Hey Guys!

I am about to get the seats out of my 98VDP, and install the heated seats from 03VDP. The question is,......is this "plug and play" or not? I will need the climate control pannel with the heated seats buttons (of course), but is there an existing harness behind the dash to plug these switches? Also, under the seats,....are there some extra plugs that I will need, or everything connects right up?

Thanks!

 

Fingers crossed on the loom pickups, have a look under the seat for the slightly heavier gauge wiring that should be with the power harness for the seat, it helps to move the seat all the way forward and look from the rear.
Same with the dash, you can check without taking the centre console out - remove the wood surround and it'll be tucked in there. Have you got a wiring diagram to spot the wiring colours?

I think all 308's have looms for heated seats...

 

I am currently swapping 01 xj8l seats into my 99 vdp. I have noticed the wire colors don't match since I am swapping the picnic trays onto the backs of the regular seats. I ran into this while wiring the rear seat control switches on the rh side. There were no extra plugs on the floor in my car, just the single white one (whoops and a black 2 pin one), and there are connectors in the seats that were never hooked to anything, they are further up though. I would presume to have functional heated seats you would need the switches and may even have to add some pins at the white connector. May not be relevant, but I thought I would mention it. I am using wiring diagrams for both cars to figure this out.

 

I am picking up the seats today, and will report back when I yank my old ones out. I assume that all cars have the same harness. I found out a long time ago (with other makers) that they don't produce different harnesses for differently equipped cars. I guess I'll find out soon. The worst that can happen, ....seats will not be heated, but at least they will be "new"!

 

Assuming you've got (or don't need) the radio code please disconnect battery earth after you've removed the front bolts and run the seat fully forwards.

 

Sorry. I never disconnect the battery unless I work on something electrical. Unplugging the harnes is not working on wires. But thanks anyway.

Happy to report back!

Took the shifter bezel off, unbolted the black piece with the switches for cruise control, and "sport", took the ski slope out, three phillips screws to pull out the radio, and the climate control unit. Had to unplug the radio, and the CD changer leads to be able to move the radio to the side. Pulled the climate control out, and scrapped the crap out of my knuckles in order to unplug the climate control harnes (the side one, top one is easy). The side harness plug is on the left side, under the center console, and next to the shifter. VERY hard to get to. But I took a risk, and pulled on the harness (has enough slack!), and the blue plug became visible.

So far so good. Checked the color of the plugs (Jag people like to color code all plugs, which is very helpful!), and the colors match! Plugged the climate control in (this one has the buttons for seat heaters, which my old one didn't have), slid the radio back in after I plugged it (two plugs that I disconnected) in, and turned the key. Radio works, check, CD changer works, check, tape works, check, and all climate control buttons work. Didn't even need to enter the code in the radio!

Well,....the buttons for the heated seats light up, but will they actually heat the seats?

Driver's seat fully back, undid two front torx bolts first, seat fully forward, undid the back bolts. Flipped the seat on it's back, and unplugged two harnesses under, pulled it slightly backwards, and unbolted the seat belt. And the seat was out.

Slid the new seat in, put it on it's backrest, bolted the seat belt, plugged the electrical, put the seat in the upright position, and bolted it down. At that point, I needed a beer!

Will the damn thing work, or not? Well, it was time to find out. Started the car, checked all climate functions, and......turned the seat heater on. In about 35 seconds, I had a strange sensation in my but,.....it was getting HOT!! The thing works! Plug and play, just like my computer. What a relief.

And then, I did the same procedure on the passenger's side.

It's all good. And after that, I changed the back seat, and called it a day. Tomorrow I'm changing all door panels (my door pockets are disintegrating), and I will have a "new" interior from a wrecked 2003 VDP with 32K on the clock! And the best of all?

Two front seats, complete back seat, four door panels, center console (didn't need it, but the guy insisted for me to take it, as a "package" deal), climate control unit, shifter bezel (leather covered of course!), and four green center caps (for the wheels),.....all together $500 US!!

I feel pretty good about it.

And that's it folks.

 

JTIS says airbag may deploy if you remove the seat.


