Hi all. I’ve decided to fit an aftermarket heated seat kit, namely the Weaco magic comfort MSH60. Has anyone else fitted one of these to an MX5? I’ve found a fair amount of info around the net which should see me ok for fitting the heater pads. I’m just looking for any advice on switch placement, and wiring, if anybody has any experience of these kits. Is it best to wire these direct to the battery with inline fuses? Or should I pick up a live feed from somewhere which is only live with the ignition on? Is there anywhere on the Loom of a MK2 specifically set aside for heated seats, and where would I tap into it?
I’ve just ordered the kit, so haven’t seen any wiring diagrams yet. Just wanted to get some feedback from someone who’s been there and done that.
Looking at the tech info,they only draw around 4 amps,so not heavy consumers.They will need to be wired through an ignition controlled circuit so as no to flatten the battery. There may be a spare pick up location in the fuse box.The heater pads are fitted under the seat covers,so there is going to be some unpicking of the seat material from the seat frame.Also you need to take care on the passenger seat in case there is an airbag occupancy sensor fitted.
I fitted the Weaco kit to my cloth seats in a MK3.
The wiring kit comes ready made up so I just used that and ran everthing in behind the console and switch unit. The supply I took from the vehicle electric seat supply which was already in the car.
I just stripped the outer insulation back and soldered the wire to the exposed copper cable.
The seats are fairly easy but you do need to strip the covers off. Find some YouTube clips to show you how to do this.
As for the individual seat switches. I brought a switch housing for the MK3 which is cut out to accept the Mazda square switches. I then made a black plastic panel, mounted the switches and glued the panel in place,
I’m happy with the end result and the kit is much better than the early Mazda ones.
Hope that helps and feel free to fire away with any questions
Nice to hear they work well in the MK3. Would really like to see where the switches might go in a MK2. Mines laid up till the end of the month, so can’t start poking about yet.
As for the tech info, they say the output is 90w on the high setting. So that would be 7.5amps each seat? Electrics not my strong suit. Having just had a look through a Haynes manual at the electrical diagrams it appears no MK2’s were made with heated seats, but they do include a spare fuse in the box (f18) which was used on the MK2.5 for heated seats. Could this be used maybe to take a supply from?
There seem to be plenty of write ups and videos to cover getting the pads in place, but everyone seems to gloss over the electrics.
If they are drawing that much current ,then I think we would need to revise the wiring arrangement.I would like to see the wiring schematic when the kit arrives.Looks like there is a load relay included in the kit.
That’s a great find. It answers a few of questions. I could try placing the switches where the heated seat switch fits in the MK2.5. It would mean relocating the rear fog light switch. But I’m not sure the 2 stage switches supplied would fit. I’ll certainly look into it. I don’t want to use an original mazda switch because that’s just on/off. The switches with the kit give a warm and a roasting setting. This post also takes the live feed from the cigar lighter and warns that using both seat heaters and the lighter socket at the same time will overload the circuit and blow the fuse.
I’d like to find a dedicated circuit on a 20amp fuse which is only live when the ignition is on. If there’s a spare fuse slot in the fusebox, is there a way to use it? Or where can I find a live source (live with ignition on only) so I can use an inline fuse?
Car’s laid up at the moment and sorn until the end of the month. 2 weeks time and I can have a route about and look for a switch location.
I fitted the Waeco kit to both of my Mk1s. Very effective product. First one I fitted the switches in either side of the centre console, second one I fitted in a new panel I made for the bottom of the radio panel.
As for wiring feeds you need a permanent live and a switched live. Both of the wires in the kit have an in-line fuse about four inches from the end of the wire. I teed onto the wiring close to the ignition switch for both feeds. Just stripped off about half an inch of insulation and did a twist and solder joint covered with insulation tape. Probably best to disconnect the battery but I flew by the seat of my pants!
When it comes to fitting the heat pads I found the sizing on this universal kit to be absolutely perfect for the Mk1. Should be fine on the Mk2.
Best tip I can give you is this. When it comes to stripping the seats you will have to remove lots of those horrible metal rings. Use two pairs of pliers to get them apart. The correct method of putting things back together is by using a special tool to fit new rings. Don’t. Get yourself a big bag of small cable ties. So much easier to fit and you can put them all on loosely and then tighten a bit at a time. Once they are all tight cut off the excess with a sharp pair of cutters. So much easier to get everything in the right place and covers fitting smoothly. All mine stayed put fine.
When you’ve got the covers off it’s a good time to give them a good clean off. Amazing how much grime and dust will be in the nooks and crannies. If the seat foams have any damage now is the time to sort that too. You may find that the metal bars set into the foam are coming away in places. A hot melt glue gun will do the job here. A good time to give the carpets a good going over too. Do the passenger seat first and if you hit any problems you can still use the car and get your techniques all sorted before you do the drivers one.
I would be looking to take a feed from the fuse box in the engine that is ignition controlled through a heavy duty relay already fitted by Mazda.
Go to the Mellens site and download a mk2.5 wiring diagram and find out how they wire the heated seats from that as it will show the source of the power.
The switched live can be taken from any source as all it does is operate one relay which is included in the loom of the kit, doesn’t take a high current. The contacts of the relay supply the permanent live to the switches to select off-low-high to the two seperate heating elements in each seat. Both these feeds are fused immediately they enter the loom. Very simple design, well thought out.