Heated Seats Quick/Easy Fix!

[Sign Guy]

Originally Posted by campbell

Just to make sure... I clip the red and black, then join the four into one right?

No, you join the red and black together. The ones that did go into the seat base.

[Sign Guy]

The fuse upgrade and the HOT seat panel was what got me thinking that all might not be well. As for 1 OHM wouldn't that indicate a broken wire. And the element would not heat at all. The reading I got on both seats for the resistance was .8-.9 ohms.

Anybody out there with both the elements working mind taking a reading on the main connector going into the seats? It is easy, just pull the carpet back from under the rear of the center console and the plugs are on either left or right.


I had to add in the red wire as it was not in the pic. You can also see where I stripped back the sheath to get better access to the wires.

[Sign Guy]

I meant the red wire coming out of the seat cushion was added b/c it was not in the pic.

[Sign Guy]

Nevermind the 1 OHM comment, .8-.9 is pretty darn close to 1, my() Voltmeter reads 1 at the far left when there is no connection. So if my resistance reading is correct then why would I be pulling more amperage than I should??

[daway]

Originally Posted by Sign Guy

Nevermind the 1 OHM comment, .8-.9 is pretty darn close to 1, my() Voltmeter reads 1 at the far left when there is no connection. So if my resistance reading is correct then why would I be pulling more amperage than I should??

that's a good reading (.8-.9). do u still have fuse 25 in? have u tried to put fuse 20 in then see what happens? is that pic taken from the side?

[Sign Guy]

That pic is taken with the camera on the floor board behind the passenger seat looking forward. You can see the retaining clip in the top portion of the picture. I can run either the passenger or the driver with 20 amp fuse in, just not both.

Sven, you've been running this mod for a while, do your seats get to a certain temp and then modulate or do you just switch them off after they have been on for a while?

[8895rrc]

Cool idea

Basic electrics:

If the 2 heating elements are wired in series then doing this would subject the upper element 2 twice the normal voltage, more current and thus, more heat. This seems to be the case here. A resistor would have to match or be close to the wattage of the element to replace the missing wattage of the lower half. It would have to be a fairly big resistor like the ones used on old VWs to convert the original 6V system to 12V. Another way would be to go to a higher value resistor which will dissipate less heat but the seat will not get as hot.

I will try this and measure the amp draw of the element to find the needed value of the resistor.
I would just use it as is and turn the switch off when it gets too hot. Also don't run the passenger and driver at the same time. Don't change the fuse, you might melt wires!

Thanks for this idea!

[daway]

Originally Posted by 8895rrc

Cool idea

Basic electrics:

If the 2 heating elements are wired in series then doing this would subject the upper element 2 twice the normal voltage, more current and thus, more heat. This seems to be the case here. A resistor would have to match or be close to the wattage of the element to replace the missing wattage of the lower half. It would have to be a fairly big resistor like the ones used on old VWs to convert the original 6V system to 12V. Another way would be to go to a higher value resistor which will dissipate less heat but the seat will not get as hot.

I will try this and measure the amp draw of the element to find the needed value of the resistor.
I would just use it as is and turn the switch off when it gets too hot. Also don't run the passenger and driver at the same time. Don't change the fuse, you might melt wires!

Thanks for this idea!

let us know what u come up w/! still cold up here and waiting to warm up to the 30's. but i guess this is good to wait and see what resistor u come up w/. my dad also said it would not b a good idea to up the fuse. do u think there is away to run the drivers and pass side at the same time?

[ohiorover]

I fixed my heated seat problem with another option. Moved to Miami. No tools required, but the offroading sucks.

[8895rrc]

Originally Posted by daway

do u think there is away to run the drivers and pass side at the same time?

Yes, the resistors on both seats would limit the total current. I might get to this tomorrow and will then post a update.

A.

[daway]

Originally Posted by 8895rrc

Yes, the resistors on both seats would limit the total current. I might get to this tomorrow and will then post a update.

A.

any updates?

[Sign Guy]

What if you ran the passenger and drivers seat in series? Would that accomplish what we want? The drivers and passenger seat would be controlled by the drivers side switch but the load on the circuit "should" be close to the same as a seat back and cushion. It would be an easy (hah!, haven't I heard that b/f) fix until we get the right resistor figured out. Any thoughts???

[8895rrc]

I have not gotten arrount to doing my homework on my seats yet. but I was thinking of that too. That should definitely work and be probably much easier and cheaper (free) then resistors. Only problems is negotiating with the wife about heat or no heat

[Sign Guy]

Finally had a chance to run the seats in series and it works great! Put the 20 amp fuse back in and no problems. I think they may even be kicking in and out once to temp. I used a shielded spade connector to create the circuit on the connector going into the passenger seat and then ran wire from the drivers side where I had previously cut and spliced the wires and connected them with the same on the passenger side and put everything back. Took about ten minutes.

[daway]

Originally Posted by Sign Guy

Finally had a chance to run the seats in series and it works great! Put the 20 amp fuse back in and no problems. I think they may even be kicking in and out once to temp. I used a shielded spade connector to create the circuit on the connector going into the passenger seat and then ran wire from the drivers side where I had previously cut and spliced the wires and connected them with the same on the passenger side and put everything back. Took about ten minutes.

thanks for the info. with the set up above, can u control the heat in the seats w/ both drivers and passagers side heated seat switch or does both come on w/ one switch?
thanks again