Is the temperature of the heated steering wheel supposed to be adjustable like the seats are? My steering wheel seems to have only one temperature setting regardless of what setting I use for the seats.

Thanks in advance.

 

No, just on or off for the steering wheel heater. Would definitely be nicer if it could be turned down with the seats.

 

Even nicer would be controls that let you control them individually.

 

Says all the Southern gents. Up here, the steering wheel heat is just fine.

 

Now that would be great!

 

Has anyone thought of installing a relay and switch to turn the wheel heater off? I beleive the fuse is located in the boot. I would not want to run the power supply wires to the front (switch) and back to the fuse in the boot. If the power supply/control module is located in the front dash, it wouldnt be that bad to run a switch in line without a relay between the module and the wheel. Thats if the supply is only a 12v dc constant voltage and amps are not real high. I was pondering this, and installing a rocker switch in the upper area of the small cubby below the trip reset panel.
Does anyone know what type of power feed goes to the heating element in the wheel? 12v dc, or some sort of pulse wave.
I would assume that I could install just a rocker switch with out a relay if:

1) The supply was just dc voltage 12v
2) The switch is rated higher that the fused curcuit.
3) The control module does not rely on any feedback from the heeting element.
4) The run was very short, to limit loss.

Any takers

After looking at the diagram it may be easier to install a switch in the ground curcuit, if there are no feedback issues.

 

Here is the circuit for the heated wheel:




The heater "module" is probably not doing any PWM control, but is cycling the heating element on and off to maintain temperature.

Everything in the dotted box is inside the steering wheel, so I wouldn't touch that. I doubt putting the cutout on the ground wire at G31BS would do any harm. It does not appear to provide any control feedback to the FEM, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Appears that it'll be the same result as disconnecting the 12v supply from the red ignition switched wire, SW9-2 before it goes to the slip ring.

If there was access to the thermistor in the steering wheel we could make the temperature adjustable. Seems like there might be, as it's showing connectors SW7-3 and SW7-2.

Not sure--I have cold hands, so the warm wheel has never bothered me!

-Michael

 

Here's how the owner's handbook should read... The steering wheel is designed to generate a higher level of heat, in order to accommodate a proper pair of driving gloves.

 

I rather think that my steering wheel heater isn't as strong with the seat on setting 1 compared with when the seat's on setting 2 or 3. Are we sure that the wheel is 'mono-setting' ?

Gloves ! I always find the seat heating is too strong, but the wheel just right for bare hands.

Edit:

Ah ha ! This what I found in one of the various Technical Description documents.

Heated Steering Wheel

The steering wheel heater, where installed, is activated when the driver’s seat heater switch is operated. The switch provides an input to the front electronic module (FEM), which responds by supplying an output signal via the clockspring contacts to the heated steering wheel (HSW) electronics . The HSW electronics receives supply voltage via the power coupling and slip rings.

The HSW power coupling, which attaches to the clockspring, comprises two spring contacts that interface with the HSW electronics, to ensure power and ground connections are maintained.

The HSW electronics, controls the operation of the HSW element when appropriate, maintaining a surface temperature of approximately 30 C (86 F).

 

Don't know if this helps anyone.



You can see the electronics for the heater in the steering wheel.

When i removed the heated wheel from my XJR I simply unplugged the wires in the steering column. I imagine just putting a switch in there would give you the on/off function.

 

Could it just be that the temperature regulation has gone out of spec and it's just running hotter than it should ?

If the thermistor, or the fixed resistor (less likely) have gone out of spec it could raise the set point temperature higher than 86°F.

 

As Partick the Cat says, I find the steering wheel temperature just right for driving without gloves in the winter. I agree for my hands that appreciate that bit of extra heat. I am interested in the ways to modify but will leave mine untouched for driving in New England winters.
RyeJag

 

Cambo your picture is gone?
I am trying to find out if the heated wheel was available with the all leather wheel or not?
Also how to tell the difference?

Looking at the JEPC it does not show a heated option for the all leather wheel?




But I have read that several people with XJR's did have a heated wheel and I "think" the XJR only came with an all leather wheel?
I am trying to replace a 1/2 leather and 1/2 wood wheel with an all leather version in a 2008 XJ. Mine is heated and I don't want to lose that.

Found an all black leather wheel from and XJR but neither the seller or I can figure out if it's heated or not?
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Wouldn't it be nice if they had a heater/cooler for the whole car. Oh wait...

Admittedly I'm not in snow, but the only time I used the heated/"cooled" seats was to see if they worked. (don't have the steering wheel one).
Or...do you guys wait for the steering wheel to heat before you drive off?

As far as I'm concerned, the reason for these things can only be some advertising gimmick.
(of course, "cooled" seats is actually just a fart distributor. How do I know this?)

 

12v and an earth connected via the clock spring but what is the cassette for with only one wire?