Advice Wanted: Heating Element for Driver Seat, Keep It?

[rstrube]

Hi all,

I've been going through the process of replacing the seat cushion foam on the driver's seat. I happen to have purchased a van with a "jump seat" that was never used, and the foam in the bottom cushion on the jump seat is in much better shape.

As I was getting to the original foam of the driver's seat I noticed that the both the orginal foam and the heating element was absolutely disgusting. I soaked the heating element in some water with detergent last night and a lot of the grime came off, but the actual element wires are no longer "woven in" to the thin strip of fabric. I also don't have any adhesive to attach it to the new foam, and the new foam doesn't have a hole in it to rote the wires. I could make a hole, but I don't want to go through the trouble of doing that if the element isn't worth keeping.

In addition, I'm not really interested in spending $100 or a new heating element.

Do you think it's worth keeping? The connectors are in good shape, and the wires themselves are in relatively good shape.

Any advice would be welcome.

[rstrube]

Quick update, I think I'm going to move forward and try to reinforce / repair the OEM heating pad. The wires all look to be in good shape. With some good quality thermal tape I should be able to shore it up. I'll post some images when I've completed the repair job.

[VanGeek]

I had a similar issue with my seat heaters and replaced them with a new modern aftermarket solution that works well.

Good thread here https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=669021&postorder=asc

[rstrube]

Thanks for the response, that thread was super helpful!

I'm going to try to salvage the existing heating pad. Now that it's been cleaned, it looks better than I expected. I think with the right application of some high quality tape I can sure it up.

I'd rather not try to adapt another heating pad to the OEM connection, although the solution you came up with in the other thread was super impressive!

Incidentally, 20+ years of dirt and grime being washed from the upholstery is so satisfying!