Friends,

I wanted to give everyone an update on my junkyard visit from a few weeks ago. I was fortnuate to find some electric seat heaters, seat heater switches, sound insulation pads for under the dash in the footwells, and a new lever to recline my rear seat.

I had some trouble finding the wire connector under the carpet to for the seat heater swtiches, but I eventually found it. Since my brake console was replaced with a model without the seat heater switch inserts, I installed the switches in the center console next to my AC and rear defroster switches. I also had some difficulty getting the seat heater pads installed into my seats, but I eventually got them done. Unfortunatly since installing the seat heaters, it's been too warm in the Washington/Baltimore area and I haven't had an opportunity to use them.

One note, my lever that folds down the rear seat broke last January on a really cold morning while at Home Depot. At the junkyard I couldn't find any replacement levers on any of the 245's there. I strolled by a 945 with nice leather seats and happened to check out the rear seat lever on it and discovered that the latches are identical. The insides of the lever mechanism are different, but that actual handle that you grab is the same. I was able to remove this mechanism and install it on my 245. It looks good as new.

Wishing you all good fortune at your next junkyard visit.

Hello Dan:

I have a '92 245 as well-- I am very curious about where you ended up finding the connector for the seat heater switches. My car didn't ever have them-- I have found the connectors that go to the seat heater grids, but I must confess when I was looking it was too damn cold here to trace the wires too real far!

I have grids and a switch portion of the harness out of a junker that I want to install soon...

It's a bit of cruel irony that now that the weather is warm I can finally work on my seat heaters too, and to make matters worse, now my hot water valve has failed in the heat on position to boot!

I'd love to know where you found that connector for the seat heater switches!

Thanks!
--
Herb Goltz, London, Ontario, Canada '92 245 w/102K mi

Herb,

To find the wire harness connections for the seat heater switches you need to remove the driver seat, remove the right side kick panel from the center dash console and pull the carpet up on the driver's side. I believe that if you trace the wires that lead from the front of the gear shifter back towards the fuse box, you will find a cluster of wires that are grouped together roughly where your knee is when sitting in the driver's seat. In my car a group of wires was tied together at this point and the wire harness for the seat heater switches was just sitting there, behind a few of the other wires. The wire harness that comes off of the seat heater switches just clips right into it. Good luck and I hope you can easily find it. My vehicle had no switches or seat heaters, but the wiring was already there just waiting for me to tap into it.

Nothing like a good trip to the junk yard.
--
Simon 80 240 296k 17 years.