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Seat Heat Install Revisited

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Old 06-26-2005, 12:36 PM
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MPG+ ROLFCOPTER
Originally Posted by Jim Banville
So, if there are pins in that block, your seat has the heaters?
Easy enough to test.
1) Take a DVM and measure across and thereafter depending on readout
2) Apply power and ground, touch the seat and verify.

OR

just do step 2 on its own.
Old 06-26-2005, 01:34 PM
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'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Originally Posted by capt_paul
The switch bank is around $230 if I remember right from the quote I got a few months ago..
Does it come with the trim (wood or metal) on it, or are they separate pieces?
Old 06-26-2005, 01:38 PM
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MPG+ ROLFCOPTER
Originally Posted by Jim Banville
Originally Posted by capt_paul
The switch bank is around $230 if I remember right from the quote I got a few months ago..?
Does it come with the trim (wood or metal) on it, or are they separate pieces?
What does it look like to you?
Please don't tell us you're asking nice_617 type questions. (j/k)
Old 06-26-2005, 01:46 PM
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'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
I believe the pre-'05 switchrows fit in behind the trim, but I'm not sure about the new style. I don't want to take my dash apart to find out.
Old 06-27-2005, 12:19 PM
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'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Originally Posted by amdeutsch
Easy enough to test.
1) Take a DVM and measure across and thereafter depending on readout
2) Apply power and ground, touch the seat and verify.

OR

just do step 2 on its own.
How much juice do I send to the pins?
Old 06-27-2005, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Jim Banville
How much juice do I send to the pins?

were these wires of yours already to the block? or did you hvae to fish them out of underneath the seat skin?

i do not appear to have the wires going to the block, so looks like my liklyhood of this easy project is going to be slightly more challenging, as i am going to have to get heating pads. :-(
Old 06-27-2005, 07:55 PM
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'06 Lexus GS300 RWD, '07 Camry SE V6 auto, '91 190E 2.6 auto
Originally Posted by Justinius7
were these wires of yours already to the block? or did you hvae to fish them out of underneath the seat skin?

i do not appear to have the wires going to the block, so looks like my liklyhood of this easy project is going to be slightly more challenging, as i am going to have to get heating pads. :-(

I don't even know if I have the pins/wires. I haven't had a chance to look yet.
Old 06-27-2005, 09:28 PM
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04 C320 Coupe MT
I have the parts to do this on my 04 coupe - but I can say for sure that there are no heater wires in the seat coverings of my car. It just wouldn't be benz like to give away too much for free.

By the way, for an 04, the switch row, or actually upper control panel cost me $67 plus tax. I wouldn't be surprised if it cost the general public a little more, but $230?!! That is ridiculous.

After the install, there are a couple of version coding things that need to be done, especially in the upper control panel. Make sure to get that done.
Old 06-28-2005, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by mbbodytech
I have the parts to do this on my 04 coupe - but I can say for sure that there are no heater wires in the seat coverings of my car. It just wouldn't be benz like to give away too much for free.

By the way, for an 04, the switch row, or actually upper control panel cost me $67 plus tax. I wouldn't be surprised if it cost the general public a little more, but $230?!! That is ridiculous.

After the install, there are a couple of version coding things that need to be done, especially in the upper control panel. Make sure to get that done.

DId you order your heating pads through the stealership? Version coding... I presume you have to have stardiag do this?

So far i will need heating pads
the switch row
wiring harness
and have the computer coded
then someone to install the pads under the skin....

This should all be about 500.00 would one say?
Old 07-10-2005, 06:50 PM
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04 C320 Coupe MT
So yesterday, instead of going to the meet, I decided to start the retrofit of heated seats to my coupe. Not fun at all! The work instructions were somewhat helpful, but left a lot out! For example routing of the wiring harness on the seat itself. So, let me give a rundown of the problems / self inflicted mistakes I've run into so far:

1. There is a lot of disassembly involved - both seats, both front carpets, center console, and wiring ducts (have to be opened and partially removed)

2. The instructions aren't clear on how the body harness is routed. When I got one seat "done" and installed and tried it, guess what? The left side switch operated the right side seat!!! I was able to open the connector on the body harness and switch the leads. Which is good because I had put everything but the seats back together!

3. Getting the covers off and the new ones on is extremely difficult. My fingers are still aching as I write this. There are several little clips that hold everything in place, and getting it tight and without wrinkles is quite a job. One that I'm not quite finished with yet, there are still some small wrinkles in a couple of places. And that's cloth - leather would be much worse.

4. The work instructions do not say where to run the wiring from the backrest along the frame to the front block. And I spent two hours taking the sides off the seat and trying to see an obvious / possible way to route it to join with existing wiring, but to no avail. I wrote johncl who was nice enough to supply the picture of the connection above to see if he would take one from the rear of the seat, and hopefully if he does that will shed some light on where it goes. The problem is that with all of the movement of the seat, the wiring can get ripped, pinched or otherwise screwed up if it's not cinched down in just the right place.

