GUIDE: Heated seat repair.

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

As requested, here is the process I used to repair the drivers side seat bottom heat element. Click the links for a picture to help guide the process.

**I am not responsible for any burns or resulting damage as a result of this repair method It is your responsibility to ensure any new connections you make are securely connected.**

Step one. Raise the seat bottom as far up as it will allow.

Step Two. Remove the seat adjustment buttons and lumbar support knob* (if equipped)
up/dn fw/bw switch: pry from right side then remove by hand
seat back fw/bw: pry from top then remove by hand.
lumbar support knob: pry from behind the exposed yellow slots

Step Three: Remove the seat cover
Start by releasing the clip under the seat pull down and twist clockwise relative to the side of the car.
There is another clip to the left of it. the seat should come up like this

Step four: Separate the leather cover from the cushion. You will be greeted by an orange cloth held to the seat by velcro. separate it from the foam.

Step five. I didn't really get a good picture of this part as i had already preformed the repair.. the burn mark you see here is a result of a bad connection after i first tried the repair. I tried soldering but i couldn't make the solder flow into this wire, I eventually tied a knot in it then wrapped that with solder wire to help carry current and prevent a hot spot in the seat, it also helps in safety. if the wire gets too hot from the connection working loose, it will melt the solder and re secure itself. It is important to make sure you have a secure connection to prevent burns or hot spots** in the seat.

On an unaltered seat, the elements are under some foam on the cover of the seat. they're made of uninsulated aluminum wire laid out in a zig zag pattern and glued to the top portion of the seat. I started a tear from the power inputs and worked my way across where I found the broken element sections. After you fix any breaks check for continuity across each wire until you have an open section, fix any breaks checking that the seat heats each time. To check that the seat works, turn the key on then press the heated seat button. one click is on. two clicks is a fault (relay on, then off)

Once you have the connections repaired and have verified that the heated seat is working, turn it to high then watch your connections for smoke. this will help prevent any burns/other damage. repair as necessary then re assemble in reverse order.

**hot spot: increased resistance caused by a loose/bad connection that causes higher heat in that area. this can cause the foam to melt or burn through the seat. If you notice a section is uncomfortable use only on low until you can go back ad re check the connection.

 

[andrewjs18]

nice guide! this should make it a lot easier for anyone who is going to be performing this repair. I'll be one of those individuals in the near future.

that said, I've never done any repairs to heated seats. in your step 5 when you speak on a 'bad connection', what are you referring to? electrical wires? the heating element? what's the heating element made up of? metal? does it need to be soldered together to perform a repair?

sorry if I'm asking too many questions - I just want to make sure I've got my ducks in a row before I tear the seat apart.

 

[diylesabre]

Thanks for the guide, I also have a question about the bad connections you reference, what do you mean by that, a wire that wasn't completely soldered together and shorted back out?

I'm really surprised that those wires are not insulated to begin with, I guess the seat foam acts as the insulation? Bare wires kind of scare me but I'm not an electrician.

At the junkyard yesterday I saw how to remove the heated seat controls. You have to take off the knobs like you say but you also have to take off the plastic plate I think. There are two pins underneath on the bottom edge that have to be pulled out otherwise you'll break two tabs pulling it off. I'll have to check later to see if those two pins are on my 01 as well. They were on the '00 in the junkyard....

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

I'm going to make an edit to step 5, I remember now that I couldn't get solder to stick to the wires. it just stayed on the iron.

The wires aren't insulated, they are glued to the foam in the zig-zag pattern you see in the photos to make the wire longer and to give more surface area for the heat to disperse. it also allows for movement.

I believe they are aluminum wire and thus the difficulty with solder. At the time I didn't have a good way to crimp them together as they get warm so i cut the attempted solder joint off and tied the new ends into a knot then wrapped them with solder wire to help carry current to prevent a hot spot which has worked thus far.

Again, I will update step 5, Thanks for the questions.

 

[diylesabre]

Ah, okay, so where it got hot and burned the foam was were there was too much metal or solder and it created a hotspot?

It looks like there is special solder to but together aluminum wires, perhaps that will do.

At least it is warm out now and may not need the heated seat for another 4 months or so.

