Heated Drivers Seat Install [Archive]

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:20 PM

Finally got the heated drivers seat installed in my '97 190 and figured I would post a little how to for anyone that might want to do the install. Overall the project took me about 3 hours and cost a total of $110.

These are the heaters I purchased http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/pedecafiunhe.html I was able to get them direct from the manufacturer off of Ebay for $75.

Here are a couple of photos of the heated seat kit. They have carbon fiber elements and are waterproof. High and Low heat settings with a lighted switch.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:21 PM

Here is a close up of one of the pads.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:23 PM

Now I had to remove the hundreds of staples that hold the skins to the seat backs. This took a total of about 1 1/2 hours do do. Had to be carefull not not tear the vinyl.

This is the seatback

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:24 PM

And now to peal back the vinyl so that I could install the heater elements.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:27 PM

Now put the element in using the double sided tape supplied with the kit to keep the element in place while recovering.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:29 PM

Do the same for the seat bottom cushion. This required a little more dismantling since there were four seperate pieces of foam and the vinyl had flaps in order to keep the contours tight. I also had to trim the heater element to length.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:31 PM

In order to get the wire for the element out of the seatback at the proper location I had to drill a hole in the back for the wire to pass through. there was an existing hole on the seat cushion that I used.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:35 PM

Here I cut out a little piece of foam so the wire would sit flush and not show through the vinyl.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:35 PM

Now to re-attach the skins to the backs. I cheated a little here and had an upholstery shop do this for me. The black plastic that makes up the seat base is impossible to staple into without a neumatic stapler. I paid the guy $30 to restaple with stainless staples. Worth it since I didn't have the proper tool. If you have an older boat with wood bases you could easily do this yourself.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:37 PM

Now put the cushions in the seat frame and route the wires so that the seat can still slide to its full back position. You will hide these wires later.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:40 PM

Time to find a location for the switch and get out the drill :D The switch requires a 7/8" hole to mount. I decided to put mine in front of the throttle right up next to the dash.

Place some tape over the area to help prevent chipping and run the drill in reverse. I used a unibit which worked great with no chipping.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:41 PM

Now that the hole is drilled time to hope it was in the right place and remove the tape.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:43 PM

Clean up any rough edges with a little medium sand paper and sand a little bevel to keep the gel from getting any spider cracks.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:46 PM

Time to run the wires and find some power. I decided to tap the always hot power that runs to the auxillary power outlet/lighter on the dash. This way I can run the seats when the boat is off waiting to change skiers or by the dock. Just have to remember to turn them off when putting the boat away. This required removing four screws and pulling out the panel that holds the ignition, outlet, blower and bilge switches.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:49 PM

After you find the hot and a ground time to make the connections. The outlet has a breaker and there is also an inline fuse for the heated seats. There was a free ground post that I was able to use also.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:51 PM

Push the switch in the hole you drilled and make all of the final quick connections. Zip tie everything up out of the way for a clean install.

Red light means everything is working and you have high heat.:)

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:53 PM

One more picture of the swich location. It is out of the way so it won't accidently get hit by your throttle hand or your knee. Looks like it was put there by the factory.

BrianM

11-09-2006, 04:55 PM

Seat looks like it always did. Time to enjoy a little warmth for those early morning, late evening, late season or winter sets.

east tx skier

11-09-2006, 04:57 PM

BrianM

11-09-2006, 05:00 PM

Can we repond yet? I'll delete (again) this if the answer's "no." Sorry for jumping the gun.

Great install, Brian! What's the high in Mandeville, LA today, 82? ;) I know that'll come in handy though. I hope my wife doesn't see this thread.
Yeah I am finished. High today was only 78. Water is a bit chilly though and I am a wuss. We ski all winter though so the cold days are ahead.

erkoehler

11-09-2006, 05:02 PM

Looks awesome...let us know how it works :)

east tx skier

11-09-2006, 05:03 PM

My season is always shortened as my wife and driver hates being cold (even if she isn't getting in the water). I'll be keeping this in mind. Again, great/clean install.

bcampbe7

11-09-2006, 05:05 PM

Great tutorial Brian!

