rwenzing
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- November 18, 2005
- Messages
- 982
- Reaction score
- 1
- City, State
- Michigan
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 03 Ranger FX4 LII 5.0 S/C
The factory Ranger buckets are really very good seats but I've always wanted seat heaters like the high end Explorers have. As with just about anything else, there are several vendors on eBay who offer heated seat conversions.
I finished converting mine recently, just in time for some cold weather. They work great and, other than wrestling with disassembling the seats, the install wasn't difficult.
The kits I chose are sold by Cobraheat LLC. Each includes 2 heating elements (enough for one seat cushion and one back). I ordered two kits and they arrived promptly by Priority Mail.
A nice feature is that the elements, switch and relay for each seat are prewired in a harness with connectors where you need them and enough wire to satisfy just about any front seat installation. There are only 2 wires for each seat, a hot and a ground, to connect to the vehicle's electrical system. As with any automotive circuit, the wiring for the seat heaters must be properly fused. No fuses are included, so that part of the installation is left to the ingenuity of the buyer.
The switches can be installed on any flat surface where there is adequate clearance for the back of the switch and its wires. Since they are round, the basic holes can be drilled. I used a step drill to take each hole out to 3/4" (19mm), then filed it out the rest of the way for a snug fit on the 20mm switch body.
In this picture, the two switches are in the front corners of the center console right below where it meets the dash.
In use, the switch has 2 heating positions with a center off. The indicator LED illuminates red for high and green for low.
The heating mats are very thin and go between the seat fabric and its foam support. In the Ranger seats, they are exactly the right width to fit under the blue center panels between the junctions where the side bolsters meet. The wiring was simple and the switches easy to install. Taking the seats apart to install the heating elements was the hardest part.
I finished converting mine recently, just in time for some cold weather. They work great and, other than wrestling with disassembling the seats, the install wasn't difficult.
The kits I chose are sold by Cobraheat LLC. Each includes 2 heating elements (enough for one seat cushion and one back). I ordered two kits and they arrived promptly by Priority Mail.
A nice feature is that the elements, switch and relay for each seat are prewired in a harness with connectors where you need them and enough wire to satisfy just about any front seat installation. There are only 2 wires for each seat, a hot and a ground, to connect to the vehicle's electrical system. As with any automotive circuit, the wiring for the seat heaters must be properly fused. No fuses are included, so that part of the installation is left to the ingenuity of the buyer.
The switches can be installed on any flat surface where there is adequate clearance for the back of the switch and its wires. Since they are round, the basic holes can be drilled. I used a step drill to take each hole out to 3/4" (19mm), then filed it out the rest of the way for a snug fit on the 20mm switch body.
In this picture, the two switches are in the front corners of the center console right below where it meets the dash.
In use, the switch has 2 heating positions with a center off. The indicator LED illuminates red for high and green for low.
The heating mats are very thin and go between the seat fabric and its foam support. In the Ranger seats, they are exactly the right width to fit under the blue center panels between the junctions where the side bolsters meet. The wiring was simple and the switches easy to install. Taking the seats apart to install the heating elements was the hardest part.
