DIY seat heaters

[mwalsh]

My kit arrived. Knock-off OEM switches look and feel good. I'm pretty darn happy with it overall.

However, there is just miles and miles of wiring loom. Does anyone have a source for the kind crimp terminals in the various connectors, so I can shorten it up some?

Edit: Looks like standard spades in the relay connector; 0.110 in the switch connector; and something inbetween in the connector to the seat pads (haven't had a chance to measure yet).

[mwalsh]

Anyone on the terminals pictured? The only one I've been able to identify is the standard one, which I guess is fitted with what's called a Faston tab. Even something close would be fine, so long as I can Dremel a hole suitable for the plastic tab in the fittings I have.

Oh, and size on that one I needed to measure is .187

Actually, thinking about it more, I could probably leave the terminals for the switch be. And so, since I've already identified the standard terminal, it's really just the third one pictured I need to worry about.

[lion]

How well do the heaters work? Do they run continuously (like the Prius Plug-in), or do the cycle on/off like the Nissan LEAF? I have a 2013 with the heaters, but they are pretty much useless so I'm thinking about either swapping it out, or somehow fix the source of the cycling problem.

[mwalsh]

Finally getting around to fitting my kit. So far, I've got the wiring for the heating elements run back through the center console and the switches installed. I was going to shorten a lot of the wiring, but what I'm going to do instead is take it the whole length of the center console and come back to the switches, which will makes the lengths to both the switches and the heating elements just about right without any modifications. Then I'll mount the relays in that rather large void below the dash and in front of the console, where I'll also tuck any excess wiring.

Since I was able to find a vendor with a relay socket kit that uses almost the exact same crimp terminals as the seat kit relays, I am going to substantially modify that section of wiring, both to make it an appropriate length and to delete the kit's in-line fuses. Instead, I'm going to be using mini fuse taps directly at the fuse block.

Pretty happy with those knock-off OEM switches. And since the kit was already set-up to use them, I have a nice plastic plug rather than having to fool around with a bunch of loose .187 disconnects.

[mwalsh]

As you can see, I got my wiring all done. I've still not installed the heating pads, but that's a battle for another day. A quick question on the OEM switches, if I can. As you can see, the knock-off switches...in the picture, the driver side switch is on "low" and the passenger side switch is on "high". But the switches are lit up the same way. Now, I'm expecting you to say that the OEM switches are like that too, and the only reason the "low" position looks to be lit is there is light bleed from the indicator window on the switch. But another part of me expects the "high" position bar to be lit on the passenger side switch. So the question before the house...what does the OEM switch do?

Edit: Never mind...looks like the OEM switches are a slightly different design - no seperate indicator window. So I suspect this is just a compromise in the knock-offs, and one I can probably accept. Though it would be an interesting experiment to swap in an OEM switch to see the difference.

Another thing I could do, if it starts to bother me, is strip down the switch and black-out the area where the light is bleeding. The problem with this is that those switches are a real tight fit in the console, so there is a risk of damage just getting them out of the console again, never mind the risk from disassembling the switches.

[mwalsh]

Well my kit is completely installed, with only one small cut on my thumb for tangling with the seat pans. More of a paper cut really...not much in the way of blood. But then, this is hardly my first rodeo - I've torn apart at least 4 or 5 sets of seats for new upholstery during my automotive life so far.

Now if only we could get some cold weather so I could use them (it was 91 degrees here yesterday!).

[mwalsh]

Feature some of you may have also noticed - even with the seat heaters off the seats are warmer. I suspect that radiated body heat is retained in the seat covers (or at least into the heater pad), instead of dissipating into the foam cushions. A nice bonus!

[palmermd]

Feature some of you may have also noticed - even with the seat heaters off the seats are warmer. I suspect that radiated body heat is retained in the seat covers (or at least into the heater pad), instead of dissipating into the foam cushions. A nice bonus!

Never noticed on mine, since I did the modification before the first winter of ownership, but it makes sense. Best mod for the 2011's and 2012's that don't have it...I'd call it a must have modification, right after the EVSE upgrade.

[matth]

I've spent the last few days installing front seats from a 2012 Leaf, and related wiring. Most of it was relatively straightforward, thanks to all of the accumulated knowledge on these pages. Thanks to all who came before me and shared in their experience!

I've run into one difficult to solve problem with the passenger seat, which is where the most complex wiring occurs. One molex connector handles the seat heater for that seat, as well as connecting to the back heater switch and the back seat heaters. I think I have the wiring figured out, but I have had an extremely difficult time fitting the eight wires into that molex connector. The 0.011" spade connectors I've used are simply too tight of a fit.

I'm thinking of creating my own pair of molex connectors, something like

http://www.amazon.com/Namz-Molex-Female ... +connector" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any reason this would not work? Also, is there a tutorial on connecting wires to a molex connector? That's something I've never done and it's not intuitively obvious.

Thanks.

[ronroman]

I would really like to add seat heaters to my 2011 Leaf, but I'm not much of a DYI car guy. Would anyone be interested in doing this for me if I compensate you for your time and knowledge and for the parts? I am in Fremont, but could drive to anywhere in the SF Bay Area. Please private message me if interested.

Thanks!

Ron

2011 Nissan Leaf
2014 RAV4 EV