Can you fit electric seats into non electric car?

[500tie]

As per the title really my 1997 V70 has the poverty spec cloth manual seats that are seriously falling apart. I really want to fit a leather interior but I see some for sale that are electrically adjusted and I'm wondering how hard is it to wire up the car to work the electric seats. Is it also possible to add heated seats easily or is that going to be a huge nightmare? Thanks in advance for any help you can give

[krussel]

I guess electric seats could be a retro fit with proper relays and fuses etc. However the ones fitted in the C70 were so slow that they were often opted against for manual.

If you want heated seats then a kit can be cheaply bought from ebay and fitting video's are on you tube. You just need to slip them under the seat material.

[Adman]

Originally Posted by krussel

I guess electric seats could be a retro fit with proper relays and fuses etc. However the ones fitted in the C70 were so slow that they were often opted against for manual.

If you want heated seats then a kit can be cheaply bought from ebay and fitting video's are on you tube. You just need to slip them under the seat material.

I the C70 I really appreciate the heated seats, I also have a 1971 Triumph TR6 & when I fitted Mazda MX5 seats re-upholstered in leather I got a seat heater kit which has five different heat settings off ebay & they are brilliant. I drove both the cars through the winter roof down in both where possible & the heated seats are a real asset.

Cheers

Mike

[500tie]

Probably best for me to replace my interior with a manual set then and if I want the seat heaters I'll add an aftermarket kit. I was hoping someone would say the cars were pre wired for it and I'd just have to dig the wiring out not to worry thanks for the replies though

[B00TS]

I don't have any definitive knowledge on this but mine has electric seats but no heaters. Looking behind the coin tray, the plugs for the heated seat switches are there though.

I'm intending to find some Volvo heating elements and stick them in the front seats. I'll be having a look for some unused plugs at the seat end before I start though.

You may be unlucky in that for certain specs they used a different set of looms but I would have a good look for the unused plugs hiding behind carpet/cover panels. I think it's quite likely the wiring is there...

Boots.

[AndyPants]

I don't know if they are pre-wired or not, but in terms of the electric seats being slow and a problem in the C70 they are only really a minor inconvience and even then only when loading people into the back of it. I can't really see the speed of the electric seats being an issue in a S70 or V70 as they have four doors

The electric seats in my C70 always amused me...

My 850 has manual half leather heated seats, but as the previous owner mentioned that when Volvo did a recall on the heated seats, they were never as effective afterwards They get warm, but no where near as warm as they did as in my old C70. Although to be honest I've never seen much need to have heated cloth or part-leather seats. Nice if your back aches though!

[kevvydude]

you can ,the heated seats are just plug and play, the electric movement just needs wire run to the seats, there,s a plug in the drivers footwell, and you need the 2 fuses that go in the fuse box under the bonnet, (drivers side fuse box) did it on mine, make sure you dis connect the battery before you do anything tho, did it on my v70 phase 1 , no probs

[500tie]

Kevvydude thanks for that mate I'll buy the best set that come up then, it certainly doesn't sound too difficult. I don't mind if they are slow moving as andypants said its got 4 doors and the seats rarely move. Boots I'll pull the centre console out at some point and see if the wiring is all there thanks for that guys

[mikealder]

Have read through This Thread as it identifies the difference in phase one x70 seats and what I had to do to get the electrically adjustable seats working (adding a couple of self resetting circuit breakers in to a fuse box) the car was pre-wired for the seats.
Mine is a 2000 model I am not to sure the 1997 models had the wiring pre-installed for the passenger side seat, if it doesn't simply duplicate the wiring by paralleling off the supply to the drivers seat, you won't overload the supply as you won't adjust both seats simultaneously.

Stick to pre 1999 seats though as the 99 models had electrically fired SIPS bags which your car won't be wired for and the seatbelt fastened switches in the buckle are different, best to avoid a load of additional unnecessary work - Mike

[Thanatos]

1998 cars weren't as we had to do as mike says for the passenger side seat