5. As I had mentioned earlier incorrectly, there is no version coding for the upper control panel, or switch row as it has been called. So, that is at least one thing that doesn't have to be done.

As you can see, it's been very difficult to do this, and I'm still not done. So, unless you are really good at working on cars (I thought I was before this) you may want to reconsider doing this yourself. Also, it's not cheap. Remember I have cloth seats, and it cost me about $700, and that is at dealer net price. If you have leather, it's going to be more, and the dealer may not be inclined to give you a deal.

One last thing about leather, in the work instructions it makes some cryptic remark about using a heat lamp to get the wrinkles out of the cushions after they are installed....that just sounds scary!

So, now I'm waiting to see if our friend johncl will be able to help out with the pics.

I'll keep everyone posted.
Old 07-11-2005, 04:46 PM
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Pix......

Seat heater wire runs behind the tan material in the back of the seat. The wire is running right down the middle of the seat......



......and exits the top section of the seat on the left side of the seat. There are two wires shown in this picture and it is the bottom one.



This picture shows where all the wires go into the carpet and on to the control panel.



This picture shows the heater connector that goes to the connector block in the next pic.



This is the front of the connector block on the bottom of the seat.



This picture shows the rear of the connector block on the bottom of the seat. The heat connector is the one with the 2 blue and 2 brown wires.



The hole pictured with the grommet is where the wires come out of the bottom part of the seat and attach to the connector block.



The last pic shows where the wires from the top part of the seat come through and attach to the connector block.





I hope these pics help you guys out. Mind you I removed my seat for the better of my MBWorld brothers.

Last edited by JohnCL; 07-11-2005 at 05:03 PM.
Old 07-11-2005, 11:26 PM
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W203 slightly modified
Originally Posted by mbbodytech
So yesterday, instead of going to the meet, I decided to start the retrofit of heated seats to my coupe. Not fun at all! The work instructions were somewhat helpful, but left a lot out! For example routing of the wiring harness on the seat itself. So, let me give a rundown of the problems / self inflicted mistakes I've run into so far:

1. There is a lot of disassembly involved - both seats, both front carpets, center console, and wiring ducts (have to be opened and partially removed)

2. The instructions aren't clear on how the body harness is routed. When I got one seat "done" and installed and tried it, guess what? The left side switch operated the right side seat!!! I was able to open the connector on the body harness and switch the leads. Which is good because I had put everything but the seats back together!

3. Getting the covers off and the new ones on is extremely difficult. My fingers are still aching as I write this. There are several little clips that hold everything in place, and getting it tight and without wrinkles is quite a job. One that I'm not quite finished with yet, there are still some small wrinkles in a couple of places. And that's cloth - leather would be much worse.

4. The work instructions do not say where to run the wiring from the backrest along the frame to the front block. And I spent two hours taking the sides off the seat and trying to see an obvious / possible way to route it to join with existing wiring, but to no avail. I wrote johncl who was nice enough to supply the picture of the connection above to see if he would take one from the rear of the seat, and hopefully if he does that will shed some light on where it goes. The problem is that with all of the movement of the seat, the wiring can get ripped, pinched or otherwise screwed up if it's not cinched down in just the right place.

5. As I had mentioned earlier incorrectly, there is no version coding for the upper control panel, or switch row as it has been called. So, that is at least one thing that doesn't have to be done.

As you can see, it's been very difficult to do this, and I'm still not done. So, unless you are really good at working on cars (I thought I was before this) you may want to reconsider doing this yourself. Also, it's not cheap. Remember I have cloth seats, and it cost me about $700, and that is at dealer net price. If you have leather, it's going to be more, and the dealer may not be inclined to give you a deal.

One last thing about leather, in the work instructions it makes some cryptic remark about using a heat lamp to get the wrinkles out of the cushions after they are installed....that just sounds scary!

So, now I'm waiting to see if our friend johncl will be able to help out with the pics.

I'll keep everyone posted.
Passing the cable into the ducts can also be done with an electricians conduit snake. It will slide down the channel and let you pull the cable out of the door sill. Removal of the carpet is optional IMHO. Lifting the corners works fine.

Dont forget that you can also use heat pads from eBay and Mercedes. AFAIIK there are such pads used in W202, W168 ad W463 (and W210 for the rear seat). Might be cheaper to go that way.

Fabric and twin leather cost almost the same. The AMG, Designo and Nappa cost a lot more.

Last edited by benzmodz; 07-12-2005 at 12:01 AM.
Old 07-11-2005, 11:48 PM
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1959 220S / 1979 230 G / 2002 A210 AMG / 2003 C320 SC / 2004.5 C320 SS / 2005 ML350 SE / 2008 smart
great pics John.
Still contemplating going this route, or just keep saving up for some AMG seats with everything already stuffed inside.
Either way, will follow the progress on this thread, cause you can never pass up good info.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com
Old 07-11-2005, 11:58 PM
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04 C320 Coupe MT
Originally Posted by johncl
Seat heater wire runs behind the tan material in the back of the seat. The wire is running right down the middle of the seat......



