A few questions about heated seats install
10-13-2006, 06:49 PM
#1
A few questions about heated seats install
My SE came loaded with everything but the cold weather package, and since I live in upstate NY and Buffalo got 2 feet of snow last night, I think I need to add some heated seats.
Q: Has anyone here done this mod? I saw a couple posts with people inquiring about it but no follow up. If you've done it could you please share your experiences
Q2: Also for those that have changed out the upholstery in their max, how much of a b!tch is it? And if you feel super nice.. about how many hog rings will I need to replace?
Q: Has anyone here done this mod? I saw a couple posts with people inquiring about it but no follow up. If you've done it could you please share your experiences
Q2: Also for those that have changed out the upholstery in their max, how much of a b!tch is it? And if you feel super nice.. about how many hog rings will I need to replace?
10-30-2007, 11:32 PM
#3
Wiring help!
A year later and I got a deal on some aftermarket heated seat elements. I've installed the pads and tomorrow will do the wiring; my kit came with switches but they're really ugly and I'd like to use the stock ones if possible.
From what I've read in previous posts I'd need the switches and the adapter that plugs into the back of it. The problem is the stock switched have 4 wires going to the switches (right?) and I only have three in my kit (it's an on/off switch not low/hi/off like stock). Can I still use the stock switches? I don't care if I'd only have one heat setting if I could still use the stock switch. I have a yellow, red, and black (the ground obviously) wires. Could I just connect those three and tape off the fourth? I don't know enough about wiring.
From what I've read in previous posts I'd need the switches and the adapter that plugs into the back of it. The problem is the stock switched have 4 wires going to the switches (right?) and I only have three in my kit (it's an on/off switch not low/hi/off like stock). Can I still use the stock switches? I don't care if I'd only have one heat setting if I could still use the stock switch. I have a yellow, red, and black (the ground obviously) wires. Could I just connect those three and tape off the fourth? I don't know enough about wiring.
10-31-2007, 10:16 AM
#4
Search, considering you've donated.
Here's a helpful thread. Hopefully the diagram in post #16 will explain everything.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=heated+seats
To answer your question, I believe you can use the factory switches with your aftermarket heating elements, but you'll have to choose whether you want the 'low' or 'high' to work.
Here's a helpful thread. Hopefully the diagram in post #16 will explain everything.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=heated+seats
To answer your question, I believe you can use the factory switches with your aftermarket heating elements, but you'll have to choose whether you want the 'low' or 'high' to work.
10-31-2007, 10:28 AM
#5
Ha funny I actually had that thread open in my browser already 
yeah I've actually read almost all the threads on heated seats.. didn't see any with my specific situation with installing an one temp setting vs the stock two. Thanks for the reassurance
yeah I've actually read almost all the threads on heated seats.. didn't see any with my specific situation with installing an one temp setting vs the stock two. Thanks for the reassurance
10-31-2007, 10:40 AM
#8
10-31-2007, 12:06 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 105
Search, considering you've donated.
Here's a helpful thread. Hopefully the diagram in post #16 will explain everything.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=heated+seats
To answer your question, I believe you can use the factory switches with your aftermarket heating elements, but you'll have to choose whether you want the 'low' or 'high' to work.
Here's a helpful thread. Hopefully the diagram in post #16 will explain everything.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....t=heated+seats
To answer your question, I believe you can use the factory switches with your aftermarket heating elements, but you'll have to choose whether you want the 'low' or 'high' to work.
10-31-2007, 01:27 PM
#11
Just to clarify what I said prior.... You won't have a choice between high and low (as far as heat output). Whether you pick the high or low setting on the OEM switch, your aftermarket kit has a thermostat that only knows one temperature; so it doesn't matter which one you pick. Just pick one connection and be consistent on both switches.
11-05-2007, 11:35 AM
#12
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: St Louis, Misery
Posts: 16
Based on the wiring diagram provided in the link, I don't think it will work properly and have no ill side effects.
