How to make a three-mode seat heating. Heated seats - a useful option for the driver

Most car owners, when they mention the winter preparation of the car, remember about changing tires, buying a new battery or other activities that help to get through the winter comfortably. And many of them are right, especially those living in less harsh parts of Russia, where temperatures very rarely drop below 10 degrees below zero. But in the conditions of severe winters, when the temperature can calmly keep for weeks at around -30 degrees Celsius, you have to prepare the car for winter more carefully, or forget about its existence until the first spring thaw.

For this there is a special device called engine preheating. This device allows you to quickly and economically warm up the engine and the interior of the car, in some trim levels there is control using a timer, remote control or mobile application for smartphones on operating system Android or iOS. Gasoline or electricity can be used to warm up the vehicle, depending on the configuration and model of the device.

It is worth noting that it may seem to many that self-production Preheating can be incredibly tricky. But actually. You will need to make very little effort to assemble the structure and connect it to the car system. But before the very instructions for the manufacture of preheating, we will understand the principle of operation and the history of creation.

Also, for those wishing to understand in detail the factory device from the German company WEBASTO, you can read our article, which describes in detail all the nuances of the device from this manufacturer -.

How did the idea of creating preheating come about?

As you know, laziness and the search for comfort are the engine of progress. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the appearance of such a device. Especially remembering how our fathers and grandfathers used to cope with frozen cars in severe frosts. Some managed to make real fires under the truck engine in order to warm it up and start it.

But more "progressive" methods were used more often, or rather, blowtorches or kerosene lamps were used. But it is even difficult to imagine a modern person digging under a car with a blowtorch in a frost of -30 degrees. Therefore, the appearance automatic systems warming up the engine and interior of the car is a logical step in the development of the comfort of car owners.

Varieties of pre-heaters

First of all, the main task of preheaters is to ensure that the coolant in the vehicle system is heated to operating temperature. Thus, warming up the power unit and allowing it to start in any weather conditions. At the same time, fuel is significantly saved during heating and the working life of the engine itself is preserved. After all, the motor constantly starts and runs at operating temperature, excluding work with increased load at low temperatures.

Note that pre-heaters can only be divided into three main groups, and all of them differ only in the type of fuel or energy used. And all the main functions and the principle of heating remain the same. And so, the devices are divided into:

Electric (in most cases using external energy sources, because the battery charge is not enough even for minimal warm-up);

Gasoline (respectively, they can use fuel from the main car tank or have their own small capacity);

Gas (very similar in design to gasoline).

Below we will consider each type separately, where we will discuss the positive and negative aspects. different types devices, as well as the power and speed of warm-up.

Electric pre-heater

This is the simplest device in terms of its design, use and maintenance. The fact is that the whole structure almost completely repeats the design of an ordinary house electric boiler, or kettle. The heating of the coolant itself comes from an electric heating element, with a power of 1 kW. Same. Forced circulation of the liquid occurs using a built-in pump.

But this simplicity also carries some complications. The car becomes addicted electrical outlet, and if there is no automation, then in one night, the prestarting heater can consume about 15 kW of electricity.

Therefore, such a system can be installed, at least having your own garage with electricity. In other cases, it is worth paying attention to devices of a different configuration.

Gas or petrol preheater

These models of devices are distinguished by excellent autonomy, and are able to be controlled by electronics at any time and in any place. Unlike electric heaters, these models use a system with an internal burner, which heats the antifreeze in the system, and the pump is powered by battery drives the heated liquid through the engine and the radiator of the cabin heater.

Accordingly, the car can be left in the parking lot even at -50 degrees Celsius, and by setting the automatic start of heating, you can come to a warmed-up car with a warm interior.

As the disadvantages of using, we can single out some complexity in operation, and additional costs for fuel. And also the need to constantly monitor the state of the battery, because this system is capable of completely discharging the car's battery if it is already in a bad or almost discharged state.

DIY pre-heater design

Before starting the instructions, I would like to note that at home it will not be possible to make a device that runs on gas, gasoline or diesel fuel... For self-creation and connection, only an electrical model with an external power source is suitable.

