Cooled seats not cooling

[tsunami]

No cooling in the seat cooling...

You are correct...the cooling device requires electricity to do the cooling...but Ford "forgot" that you can't just dump the hot air into the same seat area as the cooling air. So essentially the cool air and hot air are remixed...but the problem is...the cooling requires electricity which adds even more heat to the system. And if there is no efficient way to blow the hot air away from the seat...the seat overall will be warmer than when it started.
It would have been better and hundreds of dollars cheaper to just put in a good fan into the seats and blow cabin air through the seats.
This is why I say that there should be law that says that engineers have to personally use any device they design to make sure that it works...before foisting it on the public.

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[Darko66]

Install Instructions/Video First Draft

Here's my first draft of the instructions to install my attachment. It's a little lacking on detail for the "Opening Up The Seat" section since both my seats have been disassembled for awhile.

I also made a brief video showing the attachment install. I just attached the blower unit to a wire shelf unit so that I could approximate how it would be done inside the seat. I was holding a flashlight and propping up my iPad with one hand and doing the install with the other, so I apologize for the roughness of the video. Also, please excuse my lisp. I've been forced into having my teeth straightened and the aligners affect my speech a little.

The PDF of the instructions is attached and here's the YouTube link:

I still need to work on a web page for ordering, so stay tuned.

 

[GT Pony]

^^^ Good stuff. I'm wondering if it would be better to attach the hoses to the manifold before installing it on the TED. Then you'd only have to get two screws installed while working blind in the limited seat space.

If you get someone to guinea pig their car, maybe you can try to install it that way and see if it's easier.

Also, in the video seeing the seal on the manifold that goes against the TED, I was wondering why the seal doesn't go all the way around the perimeter - is there still some gap where hot trapped air in the seat could be sucked in?

It might be simpler to make it so the hole in the TED matches the hole for the fan on the TED, then just have a thin circular flat seal that adheres to the manifold that will seal 360 degrees around the fan opening when the manifold is installed. Just some thoughts.

 

[OySmallFry@SCS]

It sounds like, to obtain a significant upgrade, we may need to swap out the TED entirely. [MENTION=16202]Darko66[/MENTION], maybe I missed it, but have you looked into other units?

We'd have to make sure electrical requirements are acceptable, but perhaps there's a more robust unit we can retrofit.

 

[Darko66]

^^^ Good stuff. I'm wondering if it would be better to attach the hoses to the manifold before installing it on the TED. Then you'd only have to get two screws installed while working blind in the limited seat space.

If you get someone to guinea pig their car, maybe you can try to install it that way and see if it's easier.

Also, in the video seeing the seal on the manifold that goes against the TED, I was wondering why the seal doesn't go all the way around the perimeter - is there still some gap where hot trapped air in the seat could be sucked in?

It might be simpler to make it so the hole in the TED matches the hole for the fan on the TED, then just have a thin circular flat seal that adheres to the manifold that will seal 360 degrees around the fan opening when the manifold is installed. Just some thoughts.

I did mention in the PDF instructions, although not very prominently, that you could alternatively put the tubes on first. It's sort of a wash. It's easier to put the tubes on first, but doing so makes it a little more awkward to work with when trying to screw it on.

I added the foam because I wasn't getting a perfect fit at the very top, likely because of minor warping of the print. I'm working on an enclosure for the printer to minimize that. The bottom part that's curved presses up against a much larger area of the blower and it's at the beginning of the print where warping is less of a concern so there isn't really a need for a seal.

Agreed that something more like a gasket would be more ideal, but I don't have a way to cut a custom shape out of a compressible material. Suppose I could search for something that would work, but I'm a little worn out doing that at this point. There are some other limitations that dissuade me from wanting to go that way, but I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the suggestion.

Keep in mind that this is a fairly weak fan, it's going to draw air from the path of least resistance, so where an airtight seal might be nice, it's not all that necessary. I'm trying to keep it as simple and inexpensive as possible.