Front Seat
BEFORE ANY AIR BAG/SRS SERVICE IS PERFORMED, AT LEAST ONE MINUTE MUST ELAPSE AFTER DISCONNECTION OF THE BATTERY POSITIVE CABLE
TO ALLOW DISSIPATION OF BACK-UP POWER SUPPLY ENERGY.
IN THE EVENT OF A FAULT RUPTURING THE 10A BATTERY SUPPLY FUSE (F4 LOCATED IN THE FUSE BOX AT THE DRIVER END OF THE FASCIA) THE FUSE MUST NOT BE RENEWED

UNTIL THE AIR BAG/SRS SYSTEM HAS BEEN DE-ACTIVATED. FUSES OF ANY OTHER VALUE MUST NEVER BE USED AS THIS CAN CAUSE DISARM FAILURE. AFTER DEPLOYMENT, THE AIR BAG SURFACE CAN CONTAIN DEPOSITS OF SODIUM HYDROXIDE, A PRODUCT OF THE GAS GENERATED DURING COMBUSTION THAT IS IRRITATING TO THE SKIN.

WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER AFTERWARDS. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS INSTRUCTION MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY.

NEVER PROBE THE CONNECTORS ON THE AIR BAG MODULE. DOING SO MAY RESULT IN AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS INSTRUCTION MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY.

TO AVOID ACCIDENTAL DEPLOYMENT AND POSSIBLE PERSONAL INJURY, THE BACKUP POWER SUPPLY MUST BE DEPLETED BEFORE REPAIRING OR REPLACING ANY AIR BAG SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT SYSTEM (SRS) COMPONENTS.

TO DEPLETE THE BACKUP POWER SUPPLY ENERGY, DISCONNECT THE BATTERY GROUND CABLE AND WAIT ONE MINUTE. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THIS INSTRUCTION MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY.

Position the front seat fully rearwards.
Remove the front seat base trim panel. Front seat right-hand front retaining bolt shown, front seat left-hand front retaining bolt similar.
Remove the front seat front retaining bolts.Position the front seat fully forwards.
Disconnect the battery ground cable.

Up to you.

 

^^ what he said!

 

Congrats! Yeah you are "supposed" to unhook the battery so if you do something stupid and actually deploy the bags, short something, or injure yourself, they can take the stance: "We told you so" It's more of a cya type thing.

So all the wiring for the heated seats is already in the car?! Where are the switches for this usually located? I think my parts car doesnt have them since I havent noticed any switches yet...

 

Well,....from what I read above, one is supposed to disconnect the battery before working on the airbag! I never came even close to the airbag though. Recently I replaced a steering wheel on my S class Benz, and took the airbag out, without disconnecting the battery. I agree it's safer, and I agree it's smarter,.....but I don't do it. And if I do something stupid,.....I have only myself to blame.

Not long ago, my BMW (740) was hit by a forklift while parked (it was hit HARD!) and because the car was locked and no key was present, no airbag deployed. That tells me that the airbags are active only when the key is in the 'on" position. I may be wrong, but I do a lot of work on the cars, and I disconnect the battery only when I work on wiring.

Anyway,.....to each his own.

As far as switches,.....they are integrated in the climate control unit above the radio. My 98VDP didn't have them, so I installed the climate control unit from the parts car.

 

Don't feel bad ... the point of the posts on the battery disconnection was to ensure that future readers know the sanctioned method. These posts stay around for a very long time, people search for them, and then go ahead with the repair. Sometimes they even manage to screw it up by leaving out a step or three.

 

Oh no problem! I agree that the smart way to do ANYTHING on the car, is to disconnect the battery. It minnimizes the possibility to short and fry something. Better safe than sorry.

 

+1 - some guy fried his BPM just now changing a seat module (don't ask me!) and, of course, the seat occupancy sensors do get all tangled up with the airbag modules and you don't want an airbag in your ear - even if, as you rightly say, the chances are slim.

 

Here's a short video tutorial on the safe handling of AirBags.


Note the accurate positioning of the Safety Cushion to avoid risk of injury.

Graham

 

IXJ8It, very interesting post in re: fitting the VDP seatbacks. I have been eyeing a set of Ivory VDP seatbacks on my local craigslist, and was wondering whether the screws that support the trays, seatback, etc. have a place to go or a support beam they screw into, i.e., that the inner frame of the seat is the same between an XJ8 and a VDP.

Is it as simple as pulling off my current plastic seatbacks and installing the VDP ones? Is there an existing wiring loom for the backseat controls that I can just plug into? I have an 03 Sovereign. Any light you could shed on this would very much appreciated.

Regards!