I did the impossible!!! Fixed heated seat...

jowo9 · 11-05-2009, 08:12 PM

Ok, so the problem was that the driver's side seat heater would work in the back on high, but not in the seat. It wouldn't work at all on low. So... I spent all afternoon taking the seat out and apart, and lo and behold, I found the problem!!
The seat heating elements are nothing more than a really really thin insulated wires that switchback to provide even heat. (they are kind of like the wires on the back of the phone jack in your wall) Anyway, about 3/4 of the way along I found a break in the wire.(I used a voltage tester to determine where the current stopped) So, I did some extremely difficult soldering (the wire is soooo thin) and as soon as I finished, it started heating up again!

-This is the process as best as I can remember:
I took out the 4 bolts holding in the seat and tipped the seat on its back. Removed cloth cover on bottom. Removed all the wires attached to bottom via snaps. Took out 4 bolts on underside holding down the actual seat portion of the seat. Lifted seat portion up slightly and removed leather clips on all edges. Removed power seat buttons. Peeled leather back on the back and sides. There are several thin metal bars sewn in to the foam and leather holding it together. There are small pieces of copper wire holding those metal bars together. I used 2 sets of pliers to bend the copper wire pieces open so that I could pull the metal bars sewn into the leather and foam apart. There are 3 of these copper wires on the backmost part of the seat, and 2 on each side. You kinda have to dig in to see them. Now you can see the element. This extremely thin grey wire is sewn into a piece of white fabric that sits just under the leather. (you can see the wire on the backside of the fabric) I checked it all along, found a break in it, soldered it back together, and patted myself on the back.... then reassembled it all.
I don't know if my solder job will hold out permanently, but I sure hope so. It was a pain to take it all apart.

mist max2000 · 11-05-2009, 08:23 PM

talk about determination!

good work.. too bad you didnt get any pics while you were diggin around in there.. either way..

...trying is also the first step to succes

jowo9 · 11-05-2009, 09:22 PM

Yeah... I always forget to take pics til I start putting things back together. Always end up kicking myself about that... but i tried to describe it as best as i could.

asma123 · 11-05-2009, 10:56 PM

Damn I have a gxe 2k2 with exactly the same problem. Some pics def would have been helpfull. Great write though.

ricerocket336 · 11-05-2009, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asma123

Damn I have a gxe 2k2 with exactly the same problem. Some pics def would have been helpfull. Great write though.

i have the same issue with my 03 max..

jowo9 · 11-06-2009, 12:25 AM

Yeah, it's easy to see why it happened... The stupid wire is so thin that it wouldn't take much to break it. If my soldering job doesn't hold up I'll take pics the next time I fix it. Hopefully I won't have to though. You guys could probably figure it out with just my write-up though... you don't really need pics.

*Pearltt* · 11-06-2009, 12:35 AM

Congrats....seemed like a pain in the a**...I personally would have never been able to delve into a project like that...lol....A friend of mine had problems with his heated seats in his car, non Maxima. That's why I kind of steered me away from that option when buying my car...I decided to get a remote start instead and love it. Now when its cold out I jump into a completely warm car..lol...Good work though!!!

jowo9 · 11-06-2009, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pearltt

Congrats....seemed like a pain in the a**...I personally would have never been able to delve into a project like that...lol....A friend of mine had problems with his heated seats in his car, non Maxima. That's why I kind of steered me away from that option when buying my car...I decided to get a remote start instead and love it. Now when its cold out I jump into a completely warm car..lol...Good work though!!!

-Yeah,... maybe someday I'll get that too... it'd be nice

except that half the time I get in my car it's parked somewhere other than my home, so I wouldn't have the chance to start it remotely (in a parking lot, etc.) I'd say even nicer than the heated seats is the heated steering wheel. I absolutely love that feature

Loki2damax · 11-06-2009, 01:10 AM

can someone say sticky!

Good job... i have the same problem but after i efffed up soldering that damn Bose sub i'm not even gonna mess with this