 

[Darko66]

It sounds like, to obtain a significant upgrade, we may need to swap out the TED entirely. [MENTION=16202]Darko66[/MENTION], maybe I missed it, but have you looked into other units?

We'd have to make sure electrical requirements are acceptable, but perhaps there's a more robust unit we can retrofit.

No, not really. It would be nice if the unit had a bit higher airflow, but other than that it's really an issue of getting cool, clean air to the unit. The latest install I've done with the intake hoses centered under the seat is actually doing better than the seat cushion blower (cold-side temperature reading). I'd tried it originally with the hoses off to the right because there's a bracket there that I co-opted and it was underperforming

The seats in the Mustang are so snug that it could be difficult finding something that would fit. My guess is that any fairly recent blower unit from the same manufacturer would work as far as the electrics go, but just an assumption on my part.

 

[DivineStrike]

Darko you should make your own thread in the DIY section of future use. I'm sure this thread will continue to grow and eventually your input will be lost.

Or ask a mod to sticky a new thread at the top of this section....this section might be better lol

 

[ctlaw]

The $64 question is what other cars have cooling TEDs but no underseat AC ducts to deliver air for rear seat passengers? How to they work?

If you have underseat AC ducts, the air coming out is probably going to be in the low 50s F. "Ventilated seats" just redirect some of this air through the seat.

A proper cooled seat uses the underseat AC air but cools it further. If some portion of ~50F underseat air is used to cool the hot side of the TED, and another portion of the ~50F underseat air is passed over the cool side thought the seat, that latter portion could be cooled below 40F.

 

[RIBS]

Question for those that got the TSB done.....
Is it taking multiple visits to get this done?

My Atlanta area dealers are insisting one day to diagnose and confirm VIN is eligible, and then order parts and bring car back another day for repair.

It's a major PIA to arrange drop off and pick up for my car, especially twice...

 

[DB23]

In my case I gave them the TSB sheet when I dropped my car off on a wed am for scheduled warranty work. They kept the car an extra day but when I picked it up thurs pm 2 new seatback blowers were installed. Don't know if they just had a set sitting around or what but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[RobbieFrazier]

Question for those that got the TSB done.....
Is it taking multiple visits to get this done?

My Atlanta area dealers are insisting one day to diagnose and confirm VIN is eligible, and then order parts and bring car back another day for repair.

It's a major PIA to arrange drop off and pick up for my car, especially twice...

I called the service advisor ahead of time, referenced the TSB, gave him the part number for the new unit (even though it's listed in the TSB; I don't have patience for other peoples' ineptitude), and asked him to order the parts before I dropped off the car. He called me when they arrived, and I dropped the car off one morning before work. I picked the car up the following afternoon (it was in for an oil change and a couple other minor things in addition to the TSB). This was all within a few weeks of the initial TSB release, so all Premium S550 VINs were "eligible" at that time.

 

[papinist]

I don't have patience for other peoples' ineptitude

I'll steal this for a later use :clap2:

 

[millhouse]

For those that have had the TSB done, does it make an appreciable difference? I would hate to drop it off just to have it return in the same condition....and then have to worry about the dealer screwing the seats up in the process.

 

[jvandy50]

my seat backs feel hotter when i turn these on in this hot ass weather we've been having.

and yes i did not read 89 pages of this thread...anyone had this stuff fixed with any luck? thanks

 

[jasonstang]

Just a few pics to show the intake sock and deflector.

Judging the look of it they didn't improve the issue by one reason: the hot exhaust air is still being trapped inside the seat back when trying to cool the seat.
Here is how the heater works. When voltage is applied to the peltier cooler, one side of it gets hot and the other side gets cold. When voltage is reversed, the effect is also reversed. In the case of cooling, the fan blows air through both sides. The cool side cools the air and sends it to the seat. Ford's mod only supplies cooler air to the fan but the hot air side is still venting inside the seat unlike the seat bottom unit which is open.
What they should've done is adding a mouth on the exhaust air side and vent that out of the seat.

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