Thanks Fred. Just completed the seat Mod. Works great. I had to turn the seat down to setting 3. Thanks again Fred. Buzz

 

I got my wife on the new bike for the first time yesterday and even with the rear seat on MAX, she said she could only barely feel them getting warm.

So it looks like I will have to cut the other green/black ground wire and add a 10K ohm resistor to it as well so her seat gets warmer.

It only really seems to be a problem when you try to use them in temps that are only marginally cool, like around 60 degrees or so. Below that, the thermistors seem to let them come on ok and work.

 

I got my wife on the new bike for the first time yesterday and even with the rear seat on MAX, she said she could only barely feel them getting warm.

So it looks like I will have to cut the other green/black ground wire and add a 10K ohm resistor to it as well so her seat gets warmer.

It only really seems to be a problem when you try to use them in temps that are only marginally cool, like around 60 degrees or so. Below that, the thermistors seem to let them come on ok and work.

I was going to ask about this...

There are two Green-with-black-stripe wires and both are green on the other side of the connector. So how did you determine which one goes to front or back?

My wife likes the seat warmers even in mild temps to sooth her back. I'd like to add this so I can get her seat to heat up even in mild temps.

Thanks

 

I was going to ask about this...

There are two Green-with-black-stripe wires and both are green on the other side of the connector. So how did you determine which one goes to front or back?

My wife likes the seat warmers even in mild temps to sooth her back. I'd like to add this so I can get her seat to heat up even in mild temps.

Thanks

Look close at the position of the two green/black wires in the connector (on the bike side of the harness). The one I have my finger on is for the riders seat, and is the center pin in the row. The other one is at the beginning of the next row, and it is the one for the passengars seat.

This is on the 2009 bike, but I am pretty sure the pin locations are the same on the 2006-2008 bikes.

 

Fred;

Thanks for the post.

I do caution those that ride below 30 degrees that the added resistance may make the seat too hot.

After a half hour of riding at 30, I have my seat set or 1 or 2.

 

Fred;

Thanks for the post.

I do caution those that ride below 30 degrees that the added resistance may make the seat too hot.

After a half hour of riding at 30, I have my seat set or 1 or 2.

If you want the best of both worlds, I guess the way to do it would be to install a switch that would bypass (short) the 10K ohm resistor. This way, in warmer weather you could open the switch and let the resistor work, and in colder temps you could close the switch and bypass the resistor.

This is another reason why I wouldn't recommend going any higher than 10K ohms. In cooler temps you run the risk of the seat possibly getting too hot.

 

I'm still going to do this mod one of these days. I understand the thermister concept, but was just wondering. Lets say it's 30 degrees out and you turn your seat up to max. It would heat up to x degrees. Lets then do the same thing but it's 60 degrees out, wouldn't the seat still rise to the same x degrees? I mean once the seat heated does the thermisters still know air temperature?:shrug:

 

I'm still going to do this mod one of these days. I understand the thermister concept, but was just wondering. Lets say it's 30 degrees out and you turn your seat up to max. It would heat up to x degrees. Lets then do the same thing but it's 60 degrees out, wouldn't the seat still rise to the same x degrees? I mean once the seat heated does the thermisters still know air temperature?:shrug:

The thermistors are inside the seat next to the heating elements. The only time they will measure ambient air temp is when the bike has been sitting all night long and the seat is the same temp as the outside air.

Once the elements heat up and put heat into the seat, the thermistors are then regulating the temp of the seat itself, as they are designed to. The amount of heat they measure will be somewhat related to ambient air, in that the ambient air temp will determine the entropy of the system. Another words, the colder it is outside, the faster the seat will dissapate heat, so the thermistors will cool off faster and tell the controller to apply more heat. In warmer ambient temps, once the seat heats up a little, it will hold that heat and won't dissipate it very fast, so the system will reduce, or even shut off, the amount energy it is putting into the elements, (probabaly by using pulse width modulation).

 

Resistor

Is a 1 watt 10K resistor ok for this, or should it be a 1/4 watt, I'll be doing both green w/blk wires to change the front and rear heat. I want the maximum heat effect I can get. Maybe use the 10K on the front seat and a little highter on the rear, my wife doesn't ride below 50 degrees. Thanks

 

What are the chances that this mod will burn up the heating element in the seat? Obviously the warranty is going to go down the tubes with this mod.:shrug:

S.S

 

Fred,

Thanks for the information. This is great stuff. My wife will be happy :lol: once again.

John

 

Resistor

Fred,
I don't see any way that resistor you show is 20,000 ohm's. The colors are not right. The one that mrprez shows in his post is the correct color for 10,000 ohm, Brown, Black, Orange, Gold. A 20,000 ohm resistor would have the color combination of Red, Black, Orange, Gold.

 

I'll probably do this mod soon too! Thanks for the information. I think i can find a 10K ohm resister laying around here somewhere. Radioshack loves me!:nojoke:

 

Fred,
I don't see any way that resistor you show is 20,000 ohm's. The colors are not right. The one that mrprez shows in his post is the correct color for 10,000 ohm, Brown, Black, Orange, Gold. A 20,000 ohm resistor would have the color combination of Red, Black, Orange, Gold.

