Inspired by another seat thread, I have a few questions on X300 seats.

Heating retrofit.
1. On a car with non-heated seats, are all the wiring still there, ready to use?
2. Can heating elements be fitted to non-heated seats? And if so, will the elements wiring fit into the connector under the seats?
3. The clock will have to be replaced, as there are no buttons to activate the heating. But a module and/or relay must also be needed. Will it/they plug right in?

Seat memory retrofit.
1. Some kind of memory module obviously is required. Will it plug right into existing wiring loom?
2. The 1-2-3 panel on the drivers door will have to be installed. More?
3. I suppose every key have a unique ID, which is read by the ignition switch and then used to disable the immobiliser? If so, is the same ID used to select the right memory storage for the seats, so no further ID'ing is needed?
4. If the car have manual adjustment of the steering wheel, an electrical power unit can be retrofitted. But otherwise the seats memory would still work, right?

Yes, these are the thoughts of an engineer, trying to understand what goes on under the hood. But who knows, maybe I'll put this into practical use some day

 

Nothing to add of any use I'm afraid, but I'm very interested to see what you find out. No interest whatsoever in making my seats / steering column more complicated (they work very well manually!), but I would like heated seats (and cruise control). They're both at the bottom of my to-do list though - I look forward to that magical day when I can contemplate upgrades rather than fixing things!

 

Hey,

I know this is a couple of years old but wondered if you got any further with this? It something I would be interested in doing if it is simple enough.

I noticed that under my seats their is a slot for a relay and a spare wire on the seat which doesnt connect to anything... I wonder if this is part of something?


Tjh

 

Not sure it is a complete answer to the OP's original question...but if your North American Market car has memory seats, and if a P.O. effected a clock-fix by using a clock-module with heated-seat switches...then yes, you can retrofit the blankets and have heated seats. (I worked up the courage to try mine for the first time this morning and it worked quite nicely)


As the wiring guide draws a distinction between NA and ROW memory seat modules, I'm not sure the same trick will work with ROW cars. I suppose if you obtained X300 OEM blankets you could plug-n-play directly.


I fitted an aftermarket blanket to my driver's seat while I had the hides off for some repairs. Couldn't properly navigate the wiring guide pdf at the time with sufficient dexterity to identify the proper circuits. Took the driver's seat out again this summer in order to bollix-up the headliner (Facing a do-over on that one..) and managed to jury-rig the hot wire from each blanket into the yellow 2-pin connector fixed to the seat frame and grounded both blanket ground wires to the seat frame.


After installation, not much incentive to try them as it was summer and we'd have 85-90 F in the morning and 100+ (ambient - much hotter at the seat after 8-10 hours hot-soak) and when things started to cool down a bit...I was always on my way to work or some other equally important and time-critical destination, so was afraid if I punched the seat-heater everything may go hot/dark/silent. However, a crisp morning this Saturday, and just headed to the post office 10 min away and had a spare car at the ready and an hour and a half before they closed for the day..so..."I'll give it a go." Zip, zero, nada. No relay click, no LED in the switch, no heat. Later on, I searched the elec. guide and determined fuse #9, 25A in the RH Heel board may be the culprit. Pulled it, checked it; found it good and re-seated it. Launched out to retrieve a kid from a friend's house and punched up the driver's side seat heat. Didn't think far enough ahead to turn fan to low and entertainment system off in order to hear the relay click, but I did get the red LED this time. Within a few minutes, I sensed a distinct warming sensation on back and buttocks. Not dreading the cold mornings quite so much anymore....


I'll try to gin-up a how-to from the pics I took when recovering the seat and also when I had it out for the wiring mod. Meanwhile, the yellow connector I was speculating about in this thread was the proper source for seat heater pwr: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...s-help-101802/

 

I wondered if you ever 'pushed-the-button' like you threatened to do a few weeks ago.

I still have the Dorman Universal Seat Heater....

Seat Heaters

that I need to install into one of my cars to check how it works.

I have a 2001 XJ8 that has the Passenger seat heater inop. If it is the seat element that is open circuit the cheap way to repair would be to install the Dorman unit.

I sold my 1997 XJ6L so I can't experiment with that one.
I do have a 1999 XJ8L that does NOT have factory seat heaters so I might install the Dorman in that car also.

bob gauff

 

You sold the X300?!? Well...you said you had to shed one or two...


I guess for the 2001, you'd just have to use one blanket out of the kit, probably cut the connector off your inop one and solder it onto the dorman.


You could use the whole kit in the 1999....or adopt my plan and do both! (Only driver's side on the 1999)
I'm still considering it...but I'm having trouble working up the gumption to pull the seat, skin it, put on the blanket and put it all back together just to heat a seat that I'll just about never set in! (teaching the kids to drive is about the only time I log in the pax seat) so I'm inclined to use the rest of my kit to do the driver's side in the Excursion! (It needs some leather work in the cushion area...)