Cheers

My questions in a nutshell:

1. When a Peltier cell goes bad can it be repaired or do you need a new one?
2. Does the Peltier cell come out of the seat with the blower unit?

The background:
I think the A/C in my driver's seat does not work. I can feel the air coming through, so I assume the blower works but that's it...
I know I can't expect much from (even a working) Peltier cell when it comes to cooling, so I am rather judging by the heating function. And that's where I feel massive difference between the driver's and the passenger's seat.

From what I know replacing the Peltier cell is not an easy job, apparently you have to strip the cushion... (The seat cushion is kinda asking for it anyways.)
But I am wondering:
Allegedly the cell itself is a very simple device, which makes me think...
How likely it is that the cell itself is dead, compared to maybe it only having a connector/wire gone bad?
I.e. can a broken Peltier cell be realistically repaired?

Does the blower unit contain the Peltier cell? (Or does the Peltier cell stay in the seat when you take out the blower unit?)
And does that apply to both the seat and the backrest blower unit?
If both are supposed to heat/cool then I know the one in the backrest is not working either, and that one is easier to access. (I had it out a year ago to fix its collapsed ducting and to perform the TSB-fix.)

 

Jaroslav, so 08 XJR has a ventilated seats? Peltier device is not very efficient, rather expencive and is very local effect. I will have to do more reading on it.

 

I believe all x358s had those.

 

One thing to check and possibly remove are the seat filters. They came from Ford and there are ones that have a filter element and the later ones do not. I have seen these completely clogged with hair and debris. I see JLR C2C36093 for the filter. Some of the later cars had 2 filters. One for the base and one for the back of the seat but I think these XJ's only have one filter.

Also the ducts can collapse and crack as well as you posted. If you have already fixed that then check the filters. This can be fixed by taping the ducts back together but that requires the seat back to be taken a part to get access.

Sorry no experience with failed Peltier units. But I agree the output seems rather weak!
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They are self-contained peltier elements and blowers for each half of the seat. If both aren't working, i'd suspect it's very unlikely you have two bad coolers. Might be worth getting one to plug in and test with the seat loose, make sure you're getting the needed powers/grounds at the unit when commanded on for heat/cool.

 

Hi Jaroslav,
The 2008 model year update gives good information on the climate seats in the X358

Pete M

 

Edit: The damned cell might actually be OK, i.e. I can actually feel warm/cool coming out albeit pretty weak.
I'll have the seat opened anyways and will check the blower unit, if the duct is collapsed or broken. (Also might as well do the JTB00180 fix.)

I am pretty confident the Peltier cell in the driver's seat doesn't work, and I believe the one in the passenger's seat does...
When cooling on the driver side is turned on I can feel air coming through the leather perforations in the seat/backrest, but the air isn't exactly cool.
Initially, having very little expectations from Peltier, I concluded "well, it's just Peltier being Peltier."
But then, during the winter, I turned on the heating, and even after couple of minutes I still couldn't feel a thing from the seat. So I tested the passenger's side, and the difference between both seats was clearly noticeable within a minute. (Also I vaguely recall a passenger commenting on the cooling during the summer.)

Reading again the PDF linked by Pete M., only now I am taking note of two things:
1) both the seat and the backrest are supposed not only blow but also warm/cool the air coming through,
...it might sound stupid but I wasn't sure about the backrest
2) the Peltier cell is a part of the blower unit,
...which is a good news because I think I can remember how to get the backrest blower unit out (in case it has a dead Peltier too)

This week I shall test heating/cooling again in both the seat and the backrest on both sides.
Also I am getting at peace with having the driver'$ $eat re-uphol$tered, which will provide access to the blower unit.
We'll see how I can sync the Peltier cell replacement with the re-upholstering job (if I can free the cell from the blower unit in the first place)