Heated seat resistance !

[Andyp38]

Now the colder days are with us ive decided to get on and sort out why my heated seats dont function
Well today i tested the resistance of the base and back heated elements of both front seats,and only the nearside base element has any !!
So my question to those in the know is, has anyone any idea where the break in the back heated element could be ?
And can anyone tell me how hard it is to get at the upright/back element ?
I'm expecting to find a break in the heated base element in the usual place, but i also intend to fit the uprated thermal switch (Heated Seat Temperature Upgrade on Range Rover 4.0/4.6) before putting it back together.

Ive been through the search engine on here and couldnt find it,but i'm sure someone said that they also couldnt get a resistance reading from the heating element that your back rests against. Does anyone remember reading that or am i cracking up :doh:

Oh and yes i do have the power supply to the seats from the switch

Apart from the rangerovers.net article,has anyone any other links/pics to doing this seat repair ?

Cheers Andy..

 

[lanmjdun]

Sounds like you have identified a fault, so now there's nothing to do but roll your sleeves up and take the seats apart to fix it. The article on RR.net is the best, it works well. The break, usually in the seat base, is easy to spot and fix, the pain is getting the seat apart. I did mine in a leisurely 3 hours for one seat.

 

[Mike v.t.s]

I'm expecting to find a break in the heated base element in the usual place,

Hi, im thinkin of fixin my driver heated seat soooo ive got a daft question, where is the common place they break?? i no i should just roll my sleeves up and get on with it but it would help me a tad, thanks to any1 who no's.

 

[Canyon]

Although the writeup on rangerovers.net is very good, I have read elsewhere that the hog rings are the most difficult to replace, instead you can use cable ties which in effect do the same job, and can save a lot of time and swearing. I guess if you want to do it with the metal hog rings you can get the correct hog pliers from ebay for about 6 quid.
I need to do mine too....I'm putting it off because of all the gubbins under the seat!?
I need to take advice on what sort of cable to use- does it have to be solid cable or stranded etc, also how do i make the connections? ( cable connectors or solder?)
If anyone on here has done this job properly and has lasted, then please post up any tips!

TIA

Now the colder days are with us ive decided to get on and sort out why my heated seats dont function
Well today i tested the resistance of the base and back heated elements of both front seats,and only the nearside base element has any !!
So my question to those in the know is, has anyone any idea where the break in the back heated element could be ?
And can anyone tell me how hard it is to get at the upright/back element ?
I'm expecting to find a break in the heated base element in the usual place, but i also intend to fit the uprated thermal switch (Heated Seat Temperature Upgrade on Range Rover 4.0/4.6) before putting it back together.

Ive been through the search engine on here and couldnt find it,but i'm sure someone said that they also couldnt get a resistance reading from the heating element that your back rests against. Does anyone remember reading that or am i cracking up :doh:

Oh and yes i do have the power supply to the seats from the switch

Apart from the rangerovers.net article,has anyone any other links/pics to doing this seat repair ?

Cheers Andy..

 

[garioch43]

Andy,

You probably know this, but you can get a complete kit on ebay and use the bits you need. Probably much less expensive than OEM parts.

WAECO HEATED SEAT KIT (RETRO FIT KIT FOR 2 SEATS) on eBay (end time 24-Nov-10 22:07:33 GMT)

 

[Andyp38]

Well i did the heated seat base bypass this afternoon so i could get my one working heat pad working,pretty straight forward.
Heated Seat Repair Operations

Word of warning here, man does it heat up quick when done
I had drove about half a mile with the heated seat on before checking,and had to quickly pull over as i thought i was going to set the seat on fire
It got that hot, that quickly !!
Because the thermostat had been bypassed in the lower seat base

Both heated pads in the drivers seat are not working though,so that will be the first to get a proper repair.
Here is the link to where i hope to get the uprated seat thermostat.
Temperature Regulators | Digi-Key

 

[Andyp38]

Andy,

You probably know this, but you can get a complete kit on ebay and use the bits you need. Probably much less expensive than OEM parts.

WAECO HEATED SEAT KIT (RETRO FIT KIT FOR 2 SEATS) on eBay (end time 24-Nov-10 22:07:33 GMT)

Thanks for that, i didnt see it on ebay but i have it saved now
Has anyone fitted one of these kits ?
I see they want £35 for each thermostat to go with it,but i cant see why one of digi keys £10 thermostat couldnt be used instead !

 

[Rangey-V8]

I have repaired my driver seat last year, but wih I'd put a hotter thermostat in as they are not hot enough, so I might buy two and do the passenger and driver again.

OK, the break is easy to spot and will be where the heater element goes over a gutter in the seat. The seat base has a front heater arrangement and then a rear one (just one long wire, but its divided up). The wires break where they run over the gutter in the foam, just add a small amout of wire, like 2" and solder it up, its easy to repair, but make sure you allow more wire so its not under pressure and will not break again.