In order to make a device at home, you must have skills in electric welding or have such a friend. Since, the body of the heater itself will have to be made of metal parts. Also, it is advisable to understand the principle of operation of the engine cooling system, and to think in advance about the place for installing the unit. This can change the shape and size of the device.

The device itself is assembled from the following components:

Electric heating element with a capacity of 1 kW (the more power, the higher the heating rate);

Heater housing (welded from metal pipes different diameters and plumbing fittings)

Additional electric pump (if the pump is driven by a belt in the car);

High-quality cable for connecting the device to the electrical network.

The design of the case itself can be seen in the photographs, dimensions and drawings are not given, since they are not fundamental here, and everyone can choose the size and location of the terminals for the nozzles at their discretion. But it is worth noting that all welded work must be performed with high quality. Coolant has a greater ability to seep into fine crevices and cracks than water. Therefore, it is advisable to entrust such work to a professional.

Then, an ordinary electric ten is screwed into the resulting case, but threaded connection it is better to seal with fum tape or linen using silicone with high temperature resistance.

The next step will be to connect the resulting structure to the engine cooling system, while you will have to top up the coolant, as the volume of the entire system will increase. At this stage, you can stop, all the liquid will already circulate through the system due to the laws of thermodynamics, but this will happen slowly and ineffectively. Therefore. Can be additionally embedded in the system electric pump(for example, from a gazelle), and connect it via a button to the on-board power supply system.

Now that's all, of course, this pre-start engine heating system is not without its drawbacks, but the simplicity of the design and its cost more than overcome the inconveniences in use (by the way, not great inconveniences). More specifically, you will have to independently monitor the engine temperature and turn it off in time. But for knowledgeable people, it will not be a problem to choose and install an elementary thermostat, or buy a heating element with a thermostat that will turn off when a certain temperature is reached.

Conclusion

As it became clear from this article, the only possible engine heating suitable for building at home is electric. Also, with minimal effort and desire, this system it is easy to bring the functionality of similar factory ones by installing additional heating of the passenger compartment, an elementary timer (which can be purchased in many stores, installed on an outlet and turning on the voltage at a certain time), as well as installing a small Charger for the battery, for additional safety net and pump operation.

Dmitry Gotovchik, 2017

With the arrival of winter, almost every motorist begins to think about comfort and warmth in his car. In most cases, the choice falls on relatively cheap but not very effective seat covers or seat covers. In addition, such a cheap product is not always suitable in terms of size, which is why it often does not adhere to the seat as it is required of it. This discomfort is especially felt on long journeys. Therefore, many of car enthusiasts stop at the option of creating heating with their own hands, which guarantees increased reliability and accuracy in size. Plus, everyone can make such heated seats with their own hands the way they want to see it.

DIY seat heating: preparing for work

In this article, you are offered one of the options for creating homemade heating for car seat. This requires a minimum set of tools and materials. Also, this method does not require special skills. First, make sure you have everything you need: both material and tools. Everything described below can be bought in any market without any orders or expectations. After you collect everything you need, get to work.

Required tools and material

To create heated seats with your own hands, you need to have the following at your disposal:

