heated seats

Many of the newer cars use a carbon fiber mesh fabric that is conductive and heats very evenly. I knew of one fellow (with whom I have no contact) who found a source of the material and was using it for heated motorcycle apparel. You can literally shoot bullet holes in the stuff and it continues to heat by conducting around the holes. __ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

Randy G. wrote: I knew of one fellow (with whom I

LOL. It helps the blood congeal quicker. ;)

You may be able to repair the original heaters, in 240's it's usually just the wire breaks off the thermostat in the seat cushion.

Hmmm. Okay, I'm going to have a look. No if only I had somewhere warm to work on it :(

Yeah, I saw some products like this online. I guess if I can't actually repair the existing system, I'll go with something like this. Thanks.

Unbolt the seat and bring it inside, that's what I've done as the only time one ever realizes the seat heaters don't work is when it's too cold to work on them outside.

Hi,

I just replaced the elements in my 760GLE. The old units probably could have been repaired. The resistive wire broke within the circuit, and actually burned the cushion and the pad/element. I could have simply trimmed back the material and soldered the wires together, test, and re-install.

However, what I did do was:

Found 12V resistive elements at a surplus store... installed them in the OE units place, and voila!!! freakin' beautiful!! They get quite warm (maxes out at 50C, which is hot..) They were not for seat heaters originally, but, I knew they would work. $5 each!!! (Canadian!).

The only trouble I had was the lower cushion, I could not get the center tie downs to fit in because of the contour of the cushion. I eliminated them and it works/looks fine. The backrest came out perfect, punched holes in the heater and voila!!

SUPER WARM!! :)

The carbon fiber elements are good, they are a bit expensive, but you can cut them to any size without breaking the circuit (depending "how" you cut it/where). They are quite flexible, and will outlast just about anything else.

Check your Volvo dealer, I bet the old heater elements might go cheap! PLUS, if they are like the 760 units, they actually cover the entire seat pad area, not just a tiny portion like new cars do.

Cheers

Don't suppose the surplus place has any more of those? If so I'd be interested in a set, my 700 has the heaters embedded in the foam, both seats are open circuit.

Too true!

Is this repair applicable to the 850? I have been told the elements are NOT replaceable. True/false? Comments about replacing the heating elements in an 850?

Where can I get this carbon fiber heating stuff on-line? I live in Canada but go into the USA once a month so shipping it to my USA address should be no problem.

Thanks.

Ken Winnipeg

Well they're not replaceable in the '87 700's so I would guess the 850's are the same way. The element is moulded into the seat foam.

I did one of my 850's seats. Just unbolt the seat, remove the lower cover (it's always the lower portion) and go hunting for the broken element. The burnt bit is usually a good giveaway.

David.

Mine were replaceable.. leather seats with separate heater pads between the cushion and leather.

My car is an '87 760 GLE.

Cheers