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

The hot spot was where i didn't use solder. I just twisted the wires together as if i was going to solder them, they worked lose and weren't secure enough to handle the current and got hot as a result

 

[diylesabre]

I finally did it!!

Some additions to this guide:

1. When removing the cover plate with the seat switches look for the tabs on the bottom of it or you'll break them off. Careful there. 🙂

2. There is also a set of wires that powers the seat coil. It runs through the middle of the seat and then down into the seat at the rear. I had a broken wire right there. This is the set of wires that plugs into the other plug underneath the seat.

I soldered that one wire only and the heated seat fired right back up. I didn't have to rip into the middle part of the seat to get at the coils.

Pretty sweet stuff!

ETA: oh ha ha. I see I didn't heed my own advice from May. Oh well, the knobs hold on the plate okay anyway...

 

[andrewjs18]

anyone live near Pennsylvania and want to do this on my car? =)

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

If I ever get the trans sorted out on my volvo I plan to take a small trip (about 350 miles maybe 400 from my place.) Anything worth doing in Virginia? it's almost half way there ha.

 

[andrewjs18]

If I ever get the trans sorted out on my volvo I plan to take a small trip (about 350 miles maybe 400 from my place.) Anything worth doing in Virginia? it's almost half way there ha.

not really sure. I haven't been to VA on vacation in probably 15+ years now.

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

I've never been there at all. I went to MI when I was about 8 or 9 (21 now wooo) and i
ve been to FL and GA.

 

[Loginni777]

I'm going to give this a shot this weekend if I have time. Darn seat heater stopped working a month after I bought the car. Dealer said warranty is only mechanical and chassis. That was 7 years ago. Cold Michigan seats! I'll post results if I do it.

 

[Jimh64]

How can I be sure that my problem is not just the switch? I am wondering if my switch went bad.

Any suggestions?

 

[Spriteman]

First check these fuses to make sure they're not bad - they are located under the back seat in the rear fuse block:

HTDSTLF - 10 Amp
IGN3 RR - 10 Amp
HTDSTRF - 10 Amp

From the switches power flows through the Driver/Passenger Door Modules
Then to the Driver/Passenger Heated Seat Module - I believe those are located under the seats.

Pull the connector from the heater element under the seat and measure the voltage with a multimeter after you push the heated seat button on the dash. You should see 12~Volts on the Black wire - use some unpainted body metal as the ground while testing.

If you're getting the right voltage then the seat heating element is bad or you have a bad ground - remember there are two elements - one in the seat bottom and the other in the back.

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

there is also a quick way to check without pulling fuses.

With the key ON/motor off and radio off. press the heated seat button to turn it on "HI" you should hear a click from under the seat. if it clicks once, then again within 10 seconds. you are getting power but you have a broken element. the issue will also cause this clicking when you press the button to go from "HI" to "LO" and will not allow you to turn off the seat, it will just switch back and forth to "HI" and "LO".
Use a multimeter on each element to determine which element is at fault and repair/replace the unit.

 

[Spriteman]

That's a great test and very easy. I assume that if you don't hear the clicking then you're back to Heated Seat Module or somewhere before that on the circuit.

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

if you don't get the first click. then I would begin to trouble shoot the supply starting at the fuses as you mentioned. then moving on from there. I assume the button wouldn't light the hi or lo light when pressed either (I can't test this as I sold my lesabre)

 

[Jimh64]

Thanks for all the great advice! When I push the button, I do hear a click when I push the button, and sometimes it is difficult to turn off, it goes from hi to lo back and forth and will not turn off.

However, if I am getting the click and the switch lights up, then I assume I need to troubleshoot the element like imsittinginyourchair suggests.

I have a multimeter, but not real familiar with trouble shooting with it. What setting would I use and how would I actually test the element or find the break?

Thanks!

 

[IMSITINGINYOURCHAIR]

test for continuity or resistance. if you have a meter that doesn't have the audible continuity sound then set it to it's lower resistance setting. (something like 200 ohm I can't remember which) and look for a reading of something around 0.08 to maybe 0.15 to indicate there is some continuity. but In most cases it's the lower element as it takes most of the weight.

 

[tmbuick]

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