There are special kits for building your own heating devices that you need to purchase. Different variants heating plates differ in some characteristics. One of the most common such sets is the Emelya set. Its price is on average 2,500 rubles. RF.
To supply power to heated seats, made by hand, you will need an analogue of electrical wiring, consisting of a copper wire. For power elements, you need to purchase approximately 7 meters of insulated wire with a cross section of at least 2.5 mm. In addition, a control wire is required that does not require high conductivity and therefore has a cross section of no more than 1.5 mm. Its length must be at least 2 meters.
Such devices must have their own protection, which will prevent short circuits and protect against high currents. This protection includes a fuse with a fuse, which, if the current is excessively high, will break the circuit and prevent other elements from melting. In addition, a special holder must be installed to secure the fuse.
It is necessary to purchase special terminals with a size of 6 to 8 mm. They must have a special tip, which is shaped like a washer and works on the same principle. In addition, purchase the mom-dad clamping jaws.
To improve safety, it is advisable to lay all wires in a corrugation, which will protect against mechanical damage and excessive bending of the wire. Corrugation diameter - no more than 8 mm.
Conventional electrical tape for insulation and protection from exposed areas that conduct current through them.
For fastening corrugations, wires and other elements of the system, we advise you to buy plastic clamps. They are quite flexible and adhere well to any surface.
For the light signal of the heater operation, you can purchase small-sized LEDs, which will serve as a kind of indicators.
Shrink tubing up to 4 meters long.
Finally, you should have the standard tools you need for any electrical work. Such a set usually includes a screwdriver, keys of different sizes, scissors, side cutters, an insulated knife, a file. By the way, do-it-yourself seat heating repairs are done using the same tools.

How to make and install a car seat heating like BMW with your own hands

As a prototype to demonstrate the process of installing the heater, a BMW car will be used, which by default has several design features, such as a manufacturer-installed saw cartridge located in the seat. In addition, in these cars, the location of the airbag is unusual: they decided to put it under the seats. Another feature is the location of the battery, which is fixed in the luggage compartment instead of the usual place under the hood.

Of course, all this is far from playing into our hands, but thanks to complex example it will be easy and understandable how to bypass all kinds of obstacles when installing heating elements.

Heating set "Emelya"

The Emelya seat heater set is prepared in advance for self installation the driver of the car. This accessory is positioned as a heated rear seat, self-assembled, but you can also use it for the front of the cabin. As a complement to this set, you get detailed diagram or an instruction that clearly and clearly explains all types of connection and assembly of the kit. Therefore, we omit this question and move on to the next point.

Start of work on the assembly of the heating structure

To begin with, you need a seat removed from its seat, in which it is planned to install heating elements. Therefore, we remove the option we need from the mounts and prepare it for indoor installation parts of the heater. The Lada Kalina is a particularly good vehicle for such upgrades. Do-it-yourself seat heating is done quite easily in it. True, each brand of car has its own characteristics when removing a seat from a seat. This is especially difficult in those models that have built-in airbags. Doing something wrong can damage mechanisms such as the igniter or the crash airbag deployment mechanism. If you have instructions and diagrams for your car available, then it is better to use them and protect it from unnecessary damage.

How to properly prepare the seat for the installation of the heating element

Do-it-yourself installation of seat heating is a rather laborious process and requires preparation. First you need to remove the very upholstery of the chair. It is usually attached to special hooks. Sometimes the cladding is attached to the hooks using clamping rings, which are rather difficult to remove neatly, so they should be cut off with side cutters. There is no need to worry about this, since ordinary plastic clamps, which will be used, are an excellent replacement for these fasteners.

Further, after removing the casing from the body, you need to carry out a preliminary measurement for the slot for the heater mat. To do this, apply the mat to the place of its attachment and mark the required dimensions for the slot with a marker. This will allow the heating element to be fixed to the seat in the future. But do not be too zealous, as you can cut the heating threads. We stretch the heater power wire through the foam rubber and bring it out from the back of the seat under the armrest. The rest of the wire should be crimped to ensure safety.

Connecting the power supply to the heating elements

You need to supply power to the heater device itself from the battery. The cable must first go through an overcurrent protection - a fuse, and then it must be fed to the very elements of the system. At the battery, the cable must be connected to the terminal with the plus sign. The need to use a corrugation and a long cable is determined by the location of the power source.

Installation of adjustment and protection elements

Control devices should be installed where it is most convenient for you, since they do not fit into a standard control panel and will look ridiculous there. Of course, there is the option of buying push-button heater control stations supplied by the car manufacturer itself. But they are very expensive and do not justify themselves.

And finally, you need to mount a relay, which is connected with a positive wire to the ignition key. Typically, this lock should supply 12 volts to the system when the key is turned. We connect the second output of the relay to the fuse, and we hook the mass of the wires of the whole set to the body of the machine. This completes the installation of the heater. As you can see, it is quite simple to make heated seats with your own hands.

