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Hello to all -
In the midst of stripping out parts from my crusher-bound 1979 245DL, I discovered that the driver's seat has a seat heater in it. Sometime ago I must have installed a boneyard seat, since there is no wiring for the heater in the 245DL.
Question: Are the heater elements in the crusher-bound 1979 245DL worth removing and keeping for potential use in one of my other 240s? I have three GL models, all with seat heaters. Some work, some don't.
If a heater element is not working, can it be repaired? I remember reading that a solder-able connection at the thermostat breaks and might be reparable.
I really am in the midst of the stripping work, so I didn't look in the FAQs.
An answer will be greatly appreciated.
BTW I have both Haynes and Bentley explanations on how to remove the elememts, but if you have BTDT, any nifty tips will be very welcome.
Regards, and thanks in advance,
Bob
:>)
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Maybe I should post a new thread about this, but how can I test the elements before I put them in the car? I tried applying 12 volts to it, but they didn't get warm. (my power supply sure did though!)
Is this special wire that they use? It sure doesn't look special. It just looks like I'm connecting the positive and negitive terminals of my power supply directly together, just using a really long wire to do it.
The wire to the thermostat on one of the grids I got is broken as well, but for testing purposes, can I just by pass it? I'll of course fix it before I put it in the seats.
If I don't get any responces here, I'll probably just start a new thread.
Thanks guys.
Hey Bob, is this how your grids look?:
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as 'Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!'
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Those didn't get sat upon for 430,000 miles! Unless, like my wife's grandma, the driver only weighed 80 lb.
Most grids I've pulled out are seriously messed up, but they draw a few amps if I remember the meter on my power supply. A 12V supply that delivers 3 amps is a pretty hefty thing itself-- you might want to check that yours still supplies 12V while connected to your heater-under-test. Also, the butt-back combination is wired in series, so it would be really a current hog if you only tested one grid meant to be wired as a pair.
Usually the thermostat is no problem (cold enough) when I'm working on seat heaters, but I've had to test some in the summer: I just threw them in the freezer to chill the clicker first.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
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"Those didn't get sat upon for 430,000 miles! Unless, like my wife's grandma, the driver only weighed 80 lb."
Heh, I pulled these grids out of a car in the local u-pull it, along with a nice pair of seats, and a pair of good condition seat covers.
I figured that since I was going to be putting new covers on the seats I pulled anyway, I should add some seat heaters. No reason not to.
Freezer idea is a good one. Too bad the thermostat wire already broke! heh heh heh...
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as 'Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!'
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>Freezer idea is a good one. Too bad the thermostat wire already broke! heh heh heh...
Look on the bright side: The thermostat wire is yet unfixed... (smile)
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
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I tested mine just like you describe, I hooked up a 12V power supply. And it heated right up. I agree that bypassing the thermostat could be one way to try to pinpoint the problem.
Erling.
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My 240 Page
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Would testing for continuity using an ohmeter also give a good test? That seems to me to be an easier test. Presuming, of course, that one has an ohmeter.
Regards,
Bob
:>)
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I'd say so, yes.
Pity I didn't think of that when I had a pair of heaters on the work bench, both hooked up to the PS. One seemed - subjectively - to get hotter than the other for some reason. It would have been interesting to check for possible differences resistance-wise. Oh well.
Erling.
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My 240 Page
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WOW! My post was answered in 45 minutes! I am impressed, and the answers were good, you guys. I look forward wo warming up the driver's seat in the 1988 244GL wifemobile! Only the PS works in that one. She likes it when I'm driving.
Now I am on a short break to (1) check for answers, (2) ask another question, and (3) have a scrumptious South-Beach-Diet-approved dessert made by wife.sig.
Question #2: The heater elements are out, and look intact. I haven't used the ohmmeter to check for continuity, that'll come later.
But here's what I did find: The wires run from side to side, anchored at each side by some sort of fabric ribbon. The ribbon is in many little pieces, and the wires are just hanging there.
Do you have any idea what sort of thing would work for re-attaching the wires to the frame? Is it a high-temp stuff? Ordinary string? Flat stuff needed since round string might make a pattern in one's delicate heiny?
As always, all answers are appreciated.
