i have a 93 glt, with heated seats.
my passenger seat seems to heat fine, but not my divers side seat, the switch turns on, and lights up, but it does not feel as though the seat warms up. any reasons why it could be doing this?

 

Heat pad could be blown, there could be electrical failure, etc.

Numerous things.

I would bet on the pad being shot if your passenger seat works.


Time for racing seats!

 

Check the wires under the seat one might have broke.

 

Also check the fuse. If I remember correctly, each seat has a separate fuse

 

ok, thanks guys, will check o0n it later

 

Advance your seat forward and up at the back so that when you are in the backseat on the floor you can look up from behind to the bottom seat cushion. The thermostat for the heater is approximately in the middle of that lower cushion (the part you sit on). There are two wires that go up to connect to that thermostat. If you're extremely flexible, you can grab hold with two fingers and pull that thermostat out, and if not, you should at least be able to see if the wires are still connected.

If they are connected, chances are it's the heating pad. If you have a multi meter that does continuity, you can unplug the heater pad (at the front edge of the lower cushion) and test to see if the pad still has continuity. It's one big coiled wire that runs through, same idea as a stove element if that helps. If there's a break in the coil somewhere, you won't have continuity. That means you remove the pad which means detaching the upholstery. A new lower pad cost me about $90 Cdn. and about 2 hours to undo all the clips and remove the upholstery and replace that pad (you have to unbolt the seat and take it out of the car). Tedious but a do-it-yourself job for someone who's handy with their car. I believe that Ozark Lee did a nice write up over at Matthewsvolvosite if you want to go do a search.

 

thank you, definately something to check on, will keep you updated

 

Upholstery is a pain in the *** to mess with. Thinking back on it, something so easy as the wiring is a possibility.

If that is the case, go buy some black wire loom the protect the wires for the future. (It's like three bucks for ten feet.)

 

In reviewing what I typed above (in a rush) I left out a couple of details. There was a recall on that thermostat because when it started to fail, it allowed the pad to get too hot and in some cases burn out or start to burn through the foam or upholstery. As it was explained to me by the parts guys at the local Volvo shop, if you're going to the trouble of replacing the heater pad, spend the $40 on the thermostat as well, just to be safe.

If you have continuity in the pad itself, and you know you have power to the pad, I'd still suspect the thermostat has failed. If you have the time, why not try swapping that thermostat from the passenger seat over just to see if that works.

 

I only run my warmers until I can feel the warmth nice and toasty, and then shut it off.