Lozzy15

Retrofit Heated Seats - A Complete How-To

Lozzy15

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Mar 24, 2015
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That’s brilliant thanks for getting back to me mate, also when coding the HVAC you say about running the process to adapt the flaps, im using OBDeleven and i can see in basic setting “adapt flap end stops” is this the process you’re referring to on vcds? Thanks again

jack
I believe that is the process I referred to yes. I've only ever used VCDS so not 100% but it sounds correct.

Lozzy
 
May 2, 2022
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Norwich
Guide now located in the new resources section of the site

Thanks Lozzy for this amazingly detailed post. I am in the process of upgrading my 2018 Leon Cupra 300. I am presently struggling to obtain the heated seat pads for my half leather seats for sensible money. Unfortunately my local TPS supplier has quoted me around £345 for a set. I managed to obtain the climate control unit from eBay and will now proceed with making up my own wiring harnesses. Thanks again for this great post.
 
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Lozzy15

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Thanks Lozzy for this amazingly detailed post. I am in the process of upgrading my 2018 Leon Cupra 300. I am presently struggling to obtain the heated seat pads for my half leather seats for sensible money. Unfortunately my local TPS supplier has quoted me around £345 for a set. I managed to obtain the climate control unit from eBay and will now proceed with making up my own wiring harnesses. Thanks again for this great post.

Glad the guide is helping!

In regards to the cost of the pads, the only other alternative would be places such as Aliexpress. You won't get genuine which is always a risk, however I have used OEM copy parts from their in the past with success so it's always worth at the very least a look.
 
May 6, 2022
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1
Hi wondering if anyone can help, I am looking to buy some leather seats for the Leon fr st which have heated seats, I currently have a Leon fr 2017 facelift with no heated seats and wanted to know what needs to be done to make the heated leather seats work
 

Lozzy15

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Hi wondering if anyone can help, I am looking to buy some leather seats for the Leon fr st which have heated seats, I currently have a Leon fr 2017 facelift with no heated seats and wanted to know what needs to be done to make the heated leather seats work

If you manage to get some seats that already have the heat mats in them then you have to do all the wiring, coding and hvac module swapping parts of the guide.
 
May 6, 2022
2
1
Mate thanks so much for the response, I’m not very technical so doubt I’ll be able to do it as looks complicated. I thought it would just be changing hvac module and would be plug and play as wiring loom would be there to plug into 🤦🏻‍♂️Thank you again
 
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Nick Bacon

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Feb 18, 2023
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Encouraged by the very detailed and clear guide from @Lozzy15 I am embarking on installing a set of second hand heated Cupra seats in my Mk3 Leon but I have gone for the easy option and have obtained a loom from the very efficient Kufatec (2 days to arrive in UK after ordering).

Others considering the Kufatec route might like to know that although Lozzy said in the guide, “If using Kufatec looms, you will still also need 0.5 meter of 2.0mm wire and terminal N907 327 0 X 1”, I was pleased to find that this was actually included in the set of cables supplied by Kufatec.

DC477A34-EF1D-4064-90EB-DC3B35F44B89.jpeg
 
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Nick Bacon

Active Member
Feb 18, 2023
7
7
I am part way through putting everything back together after installing the Kufatec loom having followed the clear @Lozzy15 instructions.

One tip that might be useful for others is when installing the power connection to the fuse panel I found it very easy if one positions a light behind the panel. Then it is easy to see the new connector through the hole when looking from the front and to push the connector into place with very little effort. I was also installing power for my second hand powered Cupra drivers seat and this worked well for installing the new fuse position for that (my Kufatec loom included that wiring).

However I am having a real game trying the get the BCM back into its position and I am at the point where I have lost confidence that I am even putting it back in the correct orientation. Can anyone put me out of my misery please and tell me whether when installed are the wires from the A B C connectors meant to exit towards the front of the car (ie with the connectors one above the other) or towards the bottom of the BCM (ie with the connectors side by side).

My memory says the connectors are one on top of the other but like I say I am at the point of doubting myself.

Thanks.
 
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Lozzy15

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I am part way through putting everything back together after installing the Kufatec loom having followed the clear @Lozzy15 instructions.

One tip that might be useful for others is when installing the power connection to the fuse panel I found it very easy if one positions a light behind the panel. Then it is easy to see the new connector through the hole when looking from the front and to push the connector into place with very little effort. I was also installing power for my second hand powered Cupra drivers seat and this worked well for installing the new fuse position for that (my Kufatec loom included that wiring).

However I am having a real game trying the get the BCM back into its position and I am at the point where I have lost confidence that I am even putting it back in the correct orientation. Can anyone put me out of my misery please and tell me whether when installed are the wires from the A B C connectors meant to exit towards the front of the car (ie with the connectors one above the other) or towards the bottom of the BCM (ie with the connectors side by side).

