Heated seats...series 1

[andrewh]

Chaps, I have been asked by a friend who suffers from a bad back whether I Can arrange for his car to have heated seats fitted! I know its possible to buy kits that fit under the leather and above the foam, but from the information I have got so far, the pads are too long for the series one seats. I had heard that its possible to either fold the heating pads on top of each other or even cut them to suit. Its way beyond my experience but I like to help if I can so, if anyone with a greater knowledge on the subject can help I would be grateful .
Haven't even thought of the issues of powering them! Presumably he will need to fit a new fuse box and perhaps a relay.

[kingzetts]

Andrew,
You don't specify whether you are asking about 3.8 S1 fixed back buckets or the 4.2 S1 recliners.

I have fitted seat heating to 3.8 buckets perfectly successfully, and also to my MX5 seats, so I'm pretty sure it can be done for 4.2 recliners also. I fitted the heating to the 3.8 seats myself, I had my trimmer fit the MX5 elements when he did those seats.

I used the Waeco MSH60 kit (e.g. http://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan- ... -seat-kit/) in both cases (or maybe an earlier version of this - whatever was sold back then). The pads fit under the seat upholstery so you have to be brave enough to remove the outer covers - mine were done during a seat retrim.

I ran a power line (fused) from battery to a relay behind the dash which I switched via the ignition circuit so the seats could not be left on accidentally.

I also (H&S zealots look away now) wired out the thermostatic cutouts in the elements as the seat upholstery was too thick - the elements were switching off too early and never warmed the seat enough. I did carry out extensive tests with a thermocouple to check this did not lead to excessive temperatures within the seat. I also rewired things (with diodes) so that "low" on the switch used the more powerful element, and "high" used both elements together, again to get decent heat output.

Current draw is moderate - 4 amps per seat with both elements in use.

Results are good - not quite as effective as the OEM in my wife's Porsche but pretty good. Keeps you snug on a cold morning with the top down.

[Jaglex]

The heating fitted easily to the seats in my Ser. 1.5 OTS.
But I used them only once: when driving up to the North Cape top down. In May it was a still a little bit chilly in the fjell...

[andrewh]

Thanks guys. It's for a 4.2 apologies. The problem would appear to be that the pads available are too long for the e type seat. Some say you can cut the pads down but I have no experience of these at all.

[Jaglex]

The elements I know can be cut in one direction. So you have to decide either to shorten the element or to make it narrower. And they are available in many sizes and forms.