Erk, will something like this up the value of my boat? :D

BrianM

11-09-2006, 05:08 PM

Looks awesome...let us know how it works :)

After I finished I sat in it for about 10 minutes. Seat heated up quick and was toasty warm.

erkoehler

11-09-2006, 05:09 PM

Its a nice selling feature....and it is a "cheap" upgrade, so yeah you'll probably see it as a nice upgrade.

André

11-09-2006, 06:12 PM

Nice play-by-play Brian!
Good work!:)

DanC

11-09-2006, 07:05 PM

Thanks for the clear and detailed tutorial and beautiful job Brian.

rhsprostar

11-14-2006, 08:58 AM

Now that's how you do a tutorial! Great work!

prostar205

11-14-2006, 03:36 PM

Brian -

Do you have any pictures of how or where you ran the wires from the seats to the switch? I am curious as to how you hid the wires.

Thanks,

PS205

BrianM

11-14-2006, 05:37 PM

Brian -

Do you have any pictures of how or where you ran the wires from the seats to the switch? I am curious as to how you hid the wires.

Thanks,

PS205
I don't have any of the hidden wires because they are hard to take if not impossible. I tucked the leads up under the seat kind of on top of the black base. You do see a couple of inches of the wire at the floor where they go over to the gunnel but the seat sits really close there anyway and you have to look for them to see them. I used a little black wire loom to cover the connections. From there I just ran them up on the same path as the kill switch and the throttle wires to the switch and then on to the dash. Clear as mud?

WTRSK1R

01-04-2007, 07:44 PM

JohnnyB

01-04-2007, 07:48 PM

Brian,

Very cool idea and great pics.

BriEOD

01-04-2007, 08:37 PM

Just saw this B...very practical and a good do-it-yourself project. Thanks for the tutorial!

Leroy

01-04-2007, 09:14 PM

Really neat Brian, and I think these are the heating pads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carbon-Fiber-Waterproof-Seat-Heater-Heated-Seat-Kit_W0QQitemZ160067443868QQihZ006QQcategoryZ33701Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

JKTX21

01-04-2007, 09:44 PM

Nice work. I may have to put these in my truck and boat.

BrianM

01-05-2007, 08:12 AM

One more curious question. Can you still remove the base of the seat to let things dry out after a wet rear has been in the seat?

Great documentation of the install, and really nice job!

Thanks for the information.

Steve Yes you can still take out the seat base and back. There is a quick disconnect on the wires (the heaters came this way). So just disconnect under the seat and pull them out (takes about 3 extra seconds). There will be about a 6-8" piece of wire coming out from each cushion. Look at this photo http://www.tmcowners.com/teamtalk/showpost.php?p=265933&postcount=9

Really neat Brian, and I think these are the heating pads.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carbon-Fiber-Waterproof-Seat-Heater-Heated-Seat-Kit_W0QQitemZ160067443868QQihZ006QQcategoryZ33701Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Yep, thats the same heaters and company I bought from.

Workin' 4 Toys

01-05-2007, 09:11 AM

Looks awesome, you do nice work.:cool:

jraben8

01-09-2007, 03:02 PM

This is fantastic! I wish I would have read it sooner. Great job Brian.

M-Funf

01-09-2007, 03:16 PM

so has your driver been able to try it out yet? Is she happy with it?

Both our cars have heated seats, and my driver (wife) absolutely loves them!

bbeach

01-18-2007, 02:04 PM

holy sh*t I gotta have one of those!!!

