Seat Heating Elements

[Leester]

Hello all,
I have new seat covers and when they are installed, I am considering adding seat heaters. The kind sold today sit between the horsehair and the seat covers but the padding in the inserts is such that I'm not sure much heat will get through. I have several heating elements of the type shown in the photos but obviously there are a few too many "fingers."  I figure these things work by creating resistance so I assume I can't just cut off three fingers and reattach without doing more.

I have already upgraded the alternator to 55 amps with appropriate thicker wiring.

Anyone know how to modify these things to reduce the number of fingers?  Looking for heat, not fire! Thanks in advance.  Lee

[roymil]

You would need to understand how they are wired before cutting them up I think.  Depending on how the wires are run you might render them all completely non-functional if you cut the wrong part of the circuit. Certainly that is the case if it's just a single thermal wire circuit vs multiple parallel circuits.

[AdelaidePagoda]

Upgrades: Seat belts, cup holders, ignition upgrades I understand.  Air conditioning I almost understand, but heated seats, it’s a pass from me 😂

[Leester]

Thanks roymil; hoping someone else has already tried this so I can avoid destroying one unnecessarily. and thanks Adelaide for your view.   Lee

[BobH]

I'm no expert, but your elements seem to be replacements for factory fitted heated seats from another Mercedes model, which would already have the controls built into the car.  I would have thought you would need a retrofit kit, which would come with all of the necessary controls, harness, temperature control, safety cut off etc etc.  i would have been sceptical about their effectiveness, but some seem to get good reviews

Have a look here, there are loads on the market

https://www.cchit.org/aftermarket-heated-seat-kit/

[Leester]

Thanks BobH, I removed the elements shown from the back seats of a 560SEL. The entire wiring arrangement in that car was remarkably simple. The "fingers" aren't sewn into the pleats, they are just held there by friction. I agree with you that the potential effectiveness of the aftermarket retrofits may be limited since the heat from these heating pads have to get through so much Mercedes padding.  Many thanks for the link.

[Merc_Girl]

That’s because you live in a hot country 🤣🤣

Have heated seats put in my pagoda, makes up for lack of ‘modern’ heating that newer cars have ☺️