Just to clarify what I said prior.... You won't have a choice between high and low (as far as heat output). Whether you pick the high or low setting on the OEM switch, your aftermarket kit has a thermostat that only knows one temperature; so it doesn't matter which one you pick. Just pick one connection and be consistent on both switches.
Just to clarify what I said prior.... You won't have a choice between high and low (as far as heat output). Whether you pick the high or low setting on the OEM switch, your aftermarket kit has a thermostat that only knows one temperature; so it doesn't matter which one you pick. Just pick one connection and be consistent on both switches.
Not necessarily. Most aftermarket seat heating kits come with a low-off-high switch and dual elements in the pad. The stock switch is set up the same way, so it can be substituted in place of the aftermarket switch. It's easily identified by the manufacturer's description. Be aware that some Rostra kits use a low-off-high switch but the elements are not set up for high and low, they use the 2 position switch to select back or back and bottom instead. Check the following link for kits-
http://www.heatmyseats.com/?gclid=CO...FQOCZAod3h5kYg
I have a pair of 96 Maxima seat heater switches & plugs for sale, PM me an offer if interested
11-05-2007, 11:58 AM
#13
Maybe so, but we're not talking about aftermarket kits in general; we're talking about a specific kit. Psu2fan stated that he only has on/off on his aftermarket switch. Therefore, it's safe to assume his thermostat only 'knows' one temperature.
11-05-2007, 02:42 PM
#14
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: St Louis, Misery
Posts: 16
11-05-2007, 04:23 PM
#15
Yeah mine only have on/off. I've got them in and wired up. Blew a fuse the first day (it was the stock one sitting there since day one.. maybe it was brittle.. idk) but have since ridden a few days aok. I'll post my write-up hopefully this evening, unfortunately the only pics I have are of the heaters already installed in the seats. I must say though this was an easy, if somewhat time consuming job.
11-05-2007, 09:09 PM
#16
Aftermarket heat seater install
First off if you're considering adding heated seats but can't afford buying seats with oem heaters and you think this is too big a task.. think again. I bought my kit off ebay last winter and got a good deal on a coil element. Well at the time it was about 10 degrees so I shelved the installation till it got warmer. Which turned into last week This is a pretty easy install, yeah it takes a little time but IT"S WORTH IT.. especially if you live up north as I do.
Second watch this video from checkcorp, which goes over the basic install.. they skip a couple parts but it's well made and actually make the install look more daunting than it really is. Right-click and save as http://www.checkcorp.com/images/vide...uide_HiRes.wmv
the video is about 30MB. If the link should break in the future I have a copy on my computer I could upload somewhere.
Time to install (~3-4hrs)
I took my time, took me and hour and a half to do each seat (though install time would've been much shorter without watching family guy
) and less than an hour doing the wiring in the car.
What I needed:
-Seat heater kit
-ratchet and sockets 14 & 12mm
-hog rings or zip ties (23-25 per seat)
-hog ring pliers, snips or other strong wire cutter
-wiring and connectors
-utility knife/screwdriver
-mini add-a-circuit (available at auto parts stores ~$7) &15A mini fuse
1. Remove your seats. This includes 4 bolts (4-14mm bolts. I had one bolt stripped, the other 7 came out clean) and any wiring for power seats (1 or 2 harnesses)
2. Remove hog rings on bottom side of bottom cushion, iirc there's 7-9 per seat. I didn't have hog ring pliers and just used my snips to remove all hog rings (no ripped leather). Pull up upholstery around the front of the cushion to expose the foam seat ( remove more hog rings..7 more, two in front on either side, 3 in middle and two more in back either side).
3. Unbolt and remove bottom seat cushion from frame. 4-12mm bolts. look at the underside of the cushion, you may or may not have a canvas-like flap covering the back half of the underside, held in place with 3 more rings; remove these, revealing three cirlce holes. cut or punch a hole through the middle one all the way through the foam (this is where the wiring for the bottom element will run). Install the bottom heater element just like in the video, feeding the wiring down through the cushion.