Pete

01-19-2007, 02:59 PM

BrianM

01-19-2007, 04:10 PM

Brian-
Thanks for posting that info on your seat heater idea! Which way did you route wiring after the seat connectors? I have a 97 PS also and cannot picture a nice, clean, safe way to route wiring to power and ground source.
Pete
I just ran the wire straight from the side of the seat to the right were the combing pad kind of meets towards the seat back. There is about 3" of wire exposed there but I put it in some wire loom and it looks pretty clean. You hardley notice it sitting on the carpet there between the drivers seat and combing pad. I might try and fish it under the carpet at some later time but that is probably a whole lot more trouble than it is worth. I don't have a picture of it finally finished but I put a green line on this photo where the wire runs. There is just one single wire since the conection for each seat pad is tucked up under the seat when it is all finished.

teddy

01-20-2007, 03:52 PM

Brian

Thank you for the tutorial on the seat install. I just found the kit on ebay and am looking forward to follow your instructions and installing the warmers this spring.

bbeach

01-21-2007, 03:31 PM

I'm also adding this to my 190!!! What a great addition I think this will be to the early spring skiing and cold evenings in the fall!

Question, anyone ever added one of the longer motorcycle seat versions to the observer seat butt pad? I mean why does just the driver deserve to be warm? Just a though about using the motorcycle version because its longer and will stretch the entire width of my observer seat.

Brian did you have any problems getting these from the guy on ebay? He doesn't have the greatest feedback? Should I be at all concerned about ordering these from ebay?

mitch

01-21-2007, 04:06 PM

Brian, Great job!

TRBenj

01-21-2007, 04:15 PM

bbeach

01-21-2007, 05:03 PM

You are right... I just went out and measured and my observer seat is 34 inches long so if you went with the 2 seat kit... shown here...
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/pedecafiunhe.html

you could use the 2 18inchers side by side for the observer seat and the 2 15 inchers for the driver seat bottom and back...

maybe!

Chief

01-21-2007, 05:06 PM

Hell with putting a heater on the seat of a motorcycle, install a vibrating seat that responds to the throttle. That is if you have a girl riding as passenger. :)

bbeach

01-21-2007, 05:09 PM

haha!

Here is the 2 seat heater kit on ebay for $147.95...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-Seat-Carbon-Fiber-Waterproof-Heated-Seat-Heater-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33701QQihZ006QQitem Z160076352663QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Its considerably more on the sportsimportsltd website...

BrianM

01-22-2007, 09:12 AM

Question, anyone ever added one of the longer motorcycle seat versions to the observer seat butt pad? I mean why does just the driver deserve to be warm? Just a though about using the motorcycle version because its longer and will stretch the entire width of my observer seat.

The observers seat could easily be done as well. I didn't do mine since we rarely have an observer on the cold winter days. It is usually just me and the guy I ski with.

Keep in mind when measuring the seat that the heater can only go on the main flat part of the seat. The contour on the front and sides is a seperate piece of foam that is seperate from the main cushion. On my observers seat the 15" pad is about as big as I would be able to fit in that space.

Brian did you have any problems getting these from the guy on ebay? He doesn't have the greatest feedback? Should I be at all concerned about ordering these from ebay?
I had no problems at all from that seller. I used the buy it now and paid with paypal. Had the heaters at my door in four days.

georgea0731

04-26-2008, 01:39 PM

Boy, would these be a great option for a new boat! I haven't check out any new boats for awhile, but these would be so easy for the factory to do. I hope someone at MC is listening.

BrianM

04-26-2008, 10:44 PM

Boy, would these be a great option for a new boat! I haven't check out any new boats for awhile, but these would be so easy for the factory to do. I hope someone at MC is listening.
Seat heaters are a factory option on new boats.

CRAIGTHEMAN

04-27-2008, 04:28 AM

hey brian i just did exactly what you did to ur driver seat and im lovin it..thanks for the tips

TOO-TALL

10-04-2009, 09:51 PM

I think I'm gonna add this to the "to do winter list".It was cold at the lake today!

Thrall

10-06-2009, 10:10 AM

Yeah, this is on my list along with a 3 vent heater to install this winter.
Not sure if I want to put a hot water shower in......Any opinions there? The old Prostar has one and it's come in handy warming up the wetsuit or after a really cold run, but with seat heaters and cabin heater I don't know if it's really necessary????