link146

Happy Saturday all:

With the weather just beginning to cool down here on the east coast, I have discovered that my newly acquired (July 3, 09) C32 AMG has seat heater problems. I have already gone through the secondary air injector diagnosis and fix with the help of this forum and other than a very expensive part, the repair went smoothly.

I know that there is a wealth of info on this forum regarding the fact the C32 AMG seat heaters fail, however, I am unable to find any info on how to diagnose and repair same.

Here is my issue: Driver's side lumbar seat heater works but the butt heater does not. I swear I tested it on b4 purchase and it worked fine, then again I did buy it in the middle of the summer and was probably to excited to sense that only the lumbar heat was on.

Anyway, has anyone had similar issues and if so have they performed a DIY repair? Your input is much appreciated in that you saved me probably $700+ on my last repair job.

Thnx

loudandheard

I had mine repaired under warranty and they replaced the leather along with the heat element. I was bit upset because the bottom section of my seats no longer match the top sections. I think you would need to take apart the seat to see if the actual element is broken or if it is due to a bad connection.

I have not read a diy on this particular issue. You may just have to be a pioneer and be the first. Good Luck!!!

W203Ramos

coz of this post I checked to see if mine were fine, I live in the east coast as well.....found out we have exactly the same prob. "no butt heater" will post if i see any info on repair. GL

RES

The heater element is part of the leather. I have installed the elements using after market heater but you might need the help of a good interior shop.



After you install the element you have to hand stitch the center back together.

Dingleberry

I just checked mine. Only the lumbar heater works. FML

link146

Thnx for the feedback, but before I rip my seat apart I need to know exactly what I am looking at here and what exactly goes wrong with the system. In the pic, is that the aftermarket heater (the honeycomb looking sheet of white fabric)? Did you figure out exactly what part of the OEM system failed or did you just replace the entire thing?

My wife happens to be a quite good seamstress. I just need a bit more of a step-by-step direction if you have the time. I am sure the info would not only help me quite a bit but also the entire forum community.

Again, thnx for all your input and assistance.

320 dreamer

this link should help you basically same car
http://www.crossfireforum.org/forum/...et-repair.html

drug delivery

This is interesting. Only the lumbar heater works on my '05 C55. I thought it was normal. Is the other portion actually broke or is lumbar the only source of heat?

link146

I am pretty sure your butt should be warm too. Try sitting in the passenger's seat and see what happens. Honestly, I am not 100% positive.

WaveyKat

i have C55 Seats in my 2001 C320 and only the Back Rest Get Hot!! see in this Thread -->https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...visited-3.html

02C32guy

Mine both work, but the back definitely gets hotter. I always just assumed it was supposed to be that way in case you wearing a coat or something.

Beaker

Hmm only my back works.. I thought this was normal.

320 dreamer

the lumbar and seat bottom both should work. my slk32 has the same issues. if you read thru the srt-6 link i posted it shows how to replace the heater with c/f heaters for a fraction of what the m/b cost and no sewing needed

Dingleberry

looks tedious

so should one use the c/f pad or that mopar repair kit?

Dingleberry

bump

320 dreamer

havent done mine yet but i will be using the mopar kit when i do this winter

ML500K

For the side that doesn't work, does the switch LED light up on the console ( switch up or down)? Mine went out the other day and now switching it does not light up and of course no heated seats. passenger side lights up and heater still works. I'm wondering if its the heating element gone bad or the switch. anyone else experience this?

viper501

Butt should be warm too. Mine is broken, again. It is now the third or fourth time during the two years I've had my C55.

Dingleberry

are you going to do the retrofit?

SLacKer32

I have replaced all four base heat pads three with carbon heat elements and one with an element from the SLK230/320 which is a separate unit and a lot cheaper. Before this you might want to check whether you have an open circuit in the seat heater. Use a meter for this and if you have a circuit then check the feed to the seat (although the back and base share the same feed so if the back works the base is most likely open circuit).

