tinkfist

I searched and did not find one, so I figured I'd take pics of my install this past weekend and create an official DIY. I only installed the driver's seat at this time. The install was technically easy, however, it does require a minor modification to the seat foam and cutting of interior plastic. The only special tool required is a hog ring tool and of course the hog rings to go along with it. I also needed a couple of those plastic wire to wire connectors for the wiring. Alright, on with the install...

1. Purchase seat heaters. I bought mine for $180 shipped for two sets from Breeze Automotive

2. Remove seat from car: 2x14mm in back, 2x12mm in front, disconnect seat belt clip under seat.

3. Remove all of the hog rings attaching the seat cover to the seat pan. I used needle nosed pliers.

4. Remove these two bolts (12mm):


...and this bolt (14mm) from either side


5. Remove the seat hinge bolt (12mm) to seperate the seat and back. Take note of the washer stack when removing this bolt.


6. Peel the seat cover (butt portion) back over the bolsters and front lip. If you put your hand under the cover, you'll feel that you can only go about 2/3rds of the way back. Luckily, these heater elements fit perfectly in that front portion. In order to hide the wire leading to this element, the best option is to cut a hole through the seat foam and run it out one of the large holes in the seat pan. I felt my finger on each side and made a hole where I wanted the wire to come out.


7. Slide the element in. Read your directions to make sure you are putting the correct side of the element up.

8. Now for the back. At the base of the back is a long plastic hook running the width of the seat. Unclip this and you will be gold. A flat head screwdriver works wonders to undo the clip.


9. The seat pad should hinge out. There are a few hog rings that you will need to remove in order to slide an element under the seat cover. The wire for this element was easily run out the base of the back (where the plastic hook was). I ran both wires out towards the center console to keep things neat. To finish the seat, you'll need to re-hog ring all of those old rings you pulled out and return all of the bolts to their original positions.



10. Drill a hole for your switch and clip it in. A tapered rasp on the end of a drill works great here. Make sure not do go too big. Test fit the hole frequently to dial in the diameter. I used the accessory outlet in the center console to get my power, so I located it near there.


11. Wire the car: My car was mostly apart for a roll bar install, so my wires were easy to get at. I am sure you could get at these though by only removing the vent panel behind the driver's seat (the one with the two hooks on it). Reach back there and disconnect the power and ground from the outlet. Black = Ground, White/Red = Power. Use the forementioned plastic connector to splice your ground and power in here.

12. Connect everything together and hide the wire.



13. Have a beer and enjoy your seats!

So far the seats are great. High gets nice and toasty and low is a good maintenance setting for a really cold day. Most times you'll find yourself switching them off 20 minutes into a drive. A top down test is still in the works.

- Tom

RadioZero

nice write up, thanks for taking the time to help others.

vishnus11

thanks for the great DIY. Very informative, well written and lotsa pics

I wonder how this would work on an 06 passenger seat becausse of the prescence of the weight sensor. My understanding is that the sensor is located on the seat rail so it should really matter, but does anyone else know for sure.

kamui157

This is excellentness.

tinkfist

I am available to help with local installs Gotta keep Del Val's asses warm this winter!

mikey k

I have some on order
Nice location for the switches
I thought about on the seat adjuster panel on the side.

tinkfist

Yeah, but then you have to run long wires to get power. Other switch locations might include behind the E-brake or between the shifter and the radio. My location made the most sense to me.

viper_driver

tinkfist, I did the same thing last winter. I wired mine to the same spot and put the switch in the same place. One thing I did differently though....I used heavy duty wire ties to put everything back together again instead of hog rings. They're great because as you pull them the seat tightens up. I know some people will say it's ghetto but they're super strong and there's no way they could ever break and you can't tell the difference at all when it's put back together anyway.

Good writeup!
JASON

omgvtec

Thanks for the writeup, i'm going to be doing this mod very soon! That leather gets ****ing cold in our -25 degree winter temps.

tinkfist

Now, it's been mild up here in the NE so far this winter, but I tested the seats top down tonight in 40F weather. They heat up quickly (2-3 minutes) and will certainly leave 3rd degree burns on your back without a shirt. Usually in 40F top down driving I switch between full convertible and full face modes. Tonight, all I needed was 2 LED's of face mode to keep the chill off of my hands. Great mod all around