Regards,
Bob
:>)
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Bob, I went with the nylon filament (box strapping) tape just like the original. Didn't give a whole lot of thought to improving over the original even if the glue in that tape does dry out in 20 years.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
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is the nylon box strapping about 1/4 inch wide? Is it a hardware store item?
A side note: Seems to me that owning and DIY-ing a car that's 10 to 20 years old makes one think of the longer term on repairs.
While strippig the 1979 245DL, I finally thought it through - I can just cut the wires, no need to save the harnesses or connectors. I can rip up the seat, it will be trashed anyway. Holes left where O/S rearview mirrors were? No problem - car is crusher-bound. Felt a little out of character.
Repairing the 240s that I do care for, always think of making it either as good as stock or better. E.g.: Replacement windshield wiper motor is wrapped in very heavy plastic to keep the rust that holed and ruined the first one (in only 17 years) from recurring.
Regards, and thanks,
Bob
:>)
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Bob, I swear I posted you a reply, but maybe just only in my mind...
Should have said I did give thought to it but couldn't quickly come up with anything better. Given the opportunity I always figure to make it last - that is the challenge.
My wife's strapping tape is 2" wide, but it divides lengthwise as cleanly as if it were cut into small strips. Can't do that across its width! It is the glue that vanishes in time leaving nothing but dry film and nylon thread. But it works nice fresh.
It is hard to change your habits even though the car is going to be flattened by a huge hunk of steel. A guy at the junkyard remarked on a non volvo I drove there to be crushed. Although it ran perfectly and the interior was spotless and vacuumed, its body was turning to rust and I'd just found a 240 to transfer my attention.
Is yours rusty?
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
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Hey Art -
Thanks for the info re: strapping tape. The heaters have some tape remnants, no stick-um at all. I'll have to use tape to hold the wires, and then see about tying them on with something like ribbon.
Is the 1979 rusty? Yes, but...... (economist's answer). The rust that began as the lower left corner of the left cargo window was unstoppable. I would up with a long patch of brown (matching color) duct tape, which lasted about 10 months. After two or three years of re-taping, too many other things went kaflooey!
Stick shifter got to where it wouldn't go into reverse and didn't much like other gears, either. Odometer quit at 178K.
Head gasket problem kept the temp gauge about and nedle-width below the red, but it ran OK, so....
Blower motor quit - and it was the "new" type with resistor speed controls. I had installed it in a 7-hour marathon, sometime in the early 80's. T'was a bitch to get a 5/8" hole in the bottom of the air box to handle the grommet on the rubber tube that carried the wires and cooling air.
Rust in the base of the left "A" pillar sort of added the last straw. I just parked and quit registering it back in 1999 (I think).
when it goes away this week it will still have in it coolant, motor oil, brake fluid, old old gasoline, and maybe some Freon R12. I was going to try the dry ice overnight thing to recover some of the R12, but it's too late now.
The Homeowner's Association plus the wife.sig are really after me to get the thing gone. I did pull a lot of stuff, and I have a nice long list. It is surprising the number of things that the 1984 and 1986 and 1988 can use.
Regards,
Bob
:>)
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Hey Bob, long time no chat! Definitely keep the heaters, they would be great in another 240 or any other car.
Those seat heaters are so simple, I think they can almost always be repaired. The most common failure is what you mentioned, the connection breaks off at the thermostat.
The fix I use is a Don Foster technique, and it works well. Instead of simply re-attaching the heater wire right to the thermostat, you get some 18/20 ga wire, solder an inch or so to the thermostat, and solder the other end to the heater wire. This is much more durable!
As for removing the elements, you just undo all the hog rings, and pull back the upholstery. Pretty simple.
Take care!
Greg
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http://home.earthlink.net/~greg.wong/
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bob,
I have looked at seat heaters from b21 and on (b23 / b230) seat heater elements and to me they look the same, I don't see either why volvo would change something like that. they are very simple in design too.
IMHO I think they would work although I have never tried them, I had a set from a '79 242 I was going to put in my '84 245, but sold it before that happened and never bothered to put them in my '88 that already has seat heaters.
good luck though!
chuck
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'88 244 172K, '87 BMW 325e 173K (used to feed a '84 245, '84 244, '85 744)
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