bum warmers

FUBAR · Post by **FUBAR** » 04 Dec 2006, 01:26

Hey guys,
I made the mistake in buying my '01 V70T5 by not buying the climate package. Now as the weather has dipped below freezing, I am wishing I had the same heated seats as my friends S60.
I have looked through all of the forums using the search feature, and found only one other guy who is trying the same as me, but no one replied to his post.
My instrument panel has dummy placeholder buttons in the position where the heated seat buttons would be. I wonder if the harness is the same in all V70s from my year, if all I need is the hardwear(buttons and heater) to assemble it all into place. I have yet to take apart the dash of my car (it looks like a nightmare while it is all one big piece) to check the harness for non-connected wiring. Beneath my seat I see electrical wiring that is very encouraging. Where should I look for furthar help?
Thanks

Post by **JRL** » 04 Dec 2006, 05:45

The wiring is the easy part.
There should be a harness there to connect the switches but I'm not sure where it stops (and starts) on the other end.
You will need to buy the actual seat heater pads, ($$) and the wiring harness from the seats to wherever it goes under the dash.
The seats then have to be taken apart, the seat pads put in and the seat put back together. After you get all that done you need a trip to the dealer to have the system initialized.
Cheaper way to go would be aftermarket (ask a new car dealer about who in your area does this)

FUBAR · Post by **FUBAR** » 04 Dec 2006, 17:06

I have found aftermarket seat heater units for around $150/seat, my only problem with aftermarket is the actuating switches aren't original. I want to use that dummy placeholder button where other volvos have the seat heater buttons. Perhaps oe volvo seat buttons work with aftermarket seat heater. This is a hard undertaking for me because my local volvo dealer won't touch it. Perhaps if I keep calling back and asking for different mechanics I'll get different answers? Or maybe a tuning shop where highschoolers take their rice rockets will offer a solution.

FUBAR · Post by **FUBAR** » 04 Dec 2006, 17:34

Just got off the phone with a well-reputed local upholstery shop -$549 for both front seats.

Post by **JRL** » 04 Dec 2006, 17:39

FUBAR wrote:Just got off the phone with a well-reputed local upholstery shop -$549 for both front seats.

Which sounds about right.
I'm sure you can't use the factory switches

FUBAR · Post by **FUBAR** » 04 Dec 2006, 18:39

that's right. Factory switches are associated with the harness(only volvo has rights to this harness), therefore all aftermarket equipment cannot utilize oe harnesses. Stinks that it won't look oe, but it costs much less, and I hear it's much warmer than oe!