI, aValid) {
   var value = gBrowser.userTypedValue;
-  var state = "invalid";
+  var valid = false;
 
   if (!value) {
-    if (aURI) {
-      // If the url has "wyciwyg://" as the protocol, strip it off.
-      // Nobody wants to see it on the urlbar for dynamically generated
-      // pages.
-      if (!gURIFixup)
-        gURIFixup = Cc["@mozilla.org/docshell/urifixup;1"]
-                      .getService(Ci.nsIURIFixup);
-      try {
-        aURI = gURIFixup.createExposableURI(aURI);
-      } catch (ex) {}
-    } else {
-      aURI = getWebNavigation().currentURI;
-    }
+    let uri = aURI || getWebNavigation().currentURI;
 
-    if (aURI.spec == "about:blank") {
-      // Replace "about:blank" with an empty string
-      // only if there's no opener (bug 370555).
-      value = content.opener ? aURI.spec : "";
-    } else {
-      value = losslessDecodeURI(aURI);
-      state = "valid";
-    }
+    // Replace "about:blank" with an empty string
+    // only if there's no opener (bug 370555).
+    if (uri.spec == "about:blank")
+      value = content.opener ? "about:blank" : "";
+    else
+      value = losslessDecodeURI(uri);
+
+    valid = value && (!aURI || aValid);
   }
 
   gURLBar.value = value;
-  SetPageProxyState(state);
+  SetPageProxyState(valid ? "valid" : "invalid");
 }
 
 function losslessDecodeURI(aURI) {
@@ -3756,6 +3743,11 @@ var XULBrowserWindow = {
     delete this.isImage;
     return this.isImage = document.getElementById("isImage");
   },
+  get _uriFixup () {
+    delete this._uriFixup;
+    return this._uriFixup = Cc["@mozilla.org/docshell/urifixup;1"]
+                              .getService(Ci.nsIURIFixup);
+  },
 
   init: function () {
     this.throbberElement = document.getElementById("navigator-throbber");
@@ -4013,8 +4005,15 @@ var XULBrowserWindow = {
         gBrowser.setIcon(gBrowser.mCurrentTab, null);
 
       if (gURLBar) {
-        URLBarSetURI(aLocationURI);
-        PlacesStarButton.updateState(); // Update starring UI
+        // Strip off "wyciwyg://" and passwords for the location bar
+        let uri = aLocationURI;
+        try {
+          uri = this._uriFixup.createExposableURI(uri);
+        } catch (e) {}
+        URLBarSetURI(uri, true);
+
+        // Update starring UI
+        PlacesStarButton.updateState();
       }
 
       FullZoom.onLocationChange(aLocationURI);
@@ -4221,22 +4220,26 @@ var XULBrowserWindow = {
     // clear out search-engine data
     gBrowser.mCurrentBrowser.engines = null;    
 
-    const nsIChannel = Components.interfaces.nsIChannel;
-    var urlStr = aRequest.QueryInterface(nsIChannel).URI.spec;
-    var observerService = Components.classes["@mozilla.org/observer-service;1"]
-                                    .getService(Components.interfaces.nsIObserverService);
+    var uri = aRequest.QueryInterface(Ci.nsIChannel).URI;
+    var observerService = Cc["@mozilla.org/observer-service;1"]
+                            .getService(Ci.nsIObserverService);
+
+    if (gURLBar &&
+        gURLBar.value == "" &&
+        getWebNavigation().currentURI.spec == "about:blank")
+      URLBarSetURI(uri);
+
     try {
-      observerService.notifyObservers(content, "StartDocumentLoad", urlStr);
+      observerService.notifyObservers(content, "StartDocumentLoad", uri.spec);
     } catch (e) {
     }
   },
 
   endDocumentLoad: function (aRequest, aStatus) {
-    const nsIChannel = Components.interfaces.nsIChannel;
-    var urlStr = aRequest.QueryInterface(nsIChannel).originalURI.spec;
+    var urlStr = aRequest.QueryInterface(Ci.nsIChannel).originalURI.spec;
 
-    var observerService = Components.classes["@mozilla.org/observer-service;1"]
-                                    .getService(Components.interfaces.nsIObserverService);
+    var observerService = Cc["@mozilla.org/observer-service;1"]
+                            .getService(Ci.nsIObserverService);
 
     var notification = Components.isSuccessCode(aStatus) ? "EndDocumentLoad" : "FailDocumentLoad";
     try {