heated seats

[bluespider]

I am about to recover my old seats and thought that heated seats might be nice for those Spring and Fall days when the heater just isn't enough! Has anyone had any experience with this? Any tricks for running power? I'm concerned about the electrical load these seats would put on the system. I've got a 81 FI Spider with a 65amp alternator.

[Exit98]

Heated Seats? LOL!

Wow, that's something I've never thought of for my Spider. Kind of a neat idea.

Let us know what you work out. I suspect if I were to put heated seats on my Spider to-do list it would be on page 15 or so.

But Hell, my Acura's gottem and I use them all the time.

I'm guessing electrical drain shouldn't be a big issue. You'd only have it on while you were driving.

So how you gonna do it?

[baltobernie]

Several manufacturers out there. Here's one: http://www.heatedseatkits.com/heatedseatkits/index.html You'd need a pair of hog-ring pliers, but probably not much else in the way of special tools.

10A per seat, which is not trivial. All your exterior lamps combined draw about 10A. I'd imagine you'd need one of those 100A aftermarket alternators that Mark and others offer.

With the monster heater core that comes with the car, and the terrific heat output of the transmission, heated seats would have the cabin pretty toasty

[wikkid]

If you google "heated seats diy" or some such search, you fill find some good info on DIY heating systems. I have looked into it, coming at it from the point of view of fabbing heated gear for winter motorcycle riding. It's not very hard, especially if the seat is already opened up. If you don't use enough wire, then you won't have enough heat; too much, and your amp load will be too high to sustain. I'd suggest separate controls, especially if you ride solo a fair amount.
Another related search that will yield results that can be of use is to search for DIY heated motorcycle gear (vests, jacket liner, etc.). I have found good info about how to calculate loads based on wire type and length form there.

[mdrburchette]

I love the heated seat in my Grand Prix. When everyone else is freezing their....you know...off, I'm nice and toasty. It is especially nice on my back. That's one option I would love to have on my new 500, but it wasn't a choice for the Prima.

[adrians]

We have heated seats in our Holden Astra convertible (aka OPEL) they are very nice, my wife is always warm in her car, while I'm a bit wind-chilled in the Spider.

[mdrburchette]

It would be nice in the Spider, with the top down in cool temperatures. At least until the mega heater starts melting the soles off your shoes. My X19 has an unbelievable heater too and the coolant has to travel 3 miles to get from the engine to the radiator and back to the engine.

[htchevyii]

I've thought about adding the heated seats when I redo the seats. I see at the link above you can even add a massager!

[Zippy]

I've thought about adding the heated seats when I redo the seats. I see at the link above you can even add a massager!

With all the bumps, dips, twists and turns in the roads I drive I don't need a massager.

[bluespider]

I found heated car seats on Ebay ($75.99 for the pair)that look the same as the ones from the above link. They use a network of carbon fiber wires so it looks like a break in the line won't disable the whole seat. It also looks like the pads that draw 10A will need trimming to fit the Fiat seats so that may lower the overall consumption down to 7Amps? That was good advice about individual seat controls. I'm sure my wife will run hers continually and I would just be for cold days . My next thought is the wiring. I think I may find rocker swithes that I could mount in the radio console where the power window switches would have been, if I had them.
I've ordered LED dash and side marker lights to try to lower the eletrical load. I guess I'll have to drive around with jumper cables in case I overestimate the system output!

[wikkid]

Just be sure to connect to a switched power source (only hot when engine is running). If you connect in to an always-hot 12V line, you will absolutely forget to turn the seats off and find your battery drained.

[mikeg]

Seriously, the spiders have very good heaters. I made the switch to the in head thermostat like my '73 had, and it heats up reasonably fast. Inless you're driving when it's thirty below, I think the spider heater does fairly well.

[Kevin1]

Heated seats in the Spider? Got em! Also installed Mark's 95 amp alternator upgrade to help take the extra load. The carbon type are more rugged and less likely to fail if an element breaks. Ours are made by a company called Innovative, I paid around $100 for the pair, and they are very well made. The installation is straightforward, and easiest if the seats are removed from the car. This is a major upgrade - it extends the summer season beyond the normal six weeks.

[bluespider]

Got my seat kits delivered on Friday and they look good. Now I need to get the seat covers on order and then I can get the install underway. These kits came with a round lighted, three way switch. My initial thought was to wire the switches to some blank switch locations in the radio console ... but maybe I'll re-think a location to use the factory round switches??
These work fine. I tested them on a battery and they warmed up pretty quick. I bought these from Ebay and paid $79.00 for the pair of heaters. I better get them installed while it is still cold out.

[bradartigue]

If you can wire the backs it would be great - my other car is a convertible that has heated seats but only the bottom. It gets hot real quick and then you have a hot ass, cold back.

Off topic sort of but when I had a Land Rover Discovery (2003) the seats were not heated. I wanted to add the option. Ends up the seats already had everything you needed, just the truck didn't have the switches. The OEM part (from a vendor) was $70, and wa-la, heated seats with all OE parts. Had I ordered them with the truck it would have cost about $600.00 - for two switches and a plate.

And finally the new MB convertibles, which I cannot afford to even look at, have heat piped from the HVAC to your neck. Mmmm...