Heated Seats

[V60white]

The passenger seat heat unit is not working, 2013 V60. I have only had it a few weeks so still getting to grips with things !!
The drivers seat works fine,,,very hot in fact !!

I can't see anything disconnected under the seat so I am wondering if they have separate fuses ???...
if so where should I be looking ?
Scrap that, just found a fuse box diagram with the" A" fusebox , fuse 26 and 27.

If it is not a fuse , is it an unusual thing for the heated seat to die ??
Any thoughts gratefully received !

[MacV50]

Silly question but are you checking this with someone sat in the seat?

On the XC60, the heating only works when it detects someone on the seat. This can be slightly annoying as the seat doesn't heat up while scraping the ice if the side windows 🙄

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by V60white

The passenger seat heat unit is not working, 2013 V60. I have only had it a few weeks so still getting to grips with things !!
The drivers seat works fine,,,very hot in fact !!

I can't see anything disconnected under the seat so I am wondering if they have separate fuses ???...
if so where should I be looking ?
Scrap that, just found a fuse box diagram with the" A" fusebox , fuse 26 and 27.

If it is not a fuse , is it an unusual thing for the heated seat to die ??
Any thoughts gratefully received !

It can happen, not particularly unusual.

I think the part that can fail is an element of some sort called a heat pad.

[V60white]

Originally Posted by MacV50

Silly question but are you checking this with someone sat in the seat?

On the XC60, the heating only works when it detects someone on the seat. This can be slightly annoying as the seat doesn't heat up while scraping the ice if the side windows 🙄

I did initially have someone in the seat, which is how I discovered it was not working...apparently.
I then checked it when I was on my own , so, no when I was testing there was no bum in the seat !!!
I take it from that they have a pressure switch too, then ??

[V60white]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

It can happen, not particularly unusual.

I think the part that can fail is an element of some sort called a heat pad.

OK, thanks, haven't had a chance to test the fuses yet plus the potential pressure part of the problem .
Presumably the pad is inside the seat ?? Meaning a strip down of upholstery?

[Simmy]

it is not a difficult job to replace seat heater pad just time consuming invest in some hog ring pliers if your going to attempt this job use new rings dont try to re use old ones or blood will flow .there is a guide on the top of the s60 section with pictures.

[Tannaton]

9 times out of 10 it is the seat base heating pad that fails.

It's easy to diagnose :

- With VIDA/Volvo diagnostics, the seat heating module on each side communicates with the (CEM or CCM can't remember) and logs faults when there is a short or open circuit.

- With a multimeter, if you remove the seat (easy) and meter the resistance of the heating pads, anything over about 4-ish ohms and it's failed. Do not turn the ignition on with the seat cables disconnected...

The old Volvo pads in the P2 models had thick wires and last forever, the FoMoCo designed pads in P3 models have very fine stranded wires and they degrade over time, the resistance increases until the heat output is negligible or zero. Usually the drivers side goes first, the previous owner might have had a Rugby player wife...

The replacement pads are about £60 from Volvo and come with a fitting kit with all the cables, clips and self adhesive base. It's tricky to fit if you haven't done one before, but doable at home of you take your time and are methodical. You need to be very careful removing the old pad from the foam base so as not to tear off much foam - the Volvo process is to replace the foam as well.

[V60white]

Well, after all that I managed to find the correct fuse box, stood on my head in the passenger footwell , took cover off and fuse 26 was missing!!

Installed a 15amp mini fuse and the hotbot is now a reality for the passenger

Why it was missing is a mystery, unless it blew and they couldn't find the right type of fuse so just left it or, worst case, it blew for another reason , the replacement blew too, and it was therefore left out.
I guess, if the latter , then the problem will come back to haunt me.

Thanks for the guidance everyone, appreciated.