My memory says the connectors are one on top of the other but like I say I am at the point of doubting myself.

Thanks.

Good tip about the fuse box with the light, I can see how that can help!

In regards to the BCM position, I cannot remember the orientation it is supposed to go since it's been a few years since doing this retrofit. However as best as I can remember, the three connectors should only allow so much movement and naturally want to orient a certain way. Maybe this can help to figure out the original positon?

The BCM slots into a set posotion too if memory serves me correct. I 'think' the wires exit the BCM towards the bottom of the car but I can't confirm for sure on this as I just cannot remember anymore!
 

Nick Bacon

Active Member
Feb 18, 2023
7
7
Good tip about the fuse box with the light, I can see how that can help!

In regards to the BCM position, I cannot remember the orientation it is supposed to go since it's been a few years since doing this retrofit. However as best as I can remember, the three connectors should only allow so much movement and naturally want to orient a certain way. Maybe this can help to figure out the original positon?

The BCM slots into a set posotion too if memory serves me correct. I 'think' the wires exit the BCM towards the bottom of the car but I can't confirm for sure on this as I just cannot remember anymore!
Yes, I was dreading trying to thread the new connectors from the rear of the fuse panel but in the end it was one of the easier tasks once I got the light in position.

I have been forensically reading your instructions and in one of them you refer to Connector A being at the front nearest to the engine so I came to the conclusion that was confirmation that the Connectors are arranged side by side with the wires exiting towards the bottom. No wonder I couldn‘t get the BCM back in its place!!
 
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Lozzy15

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Yes, I was dreading trying to thread the new connectors from the rear of the fuse panel but in the end it was one of the easier tasks once I got the light in position.

I have been forensically reading your instructions and in one of them you refer to Connector A being at the front nearest to the engine so I came to the conclusion that was confirmation that the Connectors are arranged side by side with the wires exiting towards the bottom. No wonder I couldn‘t get the BCM back in its place!!

Glad you have figured it out. I'll add an edit into the guide for anyone with the same issue in future.
 
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Nick Bacon

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Feb 18, 2023
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Glad you have figured it out. I'll add an edit into the guide for anyone with the same issue in future.
Even with the properly orientated BCM it was still VERY tight to get the BCM into its intended slot. I ended up taking off the push fit trim piece at the adjacent vertical left side of the dash (mine is a right hand drive car) and then removing the three torx screws securing the metal frame beneath the trim. By flexing the metal frame I was able to generate about another 10mm of space the manoeuvre the BCM and that was sufficient to now easily get the BCM back into its housing.
 
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Nick Bacon

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Feb 18, 2023
7
7
@Lozzy15 Just to say thank you again for your many detailed instruction threads which were so helpful in doing this project. I have never used VCDS previously to do any coding so that was an epic adventure even though I had used it for diagnosis for several years. Not all of the Channels had the same IDE and ENG numbers as your guide so I just went off the written description name and that was fine. In the end of course it was really quite simple to methodically enter the new values.

The second hand Cupra leather seats are now installed in my FR together with a second hand heater control with the heated seats buttons. The heating operates exactly as anticipated with all three stages and is confirmed by the VCDS Advanced Measuring Values giving the anticipated temperatures in each seat.

The only slight glitch is an intermittent Open or Short to Ground thrown up by a VCDS scan related to the seats but this does not seem to have any Function Limitations so I am not too concerned at the moment. I will see if I can latch onto what circumstances promote this and report back. I did check the resistance of the heating circuit in both seats prior to installation and they were exactly the same so that gave me some reassurance that all was in order.

It is also rather nice to have the powered adjustment on the drivers seat because this makes it easier to get the optimum driving position even when driving.
 
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Lozzy15

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Yes I do remember the BCM being a real PITA to get back into it's correct postion.

Glad the guide was helpful, I bet the cupra seats look bloody awesome! I was after some myself but found some cheap SE ones with the heating pads which at the time was a no brainer. I didn't even no heated seats was an option in the SE trim o_O
 

Nick Bacon

Active Member
Feb 18, 2023
7
7
The only slight glitch is an intermittent Open or Short to Ground thrown up by a VCDS scan related to the seats but this does not seem to have any Function Limitations so I am not too concerned at the moment. I will see if I can latch onto what circumstances promote this and report back. I did check the resistance of the heating circuit in both seats prior to installation and they were exactly the same so that gave me some reassurance that all was in order.
@Lozzy15 Just a bit more on that error. It was B1339 14 [009] - Open or Short to Ground. By chance having looked around on the wonderweb I came acorss a thread on heated seats on the TT Forum where the poster had the exact same error and found that by changing the Value for ‘Seat heater level current consumption allocation-Sitzheitzubgsfreigabe’ to ‘Not Installed’ as opposed to ‘unvernetztes_Heizmodul_verbunden’ suggested in your guide the error could be cleared and did not reoccur.