4. Re-install seat cushioning, replacing hog rings (I used small black zip ties, 2 per hog ring. It should be noted that I skipped the hog rings holding the upholstery to the foam cushion.. once completed I did NOT notice a difference and still don't a week later). Congrats the seat bottom is now done!
5. Remove the seat back inserts, there's two clips on each insert about 2in. from the bottom along with 2 clips 4in. from the top and the top portion is simply hooked in (I just pulled on them to remove, though a removal tool would be ideal)
6. Remove hog rings again, 2 on the very back at the bottom holding the corners of the upholstery in place. If you look through to the cushion you can see the hogs rings on the cushion, remove these as well (up to and including the 2 on either side more than halfway up, 9 total). Pull the upholstery off the seat back sides and bottom. Feed the bottom piece down through the crack at the hinge of the seat and pull the upholstery up around the foam padding just like you did with the seat bottom (pull it almost up to the shoulders of the seat so you can install the heater element high enough ( Iinstalled mine a couple inches above the level of the 3-across hog rings; most important, make sure the bottom of the element is a good 2in. above the bottom of the seat back).
7. Feed the wiring down through the crack of the seat hinge and direct it to the inside side of the seat (passenger seat you feed it to the left so it's closest to the center console once reinstalled in the car. Be careful not to allow the wiring to actually enter the hinge! This is pretty self explanatory when you actually do it, refer to the video). Reinstall the upholstery, again replacing the hog rings and seat inserts. Woo, the time consuming part is now done.
8. While your seats are out, you can now easily remove the center console (remove shifter trim, 2 screws in the rear on each side and 2 screws on top in front; you may need to remove your ashtray to get at one of the screws). Now we can run the wiring. No wait not yet. Look around the inside of your car.. it's almost empty, so clean it first. There's nothing better than getting into your CLEAN car and trying out your new heated seats!
9. grab some electric wire ~16ga and run it from about the base of the e-brake, up under the console behind your radio, climate control etc., take a left turn and run the wire underneath the steering column and into the fuse box (the one next to the hood release) and connect it to a mini-add-a-fuse 10a.
10. Install switches wiring, connecting the power line to the wire you just ran, the black ground to any bolt in the area (I used one of the bolts on the e-brake) and run the signal wire through the carpet and out the heater duct on the ground under each seat.
11. Re-install your center console and bolt in your seats. Connect all wiring for the seat heaters and any wiring for electric seats. At this point I noticed that my seat heater kit came with longer wiring than I needed, so I tucked under the expose wiring from the back elements and zip tied the wires up to one of the hole on the seat bottom. Make sure all your wires are free of any hinges or obstructions.
12. Plug in your mini-add-a-fuse in the stock seat heater location (third column, third slot from the bottom). Enjoy!
**Note: The stock 10A fuse was not enough for the aftermarkets (I burned through 2 of them in the first week) so I put in a 15A a couple weeks ago and all is well
This is a pretty easy install, yeah it takes a little time but IT"S WORTH IT.. especially if you live up north as I do. Second watch this video from checkcorp, which goes over the basic install.. they skip a couple parts but it's well made and actually make the install look more daunting than it really is. Right-click and save as http://www.checkcorp.com/images/vide...uide_HiRes.wmv
the video is about 30MB. If the link should break in the future I have a copy on my computer I could upload somewhere.
