Heated seats from other cars?

[Countax]

Now the colder weather is approaching i would like to fit heater pads to my P38, which has cold leather seats, but no heater elements installed. I know its possible to buy aftermarket heater pads, but they are quite expensive.

I was wondering if anyone had found a particular make of car that uses easily removable pads that i could look out for on auction sites or scrap yards.

Thx,

Nigel

[disco_al]

late model ford scorpios used them, and IIRC they are quite easy to remove and wire up.

you can pick up a complete 2.9 v6 cosworth for a couple of hundred sheets, break it and sell the engine on for anything upto £400. job done

[David Sparkes]

Cars are Volvos, or Saabs, but it's Volvos I've had experience of.

The advantage of these is that they are cold climate cars, they have been through the learning process that UK manufacturers are still struggling through, and they only accept designs that work reliably, so scrapyard sourced items will still work. 38A versions, OTOH, fail within 3 or 4 years, although I'm out of touch with later versions.

Pads are easily removed from scrapyard cars because you take a craft knife with a new sharp blade with you.

Cut through the seat base cushion cover right at the edge, where the side panel is attached to the base panel.

The feed wires will exist along the rear edge, so you can start cutting on the sides and front without a problem.

You may have a little more difficulty with the wiring underneath the seats, as there will be wiring to the seat occupancy switch (part of any seat belt warning light system) as well as the heater pad wiring.

Note there are two panels, one in the base, the other in the back. They may be joined at the plug connecting to the car wiring, or they may have separate plugs.

The difficult bit is installing them in your seats, as you have to remove the cushion covers without the aid of your sharp knife. You may find yourself buying Hog Ring Pliers, or small tie wraps to use instead of Hog Rings. Don't be stingy with the tie wraps, I'd estimate more than 12, less than 24, per seat base.

Your car didn't have heated seats originally, so the buttons won't exist on the HEVAC panel (unless you are changing that at the same time), so you will have to devise your own method of control. The seat base heating pads have an integral, non-adjustable, thermostat.

Have fun.

[GBMUD]

Pads are easily removed from scrapyard cars because you take a craft knife with a new sharp blade with you.

Cut through the seat base cushion cover right at the edge, where the side panel is attached to the base panel.

The feed wires will exist along the rear edge, so you can start cutting on the sides and front without a problem.

I would caution anyone planning to attempt this to have permission from the scrap yard owner before you start cutting into car seats as he will no doubt want to charge you for the whole unsaleable seat after you have destroyed it - that is, if he does not just thump you.

Chris

[David Sparkes]

I find a lot depends on whether the scrapyard is processing the cars for spare parts, in which case I agree with Chris, or whether the cars are being processed for scrap metal, and selling bits and pieces is a sideline. In my experience these dealers aren't too bothered about incidental damage. Perhaps it's partly because the majority of cars are time expired (worn out), rather than the newer accident damaged cars I see in the typical 'spare part' yard.

In the original enquiry the poster was looking for an easy life. I don't equate this to buying an alternative seat and creating an adaptor mounting to put it in a 38A, thus dismantling the seat in an easy way was appropriate to the question.

Cheers

[mike4444244]

I got a lift the other day in a saab 95 turbo and its heated seats got almost uncomfortably hot within about 20 seconds of turning them on, added to this they were the most comfy car seats I have ever sat in, couldn't get out of them when we arrived Definately looking for some of them in the scrappy, and I have already got Rangey armchairs in mine!

Mike

[jameslwt]

As already said Ford Granadas/Scorpios. About the right size and easy to wire up - I had them in my lightweight.

[landmannnn]

Or you can get a Waeco kit for around £50 which includes relays and switches. By the time you have been to a scrappy and bought the wiring I suppose you will have spent £25.

[Countax]

Or you can get a Waeco kit for around £50 which includes relays and switches. By the time you have been to a scrappy and bought the wiring I suppose you will have spent £25.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have the switches on the HVAC unit and also the wire loom to supply the seat heaters so hopefully the body control module has been programmed to switch on the power. If not, then i guess i will looking for someone local with a Rovercom or similar test set to enable them.

Has anyone used the Waeco kits and found them to be reliable?

Nigel