chesney72

Fitted aftermarket OEM quality heated seat elements to my sport leather seats. Just in case anyone wanted to try this I'll list roughly what I did.

The kit I used was WAECO Magic Comfort which has 4 pads and a loom with 2 switches, a relay, 2 fuses and an earth.

Typical pad look like this


I did this without removing the seats as I didn't fancy having to disconnect too much. Its a bit tight to get the pads in but just needs patience to get them in evenly and sitting flat.

You need to remove the seat backs. There are 2 clips at the top and if you look at the photo's you can see them. To pull out the one on the left you need to firmly push the seat back to the right and pull the left corner. Not too hard but it does need a firm hand. If you can see the shape of the clip you'll understand why it needs to be pushed one way and pulled. The RHS one is the opposite. Be carefull not to pull too hard as I've heard of these breaking.


Once the seat back clips are diconnected the seat back will lift upwards and off the clips at the bottom. This is simply a firm tug upwards. You might be able to make out the clips in this photo. Along the centreline of the pic and 1/4 of the way in from each side.


Now you need to unclip the leather from the back of the seat. There are numerous clips as shown in this pic. I found it easiest to band them 90 deg and they could then be pulled off by hand. Work your way around the seat back and along the clips at the base. There are 2 clips by the sides which are behind the plastic covers. I un-clipped these too.

Base shown below


Then feed the bottom part through between the seat base and seat back. As the sides have been unhooked it makes the leather less taught. I then laid the seat back as far back as possible.

You should have enough slack to get your hand in between the leather and the foam. You need to feed the pad in here evenly. Halfway up though there is a brace that stops you so I removed the centre clip that holds it down. This meant I could feed the pad in high enough to get it 'home'. Afterwards you can re-clip this but you need to take care not to damage the element or crease it badly.

The seat base pad is virtually the same so just use the same method as above.

You should wires coming out between the seat base/seat back. I tucked most of this inside the covers and just left the connector sticking out. This was connected to the switch which I ran under the seat to this position


The power supply for each seat is via a relay and fuses which I located in this cubby hole behind the air vents in the centre console. this pulls out with a firm hand. has 2 clips on the side


Finally you need to locate a power source. I'm temporarily using a permanent +ve feed until I decide on a suitable ignition one. Any pointers?? Then I will run this power to the relay in the location above.

If any of this is unclear please let me know. Sorry about the mess in the car as I didn't have a chance to clean it up!

P11EGG

Hi is this as easy as you make it sound? I am thinking of doing the same fit to my non heated seats and just wanted to ask a few questions. Do you know if you can use the BMW Heated seat switches, and is it possible to fit them to the rear seats? Sorry I have only questions and no advice for you but I am a newbie and this is my first post. Out of interest here is a link to a similar article for an E46 Beamer, may or may not be of some use to you. As for your request for a place to take a feed from there must be a heavy duty supply going to the cigar lighter and the wire could be discretely hidden in the consel

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.ph...heated+seat+fit

chesney72

Yep its the cigarete feed that I ended up wiring it into. Is very neat as all the wiring is hidden under the centre console.

I would call it 6/10 for difficulty. Took me about 6 hours in all.

The seat covers are tight and you do need to carefully lay out the wiring under the seat so it doesn't get snagged. I grazed my arms a bit when I fed the pads into the gap between the seat and the foam. It would be easier if you fully removed the seat covers but I didn't want to disturb any original fittings that I didn't need to in fear they may not go back together as well.

Not sure about using OEM switches. I was considering this until I decided to fit them to the seat and am happy with the fit and finish and will be leaving them as is.

I'd imagine fitting to the rear seats would be a similar process. The rear seat base comes out very easily so that should be very easy to pull appart! The seat backs will probably be more hassle as the clips holding the leather is probably behind panels on the seat backs.

jokes911

Do you have pictures what wires to connect under the armrest?

nigxdoof

Do you think you can do it for the rear seats? I am definitely interested in that. =) I have the cold weather package, but no rear heated seats.

chesney72

No sorry. But the I just routed the wires to that position and the feed is from the 12v/cigarette socket.

chesney72

Don't see why it couldn't be done to the rears. Just see if the seat covers come off and if they do then go for it!

nigxdoof

The bottom (butt cushion) comes off easily. The hard part is the supporting back area.


How much did you get those heated pads for? is that only for the back or the lower part of the body? or can they be used for both? If I get it for the back seat, I would need 4 of those pads.

Do you have a link I can see to order this part?

Gene

And why do you want/need heated back seats, Just spring for the motel/hotel room? Naughty

nigxdoof

LOL... Actually, I dont know why I need heated rear.. but its just a nice feature to have, good selling point if I sell the car.


But I go snowboarding a lot, so its useful for the passengers I have. happy passengers is a happy driver. =)



Hmmm I wonder has anyone retrofitted the fold down rear seat ever.. hmm... that would be useful.