I experimented with several different sizes. I don't remember which one I took the photo of, sorry.

 

Thanks Fred for this most helpful post. I'll be dong this mod in the early spring as it is to dang cold in my neck of the woods right now.

IHave always wished the seats produced more heat as I do a lot of riding 40-50 degree temps, and even on max they just never seem to heat up enough to suit me or my girlfriend. Now, going over Beartooth in late Sept. the temp was 30 and my GF did say her seat was cooking(it was on max) and she was smiling. This mod should make her happy.

I have never installed a resister before but it looks like a fairly simple proceedure. It looks as though it needs to be sodered in place. I'll have to do a little practice for that. I have done a lot of plumbing work with copper but this looks much more intricate.

Thanks again.

Fred

07 Blue Wing

 

What are the chances that this mod will burn up the heating element in the seat? Obviously the warranty is going to go down the tubes with this mod.:shrug:

S.S

Anyone have an answer to this ouestion?:shrug:

 

Or you lucked out with a hot date!!!!

I did untill my wife found out about that date :bow: :coffee1:

 

Thx Fred thw wife wants the seat hotter she allways cold ...cold weather gear stays on until about 84 degrees...

 

Just did front and rear on my '07, easy fix and helped a lot. Wire locations are the same as the picture.

Thanks, Fred

 

Anyone have an answer to this ouestion?:shrug:

Anybody?

S.S

 

Seat Heat

My wife said she could never feel much heat out of the rear seat even on the max setting. I usually ran the driver seat on the higher settings to be comfortable, ecspecially in warmer weather.

I made the modification to both driver and passenger seats with the 10K Ohm resistors. The passenger seat now heats really well, but the driver seat gets too hot even on the lowest setting. I went for a long ride today in 43 degree weather and could not keep the driver seat on, even at the lowest setting. It just got too hot, and was uncomfortable, even wearing overpants over my jeans.

I am going to remove the resistor for the driver seat totally or try dropping it down to maybe 1K Ohm. The 10K Ohm maybe OK to use at the warmer temps 55 + degrees, but at the lower temps, I think it is too much, and I would be worried about damaging the seat.

If you are thinking about doing this modification and you live in a colder climate, I would be careful even going with the 10K Ohm resistor that Fred used.

 

Good stuff Fred!
The thermistors have a relatively linear 5.5k per degree F negative temperature coefficient.
About 150k ohms at the 32 degree freeze point.
Unfortunately, the relationship between the thermistor curve and the heat change in the seat, is probably nothing near linear.
That's probably why the 10k offset you introduce
(which tells the system the thermistor is seeing about 2 less degrees)
ends up causing substantially more temperature change than that, in the seat heat.

 

What are the chances that this mod will burn up the heating element in the seat? Obviously the warranty is going to go down the tubes with this mod.:shrug:

S.S

Is there some reason why knowone can answer this?

S.S

 

What are the chances that this mod will burn up the heating element in the seat? Obviously the warranty is going to go down the tubes with this mod.




Is there some reason why knowone can answer this?

S.S

I'm sure it's because no one knows for sure 100%. Obviously, there are people here who have done this with success....no fires, no burned out seat. But does that mean it won't happen...well no, not 100%.

Sounds like you are looking for a guarantee...which you won't get with most do-it-yourself mods.

Same goes for the warranty...you know the answer.

 

Here's my not too technical rundown on seat heater considerations.

Seat foams are going to be made of FR (fire resistant) foams.
The "resistance wire" used to make the seat heater elements
will have a certain amount of resistance per foot of length.
The heater sections are made long enough that their resistance
keeps them from overheating when supplied with the specified voltage.
So you don't want to just use any old length of heating element that's available.
The typical temperature of the heater elements will not exceed something like a maximum of 150 degrees F,
and is well below the melting point of the foam.
So, technically, if you just hook the heater element up to a 12 volt battery,
it will warm to a temperature in the normal range, and not get any warmer.
As a resistance wire warms up, it's resistance goes higher,
cutting down the current and limiting the heat it can develop.
So the heat cannot "run away" and get hotter and hotter.
The problems come in when something is not right in the element,
such as a loose connection or partial break in the element.
The heat at the loose or broken point can make a hot spot
where the temperatures can get a lot higher at that one spot.
That's when you get melted foam or melted upholstery.
The danger of fire is very low as usually, before a "hot spot" in the element
gets hot enough to start a fire, it has burned itself open
and there is no more current to generate the heat.
Most heated seat configurations have some circuit to control the heat developed,
and in the better ones, a circuit to measure the surrounding temperatures
and limit the heater output proportionally.
The simple heat control consists of a metallic strip, that the heating current runs through.
When the strip gets to a certain temperature, it bends, and opens the connection,
stopping the current. When the temp comes back down, the strip unbends, and the heating current flows again.