I have done that and indeed it seems to work for me in and the installation in my car (Mk3 FR Facelift 2019) and with my second hand HVAC control (ie error cleared and not coming back).

Unrelated to this is that yesterday I realised that I had only ever used the heated seats with both me and a passenger in the car and both using the heated seats function. But then yesterday I was in the car by myself and had the drivers seat heating turned on except it wasn’y getting hot but the empty passenger seat was heating up nicely.

I have checked today with the Advanced Measuring Values and everything for both the heated seats is reversed left to right, ie the heating operation and also the temperature sensing. I followed the Kufatec wiring instructions (copy attached) and double checked prior to reassembling. [The reference to Permanent positive at fuse spot SC45 relates to the power for the powered drivers seat.] I can believe I might have got one wrong wire/pin placement but it seems difficult to understand how I might have perfectly reversed all of them left to right. My suspicion is therefore falling on the Kuatec instruction sheet.

I will pass this by Kufatec after the weekend but whatever the cause, it needs correcting. However I am very reluctant to take out the BCM in order to swop over wires bearing in mind all the trim to be removed and the difficulty removing and then reinserting the BCM. My remedy is therefore going to be a cut and splice operation involving the passenger and driver heated seat looms where they run side by side in the passenger cill. On the face of it all that is involved is cutting and swopping power cables A2 & A5 and doing the same to the control cables C40 and C43.

EDIT: @Lozzy15 I am even more confused having just checked the Kufatec intructions because they coincide exactly with your guide, ie BCM pins 5 and 40 for drivers side, pins 2 and 43 for passenger side and pin 56 common to both sides. I am also pretty sure I wired correctly to each pin because of my hand marked dash against each one done after double checking the pins/wires after installation in the BCM connectors.

71A89131-F281-4009-8FD0-3C126D809432.jpeg
 
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STU3Y

Active Member
Nov 11, 2013
1,271
2
Kent
This is a fantastic guide. I have just used it to install the wiring on my Mk3 Skoda Octavia vrs.

I used the kufatec looms. I am still waiting for my heated pads to arrive.

I ordered a used climate control panel with heated seat buttons off Ebay. Had all same parts numbers etc.

When I plugged it in, the sync button seemed to be controlled by the passenger dial as opposed to the driver.

As such I figured it came from a LHD. I changed it to RHD in settings but didn't seem to do anything.

Randomly I plugged old unit back in to see if there was any difference in coding but could not see any. I applied the RHD setting again, this time on the old unit, and when i plugged the new unit back it, sync was now correct on the drivers dial.

The one thing that seemed to disappear after this was the heated seat level, no longer displays in the infotainment screen, and the heated steering wheel picture has also gone. (I don't have heated wheel, but itnwas displayed originally with the new unit)

Not sure if it has any effect as the actual buttons show the heat level, and can't check if all is working until i get my pads.

Anyone got any ideas on how to get the seats to display on infotainment
 
Last edited:

STU3Y

Active Member
Nov 11, 2013
1,271
2
Kent
This is a fantastic guide. I have just used it to install the wiring on my Mk3 Skoda Octavia vrs.

I used the kufatec looms. I am still waiting for my heated pads to arrive.

I ordered a used climate control panel with heated seat buttons off Ebay. Had all same parts numbers etc.

When I plugged it in, the sync button seemed to be controlled by the passenger dial as opposed to the driver.

As such I figured it came from a LHD. I changed it to RHD in settings but didn't seem to do anything.

Randomly I plugged old unit back in to see if there was any difference in coding but could not see any. I applied the RHD setting again, this time on the old unit, and when i plugged the new unit back it, sync was now correct on the drivers dial.

The one thing that seemed to disappear after this was the heated seat level, no longer displays in the infotainment screen, and the heated steering wheel picture has also gone. (I don't have heated wheel, but itnwas displayed originally with the new unit)

Not sure if it has any effect as the actual buttons show the heat level, and can't check if all is working until i get my pads.

Anyone got any ideas on how to get the seats to display on infotainment
When I came out this morning the coding was back. Had a little play. Turns out just needed a couple of minutes with ignition of before coding would take and register.

So to clarify, heated seat levek will only show on display if heated steering wheel is coded too.
 
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STU3Y

Active Member
Nov 11, 2013
1,271
2
Kent
Just finished the install in my Octavia Vrs. This guide was a great help so thank you to the author.

Everything seems to work fine, I just need to check measuring values in the morning.

The only issue I seem to have is an error code as follows:
Screenshot_20240312_192900_OBDeleven.jpg

Any ideas?
 
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