Carbon pad

http://www.dk-schweizer.com/dk_europ...rt/heaters.htm

I got 3 for £80 all in from their Colchester branch 0120 621 1682

They come wired to a plug which is not compatible with the Merc plug so you need to cut, strip and solder to the merc plug. Take the seats out and strip the base cover off, insert the heat pad, put cover back on and reinstall. Now the trick with the seat cover is that it is folded over itself and attached to a plastic strip which locates it in a grove in the seat base. At first it looks like it will not come off but find the spot on the particular seat where you can get it off and the rest comes off pretty easily. I used a small headed flat screwdriver to get into the grove and get the cover loose. I got so good at it that the final seat in the C32 I did in situ. Now once the edge is loose you can peal back the seat cover and you will find a some small plastic clips that hold the seat cover to the base, I found long nose pliers useful to push the clip into the seat base and unhook it from the thin rod.

Now, the passenger seat has a child seat detector in it and for that reason I would suggest disconnecting the battery or at the very least no ignition is on at all. I do not know if it would have an effect with it disconnected but didn't want a chance of some daft warning lamp to be stuck on.

The only slightly negative side of it is that the base takes about twice as long to get to full heat afterwards as it has the padding of the original heater between it and the cover. It is only a few minutes though and I am happy with that. The only solution for that would be to take the foam off the cover and I am not sure what effect that would have on the cover.

There are a few threads on here about the seat issue in the SLK32

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r170...eat-again.html

Search the forum for heated seats or threads with me in and you will find a few posts.

I have a few pictures of the SLK passenger seat fix

ready for some soldering


Shows the passenger seat child seat detector. Place the pad on top of this but under the existing cover/heater.


Clip shown detached using long nose pliers (grey material to right is seat heater carrier padding)


Start of the seat cover grove note screwdriver


The SLK uses cardboard the C32 uses a plastic strip


More of the groove and the seat cover released


The C32 is very similiar. I have done mine by laying the heating pad below the existing one so no need to stitch it up again. The base just takes a minute or two longer to heat up fully. Also the light on the dash always come on regardless of seat heater working or not and both the SLK32 and C32 use a single 12v and earth so if the base doesn't work it is generally the heater has broken causing an open circuit.

My SLK32 also had a faulty seat heater control module which I assume the C32 has (although it will be a different part number) this caused the passenger seat not to heat at all even though the lights came on. A quick check with a 12v supply confirmed that and the module cost me about £100 and for the SLK32 came as a unit with the two heater buttons mounted on it.

kevint

This is interesting. I didn't know my heat seat broke until I read this thread. I bought my S430 2003 6 months ago. When I tested I had only the lumbar heater work. I thought it must be Mercedes design. I drove Lexus before, they only have seat pad heat, no lumbar. Anyone knows how to DIY to check or fix this. I don't want to spend big buck paying for the dealer to fix it. It seems like this is Mercedes problem. Many Mercedes owners have this problem.

drug delivery

It's not cheap. We we're going to have this fixed on our C55 (both driver and passenger side) and the quote was $1500. We had an extended warranty at the time that would have covered it, but I rear ended someone before I had the chance to get the work done

Rowdypants

After reading what SLacKer32 and others wrote, I opted to do the seat heater repair on my c32, using aftermarket heating elements. Took about 2 hours per seat after all was said and done; did one yesterday and one today. Anyway, I wrote up exactly how I did it in case it could help any of you -- see my attached 2 page PDF. Big thanks to you forum members for all the info that was on MBWorld. Because of you all, I was able to fix my heated seats for $77 total, rather than $1500 at the dealer! And this repair should last a lot longer, since it doesn't use the lousy MB heater elements which always break, especially if you kneel on your front seats. (I kneeled exactly one time per front seat, each time it broke the butt heater!) Oh, and I should mention: I am definitely no electrician or pro or mechanic. I'm a newbie amateur. This is simply a summary of how I did it, and a summary of everything I learned from reading all sorts of forums and other research. I have no idea if this is the best way to do it or if my car will catch fire tomorrow. Use these instructions at your own risk, of course. ALSO: I took some pictures along the way. If you want to see them, they are here: http://rowdypants.imgur.com/all/

WaveyKat

good write up..

JUAN CASAUS

Mine Is Like 02c32Guy In That They Both Work But The Lumbar Gets Really Hot And Actually Burns. I Never Use It Because It Also Smells A Little Like its Burning And I Don't Want My Seat To Catch Fire. Has Anyone Had This Problem And Resolved It?