# Can the stock 1.8L Alternator carry aftermarket heated seats?



## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

After all that I've read, I'm not going to attempt putting OEM heated seats in my car (2014 1LS 1.8). If I do end up going that route, the dealer said they can put it in for $500. As I'd rather not pay that, I'm looking into the Ebay aftermarket kits. Now, I've used and installed these kits before. And currently have one in my '01 Camaro. It works great, but on full power, each seat pulls 20 Amps. My Camaro's Alternator couldn't handle that kind of draw (stock 105A) and it would shut off the car. Keep in mind, I also wired them, through a relay, directly to the battery on heavy gauge wiring so I wouldn't try to pull that kind of amperage over a wire that's not built for it. The stereo I had in it may have also played a factor. So I installed a High Output Alternator and the problem was solved. But that's an additional $300 cost. 

I'm not putting any big high powered stereo in my Cruze. It's staying mostly stock since it's my DD. But I quite like my heated seats in the Camaro. And I don't want to spend the time and money to install them in the Cruze just to find out the car can't take that kind of power draw. 

Has anyone put an aftermarket heated seat kit in their car? 
Or do you know the stock Amperage output on the 1.8?
Or put a big stereo in their car pulling a lot of power without problem?

All I really need to know is if the car, in stock form, can handle an additional 40A draw (with both seats on high) without any trouble.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

link to the heated seat kit you want

40amp draw??? cant see that at all

pretty sure the kit i bought had 10a fuse


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## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

Hmm, I may be mistaken on that one. I looked up my old auction purchase and it's no longer viewable. But similar ones right now are saying it's 5a per seat on high. And I'd like to think a stock alternator could hold a 10a draw. 

It killed my Camaro though. Turn the heaters on, the car would die. Disconnect the heaters, the car ran fine. Upgraded the Alternator and all was well.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

Stock alternator is 130A, same as the 2LT/LTZ models that have heated seats. 

5A per seat seems much more plausible...


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## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

Carbon Fiber Universal Heated Seat Heater Kit Car Cushion 2 Seats Round Switch | eBay

These are the type of kits I'm looking at. It's the same one I have in my Camaro. I'm only hesitant to buy because I'm a big fan of making sure the car still appears stock if I'm adding any aftermarket parts. So my dilemma is, where to mount the switches to either hide them, or make them appear stock. And with those cheap switches, I don't think that's possible.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

I'd look for something else with a better-looking switch, there have got to be some out there. I've seen some installed on Cruzen with a toggle switch you can conceal by integrating the little round button in the plastic in the side of the seat.


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## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

I've searched and searched, and haven't found any decent looking switches. I thought about hiding them on the seats themselves, or on the side of the center stack. But haven't made any final decision yet. 

Good to know they'll hold up though. Thanks for the info.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

put the switch on the left side of the seat on the hard plastic, wont be visible eggsept when youre gettin in

i have mine (same round ones) on the front of the armrest console in my cherokees....not visible and work perfect w/o lookin at them


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm also looking to do this, and I was looking at Dorman's it below. Dorman Products - 628-040

I called tech support and the pads are 11.5" square and draw 6 amps per seat, for a heater element temperature of 115F.

Boraz- Have you done this in a Cruze? You posted to my other thead on power taping location. Let's work together in this tread.

I understand how to get the seats out, but I can't figure out how to release the seat belt from the tensioner assembly on the lower outside edge of the seat. Will the entire tensioner have to be removed from the seat frame and remain in the car, or is there a different way to do it. I'll post that in a separate topic to gather more input.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

did it in my cherokees, cruze came with heated seats

cant comment on the cruze seats or the kit you posted

the kits are mostly similar, though some are 2 pads, one seat one back, others are 4 pads, 2 each seat and back and some you can cut holes in/trim and not damage the electrics others not so much

depending on how the seat upholstery is fastened to the seat, the cuttable ones are better...i prefer the 4 pads, more square footage...


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## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

That's what I'm going to get; the 4 pad ones. That's what I put in my Camaro. And they are trimable too, which is nice to get the length just right for what I need. I still have some research to do on removing everything, and getting wires run. But that's just because I haven't had the interior out of the car yet. 



carbon02 said:


> Boraz- Have you done this in a Cruze? You posted to my other thead on power taping location. Let's work together in this tread.


When I did my Camaro, I hooked them directly to the battery's auxiliary. I didn't feel comfortable pulling that much amperage from any switched 12V source. So I hooked them through a relay. This way they can only be turned on when the car is running, but still get their power directly from the battery. And if I leave them on, which I often do, they turn off when I shut the car off. So they're not draining my battery either. It's an extra $30 or so in materials, but I think it's well worth it.


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## carbon02 (Feb 25, 2011)

[/QUOTE]
When I did my Camaro, I hooked them directly to the battery's auxiliary. I didn't feel comfortable pulling that much amperage from any switched 12V source. So I hooked them through a relay. This way they can only be turned on when the car is running, but still get their power directly from the battery. And if I leave them on, which I often do, they turn off when I shut the car off. So they're not draining my battery either. It's an extra $30 or so in materials, but I think it's well worth it.[/QUOTE]

Lotus- Could you eplain a little more about how you connected to the battery auxillary circuit? I have the passenger seat out, the seat fully disected, maybe a little further than what it needs to be, but I haven't gotten any comments from anyone who's had the seat covers off the cruze. I've got the passenger side down to the springs on the bottom cushion, and the side airbag visable with the backrest.

I need to select a product and figure out how I'm going to wire 10 amps per seat. I was thinking of an add a fuse from the power outlets on the inside of the Interior Instrument Panel Fuse box. But the add a fuse appears to be rated for only 10 amps. What would happen if I just used a power extend a leg for a MINI fuse rather than attempting to double fuse it at the instrument panel. Each seat has it's own dedicated 10 amp fuse. I'm concerned with trying to get more than 10 amps through one of those little ad a fuse connectors.

The occupancy presense sensor in the passenger seat is glued on top of the foam bun. I have a feeling there's no way of heating the but of the passenger seat. That sensor is nearly $100 piece of specialty fabric if it burns.


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## Lotus289 (Feb 12, 2014)

I don't know if the passenger airbag sensor will present any issues or not. I've never encountered that. But I can shed a little light on the wiring of it. 

Go to Autozone or Advance Auto and get a Dorman Power Relay (Part#:88069) (http://www.autozone.com/electrical/relay-and-resistors/dorman-accessory-power-relay/547476_0_0/), these are what I used to wire them up. The signal to the relay comes from any swithed 12V source, so they can't be powered while the vehicle is off. The power itself is run to the engine bay and connected to the battery, or auxiliary battery terminal. I also wired an inline fuse in the engine bay as a secondary precaution. The seat heater kit I used has a small fuse at the base of the seat, but I wanted a fail safe. So if your seats are 10A each max, get a 10A inline fuse, and wire it in just before the battery connection. Then you don't have to worry about tying anything into the car, or using any type of Add-A-Fuse. Personally, I'm not a fan of those. I hope this helps.


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