I decided to take a shot at adding a seat heater to the driver's seat after studying Vasy's most excellent video How-To. This video is a must see if you are even mildly interested in this project - especially as winter is upon us!
I selected a single seat kit from Dorman on Amazon. It has everything you need - though I suggest a TON of zipties should be in your shopping list.
It's easiest to get the seat all the way out of the car. This was nice because I could sit on the living room floor and watch TV while working on this.
Remove the caps that cover the 4 seat bolts:
Remove the seat bolts.
Be careful about tilting the unbolted seat since the wiring harness will need to be disconnected.
There are a series of slide clips, tabs and zippers that fasten the seat fabric to the foam and the seat frame.
I cut off the hog rings with a pair of diagonal cutters. A leap of faith is needed here - I placed the seat cover stays (plastic rods) over the heating element pad. I'm sure there is a reliability impact to the elements.
I used up a lot of time filing down the sharp cut tips of the plastic stays. This reduces the damage the sharp edges could cause on the heating elements - also reduces snagging as the cover is reinstalled. With some careful arrangement, the cover can be secured in a flat-as-factory position - if you rush it, the seat cover will look bunched up.
I used zip ties to reattach selected stay connection points around the heating pad.
This is a shot of the backrest seat cover. Similar approach - cut hog rings and test fit the pad. Once you are happy with the location, you simply peel and stick the heating pad.
I chose to place the switch on the left side within a switch blank. I simply drilled a hole to match the switch body and popped it in. Vasy's location looks perfectly factory on the center console by the cupholders. But because my wife usually places her purse there, the switch would be activated unintentionally or damaged.
Wiring was routed next to the seat wiring harness under the carpet. Then I ran the wiring up the left kick panel to the dash.
I had to extend the 12V+ wire to get it over to the fuse box. I used a convenient fuse tap kit for the 12V+ lead and a dash mount screw for the Ground wire.
High position switch make the seat crazy hot - it ramps FAST during a cold morning. This is a great boost before the engine warms up the car heater.
Low is more comfortable for me.
Adding the seat heater to the driver's seat is mostly for my wife's benefit. So I don't think I will add this to the other seats.
But it does give me an idea for my friend's ski boat - wouldn't it be nice to have this in the boat seats for those chilly ski runs?!
I selected a single seat kit from Dorman on Amazon. It has everything you need - though I suggest a TON of zipties should be in your shopping list.
It's easiest to get the seat all the way out of the car. This was nice because I could sit on the living room floor and watch TV while working on this.
Remove the caps that cover the 4 seat bolts:
Remove the seat bolts.
Be careful about tilting the unbolted seat since the wiring harness will need to be disconnected.
There are a series of slide clips, tabs and zippers that fasten the seat fabric to the foam and the seat frame.
I cut off the hog rings with a pair of diagonal cutters. A leap of faith is needed here - I placed the seat cover stays (plastic rods) over the heating element pad. I'm sure there is a reliability impact to the elements.
I used up a lot of time filing down the sharp cut tips of the plastic stays. This reduces the damage the sharp edges could cause on the heating elements - also reduces snagging as the cover is reinstalled. With some careful arrangement, the cover can be secured in a flat-as-factory position - if you rush it, the seat cover will look bunched up.
I used zip ties to reattach selected stay connection points around the heating pad.
This is a shot of the backrest seat cover. Similar approach - cut hog rings and test fit the pad. Once you are happy with the location, you simply peel and stick the heating pad.
I chose to place the switch on the left side within a switch blank. I simply drilled a hole to match the switch body and popped it in. Vasy's location looks perfectly factory on the center console by the cupholders. But because my wife usually places her purse there, the switch would be activated unintentionally or damaged.
Wiring was routed next to the seat wiring harness under the carpet. Then I ran the wiring up the left kick panel to the dash.
I had to extend the 12V+ wire to get it over to the fuse box. I used a convenient fuse tap kit for the 12V+ lead and a dash mount screw for the Ground wire.
High position switch make the seat crazy hot - it ramps FAST during a cold morning. This is a great boost before the engine warms up the car heater.
Low is more comfortable for me.
Adding the seat heater to the driver's seat is mostly for my wife's benefit. So I don't think I will add this to the other seats.
But it does give me an idea for my friend's ski boat - wouldn't it be nice to have this in the boat seats for those chilly ski runs?!