In winter, starting a frozen power plant causes many problems for car owners. Thickened oil, poor volatility of fuel, increased resistance in the battery lead to the fact that the power unit is very reluctant to start. But there is a solution to this problem - to install and use pre-heaters. These devices allow you to warm up the technical fluids of the motor, providing a relatively easy start of the motor in severe frost.

The car accessories market offers a large number of such devices. But many car owners are not particularly in a hurry to spend money, preferring to make an engine heater with their own hands. And this is quite possible, in terms of operational indicators, home-made devices are not inferior to factory ones, and the financial costs will be much lower.

In general, factory and homemade products use the same principle. Heating elements are used for heating, that is, heating is carried out by electricity, but they can affect both antifreeze and oil. They can also operate from a 220 V network, or be autonomous, powered by a car's on-board network (12 V). Each of these devices has advantages and disadvantages.

Some nuances

A few words about the features of using both types of heaters. If you take the usual a car, then the volume of lubricant and coolant is not very different (on average, 3.5 liters of oil are poured, and 4.5 liters of antifreeze). That is, theoretically, the energy required to heat both liquids is approximately the same. But there is one caveat - the oil is in one place - the sump, and the antifreeze is located throughout the system. Therefore, in the case of using a device for heating the coolant, circulation is required, but this is not necessary when heating the oil.

And yet - antifreeze must be heated quite strongly (at least up to 50-60 degrees), but the oil does not require this, it can only be slightly increased its temperature in order to increase fluidity.

Due to these features, it is not advisable to use a 12-volt heater to heat antifreeze, since a lot of energy is required to properly heat it. Therefore, autonomous devices are mainly used to influence the lubricant, but those powered by a 220 V network are installed in the cooling system.

Next, we will consider how to make a pre-heater with your own hands at a VAZ or any other car. Note that there are a lot of variations of home-made devices, but we will describe only two relatively easy-to-manufacture devices.

Antifreeze heater 220 V

The first will be a heater for antifreeze, operating from a 220 V network. To manufacture it, you will need:

Pipe sections;
Plumbing sills, tees, adapters;
Materials for sealing joints;
Clamps;
Cable with a plug;
Insulating materials;

Below are the plumbing items that will be required for assembly:

About the heating element. It is best to purchase a heating element for a water heater (for example, "Ariston"), equipped with a thermostat. Set it to homemade device it will not be difficult, but in addition it will be possible to adjust the heating range. As for the power, a heating element of 1.2-1.5 kW is suitable for a passenger car.

The diameter of the pipe and its length should be selected based on the dimensions of the heating element and its seating thread. The pipe itself should be taken thick-walled.

There are not so many tools required to assemble the device:

Locksmith vice;
Taps and dies for threading;
Keys set;
Angle grinder with cut-off wheel ("grinder").

Having prepared everything, you can get to work. Assembly preheater done like this:

We take the pipe and make the necessary measurements, taking into account the existing squeegees and tees;
In plumbing tees, the thread is usually already done, so you can immediately screw the heating element into it using sealing materials;
On a pipe segment, we cut threads (on the one hand external, on the other - internal);
We screw the prepared segment into the tee;
On the other hand, we screw the adapter into the pipe;
We screw another adapter into the third outlet of the tee;
We connect the cable to the heating element, isolate the connections;

After assembly, you should get the following device:

As you can see, it is very easy to assemble an antifreeze heater. It is only important that all joints are well processed in terms of sealing, since even the slightest leaks of antifreeze are not allowed. Therefore, after assembly, the device should be carefully checked before installing it on the vehicle.

Additionally, a bracket can be welded to the pipe for fastening. Installing an engine heater with your own hands is also not difficult. It can be mounted using both a sequential scheme (embed the device into the antifreeze supply pipe to the interior heater) and parallel (organize the supply from the cylinder block, and the drain into the pipe leading from the main radiator).

