Will I look like that when my project is done??

I bought a set of used seats to replace my dried out and worn original seats. As a bonus, the new-to-me seats have heating elements - woo hoo. I'm referring to Dennis Vogel's excellent instructions and am about ready to run the wiring. I know nothing about automotive electrical, but with the detailed instructions, some patience and some confidence knowing that you all can help get me out of most any mess , I'm going to go for it. So here it is, dumb question #1....

The Porsche wiring diagram calls for 0.35 mm2 gauge wire, which Dennis converted to the nearest larger size...20 AWG. So assuming 20 AWG is the perfect wire gauge, is it OK to use 18 AWG? The guy at the auto parts store says that going a little bigger is fine, but wouldn't I be silly to trust him when I can ask you! I can manage the extra weight of the larger wire , but I'm wondering if I'll run into any resistance issues.

Thank you, and here's to warm buns!

If you have no problem running 18awg and it will make you feel better, go ahead and do it. You have less resistance in the 18awg than the 20awg so no issues there.

One thing to consider is making sure that the 18awg will work with the pins and sockets for the various connectors.

dghii
2000 Boxster S 6speed 112k miles

I'm curious about doing this job myself. Would you post the details of your "upgrade" here?

I'll certainly post an update when complete. Anything in particular you want to know? I plan to follow the instructions at the link in the original post. Warm buns, a fried electrical system, a small fire...I'm thinking that one of those will be the result.

When I first bought this car, I was thinking, "man, great convertible! Wish I had heated seats, though." So, one day, I'd like to do this upgrade! The next time I have to drive through NC, I'll try to stop at that salvage yard up there and see if they have heated seats that fit my car. What other components should I make sure I pull out of the donor car? Switches and wiring harnesses?

Since you're having to run all the wires, I assume it's not a simple "plug and play?" I can't just install the seats and plug the other end of the seat wiring into a socket under the seat?

The project is nicely detailed here: [dennisvogel.com]

I've completed running all of the wires and reassembling the interior. Not really difficult, just tedious. I estimate it took about 4 hours to do what I consider to be a perfect job. I've got a bundle of wires ending under each seat, at the fuse box and at the switches. I'm going to rest for a few days so my body can recover from the various yoga-like poses required to run the wires under the dash. I'll probably work on connecting the switches next, then will triple-check the steps and do the seats, fuse and relay in one final push for warm buns!

Amazon is running a 'Black Friday' deal on universal seat heaters that apparently can be retro fitted to any seat. It is a Dorman 628-040 Universal Seat Heater Kit that retails for about $170 and they are selling for $60. This might be a viable alternative for others to consider.

... seats already have the heating elements in the bottom cushion.
All you need are the elements on the insert (backrest) and the controls.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Pedro, does this include the sport seats? I thought for some reason Porsche did not offer this option if you ticked the box for the sport interior...

Steve

Steve
Guards Red 1999
I'm not a race car driver, but I play one in 2nd and 3rd gear

I dunno...that look on her face says, "I'll do this, but you're going to pay in ways you cannot begin to imagine."

I've got the two most intimidating connections remaining...the fuse and relay...I hope to have some time on Sunday to finish the job. Then I'll take a picture for y'all.

and I love them. The whole job including labor & parts was $500.

FYI, this supplier will only sell & ship their products to an installer....

[www.checkcorp.com]

I think the checkcorp folks may have had a change of heart about DIY'ers. Check out the lower left corner of this page:

[www.checkcorp.com]

Bill

I'm excited and a bit relieved to report that I'm done and everything seems to be working. Woo hoo!!! I decided to spare you all and not pose like the gal in the picture that Gary posted.

I'm happy that my seats are now heated - I will enjoy it - but, it was a lot of work, especially considering that my seats were already prepared (harness and relay in place). I probably spent about 10 hours total on the project and $55 in parts. Thankfully I was able to take my time and spread the work out over several days.

Would I do it again? No, probably not. Would I recommend that you do the project? No, probably not unless you really enjoy tinkering and learning. I fell into the "enjoys tinkering and learning" camp and my seats already had the heaters, harness and relays in place making the project more reasonable. It was tedious to run the wiring, and a bit nerve-racking to work with the fuse and relay panels. I've done lots of work on the car - changed my brake pads, rotors, fluid, my plugs, a spark plug tube, my AOS, hardwired my GPS and V1, top repair, and changed most switches in the car - this was the hardest task yet. But it does give me a warm feeling knowing that I did the work myself. In the future, I'll only buy cars with heated seats in place.

What did I learn? The only thing I can share is that if you come across a dead Black Widow deep in the footwell of your car, clean it up immediately...otherwise it'll scare you over and over.

A big THANK YOU to Dennis Vogel for his excellent instructions. I wouldn't even have considered this project without his write up.

A big THANK YOU to Trygve for the good deal on the seats, and for including the harnesses, relays and console switches.

A big THANK YOU to Peter Smith for providing a little guidance (emotional support) while I was wrestling with the relay panel.

I think I'll drive to work tomorrow with the top down!

Could you share some pix and steps? I have a 2000 box s w/o heated seat option and also want to add. Pedro said all 986 have the heated cushion which I hope mine does. But I can't find cushion part numberlocation to confirm.

Mike

Quote
CaryViking
Could you share some pix and steps? I have a 2000 box s w/o heated seat option and also want to add. Pedro said all 986 have the heated cushion which I hope mine does. But I can't find cushion part numberlocation to confirm.

Mike

Pedro said that all the 986s have the heater installed in the seat bottom cushion.
The heater element is not connected to anything if you don't have the heated seats option.
Unless you have the heated seat option there is no heater element in the seat back cushion.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

Pedro

When you say heating element isn't connected to anything, I'm assuming there is a wire I will connect to which I have looked for under seat with no luck. I hope I won't have to disassemble the chair to connect to the element. :-) ?!?

In org thread there is a link to external site which says I should see a black cable but I don't.

Mike

Hi Mike, there's a link in the original post with excellent instructions, BOM, pictures. Doug