Many of the newer cars use a carbon fiber mesh fabric that is
conductive and heats very evenly. I knew of one fellow (with whom I
have no contact) who found a source of the material and was using it
for heated motorcycle apparel. You can literally shoot bullet holes in
the stuff and it continues to heat by conducting around the holes.
            __  __
    Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
             \__/olvos
'90 245 Estate  -  '93 965 Estate
  "Shelby"     &      "Kate"

You may be able to repair the original heaters, in 240's it's usually
just the wire breaks off the thermostat in the seat cushion.

Hi,

I just replaced the elements in my 760GLE.  The old units probably could
have been repaired.  The resistive wire broke within the circuit, and
actually burned the cushion and the pad/element.  I could have simply
trimmed back the material and soldered the wires together, test, and
re-install.

However, what I did do was:

Found 12V resistive elements at a surplus store... installed them in the OE
units place, and voila!!! freakin' beautiful!!  They get quite warm (maxes
out at 50C, which is hot..)  They were not for seat heaters originally, but,
I knew they would work.  $5 each!!!  (Canadian!).

The only trouble I had was the lower cushion, I could not get the center tie
downs to fit in because of the contour of the cushion.  I eliminated them
and it works/looks fine.  The backrest came out perfect, punched holes in
the heater and voila!!

SUPER WARM!! :)

The carbon fiber elements are good, they are a bit expensive, but you can
cut them to any size without breaking the circuit (depending "how" you cut
it/where).  They are quite flexible, and will outlast just about anything
else.

Check your Volvo dealer, I bet the old heater elements might go cheap!
PLUS, if they are like the 760 units, they actually cover the entire seat
pad area, not just a tiny portion like new cars do.

Cheers

Is this repair applicable to the 850? I have been told the elements are NOT
replaceable. True/false? Comments about replacing the heating elements in
an 850?

Where can I get this carbon fiber heating stuff on-line? I live in Canada
but go into the USA once a month so shipping it to my USA address should be
no problem.

Thanks.

Ken
Winnipeg