Which scheme to use is up to the car owner, but at the same time it is necessary to install the device correctly. In both cases, it is necessary to correctly determine where the supply outlet is, and where is the drain. An adapter screwed into the end of the pipe is a supply one, it is through it that antifreeze will be supplied to the heater. The second conclusion (from the tee) is drain. Install the device so that the drain outlet points upwards.

Using a parallel circuit for installation, we place the heater below the intake point (usually this is the drain hole of the cylinder block, into which a fitting is screwed instead of a plug).

Also, some include electric water pumps from the GAZelle car in the circuit. In this case, forced circulation is ensured. Moreover, the power supply of this pump can be organized both from the car battery and from the 220 V. But in the second case, you will have to additionally use a step-down transformer.

12 V oil heater

Now let's look at how to make a 12 volt engine heater with your own hands. In this case, the device will be used to heat the lubricant. It will be located in the pallet. Moreover, for this you do not need to make any holes in it, since the oil heater will be screwed in instead of the drain plug.

To make it you will need:

Small diameter tube;
Nichrome wire 0.6 mm, total length 2 m (in the form of a spiral);
Ceramic insulators;
Textolite washers and bushings;
Small connecting elements (bolts and nuts for them);
Drain plug;

Assembling the heater is not difficult, but turning work will be required.

The heater is made like this:

In the drain plug from the thread side, we make a hole (not through, about 5 mm should remain to the end) with a diameter of 13 mm, and cut an M14 thread in it;
Then you need to make a through hole of 8 mm. Insert a textolite tube of the appropriate size into this hole;
For manufacturing, you need a piece of tube 12-13 cm with an outer diameter of 14 mm. On the one hand we apply external thread M14;
On one side, we fasten a long bolt and nut to the nichrome spiral. We throw a textolite washer on it and insert it into the hole of the cork. On the other hand, we put on another washer, and then we fix everything with a nut. This will be a "positive" conclusion, therefore, collecting everything, it is necessary to make sure that the bolt being installed does not touch the plug body anywhere;
We put ceramic insulators on top of the spiral;
We also fasten a bolt and nut to the second end;
We insert a spiral with insulators into the tube, and then screw it into a threaded hole made in the cork;
The second ends of the tube must be plugged with a stopper. In this case, it should be done so that the bolt at the end of the spiral is constantly in contact with the plug (it can be soldered);
We seal the product. To do this, it is better to solder the plug and the junction of the tube;

Below is a more illustrative diagram of the heater:

Having collected everything, it remains only to install and connect the pallet heater. There is nothing complicated in the installation, we screw in the product instead of the drain plug and that's it.

For power supply, you will need to lay a wire from the battery (only "+", since "-" is the pallet itself). In this case, you also need to install a switch and a 10 A fuse in the circuit.
Such a heater is convenient in that it does not require a third-party power source and can be used anywhere. But it is worth noting that in the process of operation it consumes quite a lot of the battery charge, so you should not turn it on for more than half an hour.

Above, only two methods of manufacturing a preheater for a VAZ are described. In fact, there are more manufacturing schemes, and knowing the principle of operation, you can develop your own device with some other design features.

Related articles:

Manufacturers now offer drivers a variety of vehicle configuration options. You can choose in advance what useful options your car will have. The most popular among domestic motorists are options such as:

air conditioner,
power windows.

Also, quite often, cars are equipped with acoustic systems. But everything is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The fact is that most music lovers will prefer to choose a system to their liking, rather than a budget factory option. Although it should be admitted that more than good speakers are installed on premium cars.

But today we are not talking about them, but about such an option as heated seats. Every car owner, at least once, who has been sitting in a heated car, will want such an accessory in his car.

Attention! Typically, a good heating system takes no more than thirty seconds to make you feel like somewhere in the tropics.

Heated seats is of particular relevance for people suffering from various back diseases and cervical... Sometimes it is enough to sit in the heated seat for 20 minutes, and all the pains go away.

