Adding Heated Seats?

01LincolnLSV8

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Hey guys,

i was wondering if i could add heated seats to my 01 LS8? i searched but didnt find any posts about people trying to add heated seats cause most people have em, well it just so happens that i have everything but heated seats and the spoiler... kinda weird but hey.... Any way of doing it without spending a whole LOT of money??

--Josh
 
Adding aftermarket heated seats is definetly worth it. I went to an shop that specializes in interior upholstery and all that. They charged me 250 to install a seat heater in my driver's seat and I love it. If you want to get real fancy, you can find a factory switch for the heated seats and make it look like a stock option.
 
You Can Add A/C Seats and Heated Too!

The seats heating and cooling equipment is all self contained in the seat itself. So if you can find a later set of LS seats, with the heat and A/C option, they will bolt in. The only modifications will be to the plugs and wiring connecting the seat to the wire harness. So if you take them out yourself from the junk yard, be SURE and cut the electrical plugs out of the car's harness too!
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Heated and Cooled Seats

P.S.: Josh, do you have the shop manual for your LS. That would help with the wire colors and such?
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clubairth said:
The seats heating and cooling equipment is all self contained in the seat itself. So if you can find a later set of LS seats, with the heat and A/C option, they will bolt in. The only modifications will be to the plugs and wiring connecting the seat to the wire harness. So if you take them out yourself from the junk yard, be SURE and cut the electrical plugs out of the car's harness too!
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I did this on my wife's Aviator. Some idiot forgot to check that option when he ordered it. The seats cost me $400. Believe it or not, I found the switches on eBay. (they are on the arm rests) Nothing came with wire pigtails...which was a huge pain. The car was NOT prewired for the cooled seats. so I had to completely build the wiring harnesses myself with electrical connector pigtails I bought from Ford. Unfortunately, they don't offer everything you need in the way of connectors. After searching high and low, I selected some decent looking connectors from Radio Shack and soldered all pigtails and inserts. I then wired evertything EXACTLY as the factory calls for...including the grounds. As a note, there are different "types" of grounds on these vehicles and I made a note to connect the grounds in the exact spot they called for. I even added the circuit that makes the system accessible from the ALDL connector. When I first first fired the seats up, NOTHING. They wouldn't work either way...heated or cooled. I performed every single pinpoint test the manual calls for and everything tested perfectly. That left the modules under the seats. I went ahead and popped the $100 or so for a module. It says in the box that you MUST have the module programmed when installed. However, I installed it without the programming and the seat worked perfectly. I bought another module for the other seat and it worked perfectly. Then I contacted the company I bought the seats from and they refunded me the $200 I spent on modules. In retrospect, I believe if I had taken the car into a dealer and had them program the old modules to my vehicle, they would have worked. Any electronic Ford techs here may be able to confirm that for me. Bottom line, it was a very large undertaking to get it right, but was well worth the effort...especially when it's 118 out here and you punch the button to cool!!
 
2001LS8Sport said:
I did this on my wife's Aviator. Some idiot forgot to check that option when he ordered it. The seats cost me $400. Believe it or not, I found the switches on eBay. (they are on the arm rests) Nothing came with wire pigtails...which was a huge pain. The car was NOT prewired for the cooled seats. so I had to completely build the wiring harnesses myself with electrical connector pigtails I bought from Ford. Unfortunately, they don't offer everything you need in the way of connectors. After searching high and low, I selected some decent looking connectors from Radio Shack and soldered all pigtails and inserts. I then wired evertything EXACTLY as the factory calls for...including the grounds. As a note, there are different "types" of grounds on these vehicles and I made a note to connect the grounds in the exact spot they called for. I even added the circuit that makes the system accessible from the ALDL connector. When I first first fired the seats up, NOTHING. They wouldn't work either way...heated or cooled. I performed every single pinpoint test the manual calls for and everything tested perfectly. That left the modules under the seats. I went ahead and popped the $100 or so for a module. It says in the box that you MUST have the module programmed when installed. However, I installed it without the programming and the seat worked perfectly. I bought another module for the other seat and it worked perfectly. Then I contacted the company I bought the seats from and they refunded me the $200 I spent on modules. In retrospect, I believe if I had taken the car into a dealer and had them program the old modules to my vehicle, they would have worked. Any electronic Ford techs here may be able to confirm that for me. Bottom line, it was a very large undertaking to get it right, but was well worth the effort...especially when it's 118 out here and you punch the button to cool!!


Do you thnk thes could be transplanted into another manufactures vehicle?
 
That is a very interesting question Noah. I know all the modules communicate with each other on these cars, but the system does indeed seem to be pretty well self contained. I had a guy tell me that the Navigator seats with the control switches on the seats have been successfully transplanted into other vehicles such as street rods, etc. So I am assuming that if you can figure out how to control them, they would work.
 
Anyone find anything about where to get the upgraded seats? I have an 01LS and the dirver's seat leather has started to crack a little bit. I want to replace the seats for that reason alone but I'd love heated/cooled seats as well. I just don't want to spend a fortune. Under $500 would reasonable.
 
Bringing up an old thread.

I have 02 LSE, WITHOUT heated seats.

i want to install this feature.

Question- realizing the 03+ have the cooling seat option as well, can these seats be directly installed into an 02? Are the interior colors the same too?


Also, If I find a used 03+ DATC from ebay/junkyard, can I directly swap that piece into my 02 as well, and hook it up like it was stock? i want it to be as stock looking as possible.

Thanks for your input!!
 
Bringing up an old thread again....

I have 02 LSE, WITHOUT heated seats.

i want to install this feature.

Question- realizing the 03+ have the cooling seat option as well, can these seats be directly installed into an 02? Are the interior colors between the first and second gen the same too?


Also, If I find a used 03+ DATC from ebay/junkyard, can I directly swap that piece into my 02 as well, and hook it up to the 03+ seats? i want it to be as stock looking as possible. I'm guessing the only thing that would need to be figured out is if the connectors are same the between the first and second gen (maybe they just filled in a couple empty pins on the second gen for the heated/cooled seat control and didn't change the whole format)

Thanks for your input!!
 

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