The hog rings are not that bad to get off and put back on, 2 pairs of pliers will do the job. I'm a professional upholsterer and even I didnt have any hog ring pliers when I did the job.

 

[kooky_guy]

I have repaired my driver seat last year, but wih I'd put a hotter thermostat in as they are not hot enough, so I might buy two and do the passenger and driver again.

OK, the break is easy to spot and will be where the heater element goes over a gutter in the seat. The seat base has a front heater arrangement and then a rear one (just one long wire, but its divided up). The wires break where they run over the gutter in the foam, just add a small amout of wire, like 2" and solder it up, its easy to repair, but make sure you allow more wire so its not under pressure and will not break again.

The hog rings are not that bad to get off and put back on, 2 pairs of pliers will do the job. I'm a professional upholsterer and even I didnt have any hog ring pliers when I did the job.

What sort of wire did you use to bridge the gap? Nobody ever seems to mention this.

Guy

 

[fanatic]

you could use an un insulated crimp possibly

 

[Canyon]

Just getting my tools together, how long does that long Torx driver have to be. Can someone please have a quick measure please?
I'm just planning to using normal lighting cable, just one of the cores will do it I think.

I was thinking if it was an easy addition to add the memory function to the seats?

 

[Mike v.t.s]

The wires break where they run over the gutter in the foam, just add a small amout of wire, like 2" and solder it up, its easy to repair, but make sure you allow more wire so its not under pressure and will not break again.

The hog rings are not that bad to get off and put back on, 2 pairs of pliers will do the job. I'm a professional upholsterer and even I didnt have any hog ring pliers when I did the job.

Ermmm, how much would you charge me to do this repair...

 

[Rangey-V8]

It's not hard, you can do it. Bit busy with my business manufacturing leather headboards to start jobs like this.

I only had some speaker wire to hand when I did mine, all fine.

 

[Canyon]

anyone?

Just getting my tools together, how long does that long Torx driver have to be?

Can someone please have a quick measure please?

I'm just planning to using normal lighting cable, just one of the cores will do it I think.

I was thinking if it was an easy addition to add the memory function to the seats?

 

[Canyon]

Just found this part as the one from digi-key are out of stock ( 45 degree C) and its 12quid shipping!!
anyway i found a similar thing here- please can someone confirm that it is ok to use this as an alternative ( these come in 10 degree steps so either its 40 or 50 Degrees) which one is best suited??

Elmwood | Process Control | Sensors and Transducers | Temperature Sensors | Thermal Switches

 

[lanmjdun]

OK, the break is easy to spot and will be where the heater element goes over a gutter in the seat. The seat base has a front heater arrangement and then a rear one (just one long wire, but its divided up). The wires break where they run over the gutter in the foam, just add a small amout of wire, like 2" and solder it up, its easy to repair, but make sure you allow more wire so its not under pressure and will not break again

I had break in the same spot, any bit of wire will do, think I put some PVC tape over it after soldering it together. The hog rings are a pain, but when I think back the fabric which holds the wires in place was ripping too, basically the whole seat was coming apart, so it may not be as tight when put back together.

Can't really advise getting a repair kit, when fixing a broken wire is next to free. My repair has lasted over a year now.

 

[Andyp38]

Just found this part as the one from digi-key are out of stock ( 45 degree C) and its 12quid shipping!!
anyway i found a similar thing here- please can someone confirm that it is ok to use this as an alternative ( these come in 10 degree steps so either its 40 or 50 Degrees) which one is best suited??

Elmwood | Process Control | Sensors and Transducers | Temperature Sensors | Thermal Switches

I would go for the 50 degree celcius item.
But when i tried to order just two,it said i had to have a minimum of 25.
And i havent got that many seats in my rangey :doh:

Ive emailed a couple companies on ebay to see if they would sell me just two,just waiting for a reply now.

 

[Canyon]

You can order one, just remove the a at the end of the part number. 50 degrees sounds hot to me, does anyone know what the original one is?

I would go for the 50 degree celcius item.
But when i tried to order just two,it said i had to have a minimum of 25.
And i havent got that many seats in my rangey :doh:

Ive emailed a couple companies on ebay to see if they would sell me just two,just waiting for a reply now.

 

[Lone_Wolf]

Both seat bases are OC on my RR so I did the bypass trick so they would at least half work. Have bought a pair of replacement base elements from Rimmer Bros and a hogring tool with new rings.

Had I not had an issue with the EAS this week I would have started work on the seats. Now the EAS issue is sorted I can plan on doing the seats. I doubt I'll use the hogring tool much going forward, but I hate not having the right tool for the job. If any of you guy's are local to me I'll gladly lone you the hogring pliers after I've done my seats.

LW

 

[Andyp38]

5 pcs Temperature Controlled Switch Thermostat 45℃(N.O) on eBay (end time 09-Dec-10 15:31:36 GMT)

This is the thermostat ive ordered,just have to be patient now as the delivery speed may take a while. As in up to a month

Still, cutting in at 95f and out at 113f should keep my butt toasty if it works