Unfortunately, until now, not all cars have the option of installing heated seats upon purchase. Usually, this limitation applies to cars of the middle and budget class. Moreover, even if it is in the price list, this option is very expensive.

It is not surprising that every year more and more drivers decide to install heated seats with their own hands. This process is very costly, but not particularly difficult. Every motorist can do it.

Heating types

It should be noted right away that in order to have warm seats in winter, it is not necessary to open the casing and connect it yourself electrical circuit heating. There are alternatives to avoid this. Of course, despite the advantages, this option did not do without disadvantages.

Special capes

This type of seat heating does not require any complicated installation. It is enough to throw a cover over the chair, and you will provide yourself with warmth for the whole winter. At least this is how this concept looks at first glance.

Besides capes on the market, you can also find special heated covers for car seats... They are much more comfortable as they have a better hold and will not slip in sharp turns.

Attention! Coats and covers have special heating elements that provide the driver with warmth.

In addition to ease of installation, the advantages of just such a heated seat, which everyone can install with their own hands, can be attributed to the low cost. Unfortunately, it was not possible to do without shortcomings. The most important thing is the extremely low quality of the entire structure.

If you search the Internet, you can find more than one case where the cape caught fire right under the driver. Moreover, such devices are characterized by uneven heating. In some areas, the temperature rises to 40 degrees.

Another significant drawback of a cape or cover is the way of connection. To activate such heated seats, you need to use the cigarette lighter socket. Taking into account the fact that the average driver has a navigator, smartphone, video recorder and so on in his car, this port is becoming scarce.

Attention! Even a splitter is not able to help in such a situation. The fact is that this type of seat heating consumes too much electricity and the fuse simply cannot withstand.

Also, do not forget about the wires, which will definitely appear in the salon as a result of the purchase of a cape or cover. Cables can create an emergency, because at critical moments it is very easy to get tangled in them.

Built-in heating

Of course, it will take much more time to install the built-in seat heating. However, if you follow the instructions, the time required to carry out this operation can be significantly reduced.

The main advantages of built-in seat heating include:

The possibility of simultaneous heating of both the front and rear seats.
All wires are hidden under the interior trim, so you won't be able to get tangled up in them.
The system is connected to the car's wiring harness. This will free the cigarette lighter socket. In addition, the on-board network may well cope with such a load.
Since the heating is introduced into the seats, it remains original interior salon.

As you can see, despite some difficulty in installation, the built-in seat heating has whole line significant advantages that cannot be ignored.

Choosing a kit

Before proceeding with the installation of seat heating, you need to decide on the kit that you need. The most popular now are the goods of German, Russian and Chinese brands.

Naturally, the best in quality are the seat heating kits from the leading German companies... But their cost is appropriate. Of course, such systems are installed in both the front and rear seats.

High-quality kits should have at least several degrees of protection. Also, high-quality seat heating systems usually have more than one mode of operation.

It should be noted that among Russian companies there are brands that provide high-quality and relatively inexpensive products. Suffice it to recall such giants as Avtoterm and Teplodom. Seat heating systems from these companies have protection, as well as high-quality heating elements. For greater reliability, they use an armored cable. They also have an overheating protection function that turns off the device when a critical temperature is reached.

Seat heaters from China traditionally have the lowest price. Unfortunately, in most cases, products from this country cannot boast of any reliable design nor a good security system. There are, of course, exceptions, but their price is not much lower than their German counterparts.

When choosing a seat heating system, it is better to immediately buy a high-quality kit, since devices with a low price may have such defects as:

failure of the control button,
burnout of the wiring,
short circuits,
uneven heating.

Taking into account the time that you have to spend on installation, it is better to immediately buy a high-quality kit so as not to waste your energy on repairs.

DIY heating

With some knowledge of electrical engineering, seat heating can be done independently. Nevertheless, the reliability and safety of such a design will not be very high.

To make heated seats with your own hands, take a nichrome wire with a diameter of half a centimeter. Form four spirals. To do this, use wooden bar with two hammered nails at a distance of 4 cm.

Important! Do the curl with a figure eight.

