Heated seat question

[Hank in WV]

I bought a heated Russel seat from a fellow board member. My 2010RT wasn't set up for heat. My question is, can I just run it directly from the battery or must the voltage be reduced in some way?

[The Rocketman]

You can run it directly to the battery with some sort of manual on/off switch and an in-line fuse on the hot leg, but then you run the risk of forgetting to shut it off, and killing your battery.

Much better to wire in a hot/switched relay, to take the load off the stock wiring harness, and never having to worry about whether you left it on.

See this link for great diagrams I used when wiring up my heated seats, running lights, etc. Very basic, simple, illustrated instructions helped get me over my "relay-phobia". Even easier if you wire in a Centech or Fuseblock which already has a fused switched lead, and several choices of switched/unswitched plug-ins. I just installed the Fuzeblock FZ1 on my new-to-me '09 RT for accessory installations and to by-pass that silly CanBus nonsense. A heated seat would easily install into the Fuzeblock. With that I don't even think you'd need the relay shown in the diagram, as it has its own 30 amp relay.

http://www.r1200gs.info/howto/relay.html

[Hank in WV]

Hey, thanks for the reply Rocketman, looks like a fairly easy project now that you explained it to me. I already put a fuzeblock on the bike 2 years ago for my trailer wiring so I'm good to go.

[The Rocketman]

Glad to help. Best of luck.

[bdfbeemer]

Don't you need some type of rheostat is control heating levels?

[The Rocketman]

My Russell was either on or off; no variable control. Got pretty warm sometimes, so had to manually switch it off when it got too hot. There are variable heat controllers you can wire in, just like in heated gear, but they can be a bit pricey, and not sure how well they'd work as all they do is increase or decrease the resistance I think. When Russell added heat to my seat, the heat pad itself comes with a cycling heater, whereby the heat goes on and off by itself at certain temperatures. Still got too warm sometimes but it was not adjustable. This was on one of my other bikes.

[kioolt]

You would only need a rheostat if you want continuously variable heat levels. Most factory heated seats use a fixed resistor for a lower heat level. If you only want on and off all you need is a switch.

[The Rocketman]

Assuming Russell added heat to this seat, this is from their site:

 

"Russel Cycle Products, Inc. is proud to announce our new Seat Heating System. Each seat unit is equipped with a thermal switch that keeps the seat at a comfortable 100-105 degrees. The On/Off switch is installed on the seat for driver and passenger, with a dual application. The heater connects easily to the battery with quick disconnects. For accessories connection, you must see your Dealer. Each unit draws approximately 1.5 amps. This is not a constant draw as when the heater reaches it's temperature, the thermoswitch turns on and off. You will love this new addition if you are a cold weather rider and love the comfort of a warm seat!"

 

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

You would only need a rheostat if you want continuously variable heat levels. Most factory heated seats use a fixed resistor for a lower heat level. If you only want on and off all you need is a switch.

 

The stock heated-seat switch on my 2009 RT has two positions, and my Corbin saddle makes use of both settings, I guess using two different heating elements with different power settings.

 

Hank, if you can't sort out the wiring on your Russell saddle to identify two different heating circuits, you might consider installing a Gerbing temperature controller. It's meant for their clothing products, but should work just fine for a saddle, if you want to choose a temperature less than Russell's 105-degree temperature limiter; it would let you dial up any power level from zero to max.

[kioolt]

The stock heated grips on my 04 RT have a two position switch. One position just puts in a fixed resistor in series with the single heating element in the grips. The other position puts full voltage to the grips. I would assume that BMW would do it this way with their stock heated seats also.

 

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

[Hank in WV]

Mitch, I put dual temp controllers (I don't know which brand) up on my dash for my jacket and gloves. I think the temp is controlled by how many times per min it turns on and off. That would probably work for the seat also but I'll see how it does without first.

[DiggerJim]

I have a dual Russell (main & passenger). The switch is in the passenger seat. I have it wired to the FuzeBlock and the seat does cycle the power as it stays a constant warmth level neither cooling nor overheating. No need for a rheostat or PWM or other power cycling or diverting switch.

 

My aux fuel tank sits on a passenger seat pan (no cushion) when I'm riding far and Russell sent me a thermostatically controlled switch & wiring since I don't have the passenger seat and its switch in the mix when I'm running with the aux. Wired that into the connector I have running into the FuzeBlock and mounted the switch in the seat pan of the aux fuel tank. Works great.