......and exits the top section of the seat on the left side of the seat. There are two wires shown in this picture and it is the bottom one.



This picture shows where all the wires go into the carpet and on to the control panel.



This picture shows the heater connector that goes to the connector block in the next pic.



This is the front of the connector block on the bottom of the seat.



This picture shows the rear of the connector block on the bottom of the seat. The heat connector is the one with the 2 blue and 2 brown wires.



The hole pictured with the grommet is where the wires come out of the bottom part of the seat and attach to the connector block.



The last pic shows where the wires from the top part of the seat come through and attach to the connector block.





I hope these pics help you guys out. Mind you I removed my seat for the better of my MBWorld brothers.
Dang, I didn't mean for you to take the seat out of the car! But thank you!!!! The two that give me what I need are the ones from the rear of the seat (the way it's smashed around the side there) and where it comes out the side of the frame (out of the square hole).

Thanks again man, that was a huge help.
Old 07-11-2005, 11:58 PM
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W203 slightly modified
Originally Posted by mbbodytech
I have the parts to do this on my 04 coupe - but I can say for sure that there are no heater wires in the seat coverings of my car. It just wouldn't be benz like to give away too much for free.

By the way, for an 04, the switch row, or actually upper control panel cost me $67 plus tax. I wouldn't be surprised if it cost the general public a little more, but $230?!! That is ridiculous.

After the install, there are a couple of version coding things that need to be done, especially in the upper control panel. Make sure to get that done.
The version coding is in the EIS...... IFAIK.
Old 07-12-2005, 12:01 AM
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Originally Posted by benzmodz
Passing the cable into the ducts can also be done with an electricians conduit snake. It will slide down the channel and let you pull the cable out of the door sill. Removal of the carpet is optional IMHO. Lifting the corners works fine.

Dont forget that you can also use heat pads from eBay and Mercedes. AFAIIK there are such pads used in W202, W168 ad W463 (and W210 for the rear seat). Might be cheaper to go that way.

Fabric and twin leather cost almost the same. The AMG, Designo and Nappa cost a lot more.
Installing the body harness was no problem - after the carpets are out and center console. Not too much hard work. The main problem was / is trying to route the harness inside the seat assembly, around the frame and moving parts. There wasn't anything obvious to me, but with the help of the pics the johncl just posted, I should be able to get it no problem.

I'll keep you all posted.
Old 07-12-2005, 09:19 AM
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Originally Posted by mbbodytech
Dang, I didn't mean for you to take the seat out of the car! But thank you!!!! The two that give me what I need are the ones from the rear of the seat (the way it's smashed around the side there) and where it comes out the side of the frame (out of the square hole).

Thanks again man, that was a huge help.
No problem, I wasn't on the road like I thought and I was bored so there you have it. It also gave me a change to vacuum really well under the seat. Let us all know how it turns out.
Old 07-16-2005, 01:56 PM
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Well, thanks to the help of the forum members (especially johncl) I finished the seat heat install last night. I'll post some pics of how I ran the wiring - pretty much as you can see from the pictures, but I have some detail shots from the inside.

Glad it's done!!
Old 07-19-2005, 03:41 PM
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Seat Heat Install Done - Pics

Well, it's all done and finished! I'm so happy!! So here are the pictures. You can see where the wiring goes around the side and where the tie down is. That is the only possible place I could see that it would go.
Attached Thumbnails Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0736.jpg   Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0737.jpg   Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0739.jpg   Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0743.jpg  
Old 07-19-2005, 03:45 PM
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04 C320 Coupe MT
One thing to watch out for

One word of warning - if you do this, on the bottom cushion, make sure that the plastic edge is folded over itself, like it appears in the second picture. The first picture is how I left it the first time, however, the fabric was loose and not looking good enough. So, I got to take the seat out for like the fifth time! But, at least it's all done!
Attached Thumbnails Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0738.jpg   Seat Heat Install Revisited-img_0746.jpg  
Old 07-19-2005, 04:22 PM
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sweet! i need to buy these parts.
Old 07-19-2005, 05:53 PM
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Looks great, nice job!

That seat edge is a b i t c h!!! I had it come loose on the back seat and it took me forever to get it back the right way again. Again, nice job.
Old 07-19-2005, 06:47 PM
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Originally Posted by johncl
Looks great, nice job!

That seat edge is a b i t c h!!! I had it come loose on the back seat and it took me forever to get it back the right way again. Again, nice job.
Thanks, John! I couldn't have finished it acceptably without your help, though. I really mean that.
Old 07-19-2005, 06:49 PM
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I am here to help anyway that I can.
Old 07-19-2005, 06:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Tishers
I agree, adding features that were not available in MBUSA is my kick too. Adding features (with a moderate amount of work) to a C is also really interesting to do.
i have to say, i did get COMAND cheaper through Steve than factory. i even got it replaced from the dealer for a faulty display.


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