Take thick denim and connect all the spirals on it in a parallel way. The power supply must be at least 12V. The final indicator of the calculated power will be 40 watts. Also, don't forget to install the relay in your DIY seat heater.

Installation

Training

Any business that is worthwhile starts with preparation. After you have chosen and bought yourself a kit, you need to attend to the selection of tools and materials appropriate for your task. To install heated car seats with your own hands, you will need:

plastic clamps,
multimeter,
set of screwdrivers,
spanners different sizes,
scissors,
electrical tape and double-sided tape,
heat shrink tubing,
marker,
pliers,
glue,
soldering iron.

This is a standard set. Simply put, you cannot do without these tools when editing. But you should take into account that there are systems of varying complexity. Moreover, much depends on the basic delivery set. Very often, cheap kits do not have the necessary wires or fuse to install. In this case, you will have to buy them yourself.

Attention! It is best to use a stranded wire with a cross section of 2.5 mm2 for wiring.

Mounting

Before proceeding directly to the installation, calculate in advance where you will install the control buttons. Also select the appropriate mount type. After choosing a suitable location for the manipulators, simply follow these instructions:

Dismantle the chairs and disassemble them. You need to remove the headrest as well as unfasten all the plastic parts.
Remove the seat trim. Usually it is fixed at the very bottom with metal rings. You can do without complete removal, the main thing is that you can safely install the heating elements.
Remove the trim from the back of the seats. To do this, you need to unfasten the plastic bushings of the head restraints.
The heating element must be placed on the foam rubber and with the help of a marker outline the contours. Then strips of double-sided tape are glued to them and glue is applied.
The elements are fixed on the back and seat.
Lead out the power wires.
Reinstall the trim.
Return the seat inserts and headrests.

At the very end, the seats are reinstalled and the wiring is laid.

Connection

To connect heated seats, you need to use the circuit that will come with the kit. You can find the power circuits with a multimeter. In this case, the positive wire of the thermal relay is connected to the ignition switch, the negative cable goes to ground. The button illumination is connected to the cigarette lighter contacts.

Attention! All connections are soldered and insulated at the end.

Outcomes

As you can see, every car owner can install heated seats. The main thing is to properly prepare for installation, collect the entire set of materials and tools, and also purchase a high-quality heating system or make it yourself.

Heated seats for cars is a useful and necessary option, especially in winter. A bunch of modern models already equipped from the factory with this option, for which you have to pay extra when choosing a complete set. But if there is no such function in the car, then you can connect it yourself. What type of heating to choose and how to connect correctly?

1 Types of seat heating - choose a convenient option

There are a large number of products on the market today universal solutions in order to independently equip the car seats with a heating function. Heaters differ in configuration and installation method; some of them can be installed quickly by simply connecting the heater to the cigarette lighter socket, others require more complex installation and connection to the on-board network. Thus, seat heating can differ in the way of heating (heating base), which is either in the form of filaments or in the form of carbon fiber. In the first case, heating is considered less reliable, since the threads tend to break off often, and their repair and replacement is a rather painstaking task (especially on VAZ models).

In addition, the heating method differs according to the field of application. Either the entire seat is heated, or only the backrest and lumbar region. At the same time, high-quality and universal heating should have several available operating modes and automatic temperature maintenance at the required level (as in a standard heater). As for the types, there are external (cover) heating elements or internal (built into the seat structure). In the first case, the installation is easier - the cape is fixed over the seat with straps and connected to the cigarette lighter.

To install the heating inside the seat, you will have to remove the trim and the seats themselves, but this installation method is considered more efficient and functional.

On most factory-fitted vehicles, the seat heating is in the form of an incandescent filament. different sizes(depends on the specific car model). The heaters have a built-in thermostat (counter) with automatic actuation, which is set to a certain operating temperature range.

The standard heating activation button, as a rule, has a self-locking function. That is, when the button is pressed, the heating power supply with a built-in relay supplies contacts to this relay, which transmits current to the heating elements (filaments) and at the same time back to the relay coil (the circuit closes). If you turn off the ignition of the car, the circuit is opened and the threads remain de-energized; when the ignition is turned on again, the heater will not work until it is activated by the button.