Time to install (~3-4hrs)
I took my time, took me and hour and a half to do each seat (though install time would've been much shorter without watching family guy
) and less than an hour doing the wiring in the car.What I needed:
-Seat heater kit
-ratchet and sockets 14 & 12mm
-hog rings or zip ties (23-25 per seat)
-hog ring pliers, snips or other strong wire cutter
-wiring and connectors
-utility knife/screwdriver
-mini add-a-circuit (available at auto parts stores ~$7) &15A mini fuse
1. Remove your seats. This includes 4 bolts (4-14mm bolts. I had one bolt stripped, the other 7 came out clean) and any wiring for power seats (1 or 2 harnesses)
2. Remove hog rings on bottom side of bottom cushion, iirc there's 7-9 per seat. I didn't have hog ring pliers and just used my snips to remove all hog rings (no ripped leather). Pull up upholstery around the front of the cushion to expose the foam seat ( remove more hog rings..7 more, two in front on either side, 3 in middle and two more in back either side).
3. Unbolt and remove bottom seat cushion from frame. 4-12mm bolts. look at the underside of the cushion, you may or may not have a canvas-like flap covering the back half of the underside, held in place with 3 more rings; remove these, revealing three cirlce holes. cut or punch a hole through the middle one all the way through the foam (this is where the wiring for the bottom element will run). Install the bottom heater element just like in the video, feeding the wiring down through the cushion.
4. Re-install seat cushioning, replacing hog rings (I used small black zip ties, 2 per hog ring. It should be noted that I skipped the hog rings holding the upholstery to the foam cushion.. once completed I did NOT notice a difference and still don't a week later). Congrats the seat bottom is now done!
5. Remove the seat back inserts, there's two clips on each insert about 2in. from the bottom along with 2 clips 4in. from the top and the top portion is simply hooked in (I just pulled on them to remove, though a removal tool would be ideal)
6. Remove hog rings again, 2 on the very back at the bottom holding the corners of the upholstery in place. If you look through to the cushion you can see the hogs rings on the cushion, remove these as well (up to and including the 2 on either side more than halfway up, 9 total). Pull the upholstery off the seat back sides and bottom. Feed the bottom piece down through the crack at the hinge of the seat and pull the upholstery up around the foam padding just like you did with the seat bottom (pull it almost up to the shoulders of the seat so you can install the heater element high enough ( Iinstalled mine a couple inches above the level of the 3-across hog rings; most important, make sure the bottom of the element is a good 2in. above the bottom of the seat back).
7. Feed the wiring down through the crack of the seat hinge and direct it to the inside side of the seat (passenger seat you feed it to the left so it's closest to the center console once reinstalled in the car. Be careful not to allow the wiring to actually enter the hinge! This is pretty self explanatory when you actually do it, refer to the video). Reinstall the upholstery, again replacing the hog rings and seat inserts. Woo, the time consuming part is now done.
8. While your seats are out, you can now easily remove the center console (remove shifter trim, 2 screws in the rear on each side and 2 screws on top in front; you may need to remove your ashtray to get at one of the screws). Now we can run the wiring. No wait not yet. Look around the inside of your car.. it's almost empty, so clean it first. There's nothing better than getting into your CLEAN car and trying out your new heated seats!
9. grab some electric wire ~16ga and run it from about the base of the e-brake, up under the console behind your radio, climate control etc., take a left turn and run the wire underneath the steering column and into the fuse box (the one next to the hood release) and connect it to a mini-add-a-fuse 10a.
10. Install switches wiring, connecting the power line to the wire you just ran, the black ground to any bolt in the area (I used one of the bolts on the e-brake) and run the signal wire through the carpet and out the heater duct on the ground under each seat.
11. Re-install your center console and bolt in your seats. Connect all wiring for the seat heaters and any wiring for electric seats. At this point I noticed that my seat heater kit came with longer wiring than I needed, so I tucked under the expose wiring from the back elements and zip tied the wires up to one of the hole on the seat bottom. Make sure all your wires are free of any hinges or obstructions.
12. Plug in your mini-add-a-fuse in the stock seat heater location (third column, third slot from the bottom). Enjoy!
**Note: The stock 10A fuse was not enough for the aftermarkets (I burned through 2 of them in the first week) so I put in a 15A a couple weeks ago and all is well
Last edited by psu2fan; 11-27-2007 at 12:24 AM.
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