2 Installing a universal heating in a car with your own hands

The choice of seat heating can be stopped on the standard version (removed from another car model), or you can take universal kits, for example, Teplodom, Winter, etc., of which there are a lot of them on the market. The connection of such kits is almost the same, the differences arise only in design features seats on various car models. Thus, installation work is carried out in two stages - installation of heating elements (threads, capes, fasteners, etc.) and correct connection electrical contacts.

If you chose a heater over the seats, then there will be no problems with installation. It is enough to attach the heating cape to the seat, fasten it with the straps from the kit and connect the wires to the cigarette lighter socket on the dashboard. For aesthetics, the wires can be hidden under the trim or directly under the seat. When purchasing outdoor heating kits, you will find detailed instructions on installation.

If the heating is built into the seat or under the trim for ease of work, it is better to remove the chairs. On the different models car removal procedure is different, but the principle is almost the same everywhere (especially for models of the VAZ family). To remove the front seat with your own hands, you must:

Move the seat as far forward as possible and remove the torsion bars,
Move the seat back as far as possible and unscrew a few fastening nuts,
Using a special wrench, unscrew two bolts of the front and rear fastening and remove the seat from the grooves,
Disconnect the plugs under the seat if equipped with electronic drive or airbags.

After removing the seat, the trim must be carefully removed. Depending on the type of cladding, removal has its own nuances. If the sheathing is fabric, it simply rises from the front to the top, while the work should be carried out as carefully as possible. If any defects are found (for example, deformation of foam rubber), at this stage, you can glue or replace the damaged elements.

However, not all auto models will have an easy removal. Let us analyze in detail how to remove the casing and glue the heating element using the example of Japanese cars (Mazda, Toyota, Nissan).

When the chair is completely removed, it is necessary to turn it on its side and remove the handles (or buttons) for adjusting the tilt and rotation of the back. Next, you need to remove the plastic plugs and unscrew two or three mounting bolts. After that, the seat should be turned upside down and the fasteners at the bottom should be unscrewed. The cladding itself is fastened with steel rings around the perimeter, they can be pry off with a screwdriver or removed in another way, however, be careful, as they may be required when reinstalling the cladding. If the rings are damaged, plastic straps can be used.

As the steel rings are removed, the skin is gently moved from top to bottom (from base to back) to the area required to install the heating element. Next, pre-try on the heating cape around the perimeter. If a standard heating kit is used, then it will match in size without problems; in the case of purchasing a universal kit, it is recommended to measure all dimensions in advance so that the heater does not stick out and hinder comfort. Remove the adhesive backing from the heating element, straighten the casing and tighten the clamps. Now you can start connecting contacts for correct work heating.

3 Connecting heating and buttons to the car electrical system

Before connecting all the wires, they must be carried out under the seat trim (can be carried out under the foam rubber base). One wire is led out to the area of the armrest or central tunnel; if button illumination is also provided, then there will be two wires; the rest are led to the diagnostic block of the car (location depending on the car model). Before wiring the contacts, it is necessary to cut holes for the heating adjustment button (if standard holes are not provided). After drilling, place the buttons, remembering to install the fuses on the contacts.

The wires are connected in three 12-volt circuits, the corresponding wire can be found in the fuse box, the backlight circuit (ibid.) And the ignition (on some universal models, the connection is made to the cigarette lighter socket without the need to connect a button). You can check how the heater works with a multimeter. As a rule, universal heaters come with a detailed electronic circuit that can be followed during installation. When connecting the standard heating, the car's wiring diagram can be found in the operating instructions.

After connection, additionally insulate the contacts (you can use electrical tape or corrugation). To prevent sagging of the wires, you can secure them with clamps to the base of the front seats. Next, you can check the connection. If everything is correct, the heating will be activated only when the ignition is on (otherwise, check all the contacts again, otherwise the battery will be discharged in a day).

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