Fix For Climate Controlled Seats Not Cooling

[Darko66]

Please read the attached PDF instruction sheet for complete details. Note, however, that the instructions are still a work in progress,. I will try to refine them along the way.

To order, visit www.darko66.com

I’ve created a simple add on attachment that improves the performance of the seat back cooler for Mustangs equipped with climate controlled seats. As shipped, the original seat blower unit cannot intake sufficient cool air to operate properly. The seat either didn’t cool at all or, in some instances, actually heated the seat. Ford did attempt a solution and issued a TSB to replace the blower with a modified unit. Unfortunately their solution appears to have fallen short.

The attachment allows you to attach hoses that you can run under the seat and past the seat cushion’s blower unit to reach cool, clean air at the front of the seat. Best mix of results can be achieved by splitting your A/C between the panel and floor vents. Maximum seat cooling can be achieved by directing the A/C to the floor only.

For the hoses, I currently recommend 3/4” ID pond tubing that can be purchased from hardware stores or online vendors for $15-20 for 20 feet. Each seat requires three 36” pieces of tubing.

UPDATE: The original attachment will only work on the original blower units that shipped on all 2015 and most 2016 models (some late production 2016 models shipped with the modified unit). I've created a new attachment for Ford's updated blower unit (see age 5 of thread for info). So, if you had the TSB performed by your dealer or if your vehicle was shipped with the modified unit, please purchase the "TSB "Sock" Version". You can tell if you have the modified unit by looking under the rear side of the seat (see under seat image below). If there is a white intake sock protruding from where the seat flap closes, you have the newer blower model.

I’d like to thank all of the commenters on the Mustang 6G forum who contributed to the discussion, especially forum member Droid_Junky whose early investigative work was instrumental in the final product. For complete details on the long journey many of us have traveled, visit the Mustang 6G forum “cooled seats not cooling” discussion – http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23384

Additional thanks to forum member zuki_dan for some additional installation tips and for the photo below of the installed attachment.

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[Darko66]

FAQs

I had the TSB done by my dealer, will this work for me?
No, the new blower unit does not have the same connection points.

Will you make a version that will work with the modified TSB blower?
I purchased one to investigate it and I've upgraded this answer to maybe. Added poll to top of this topic to gauge interest.

Will this work on 2017 Mustangs?
I don’t think so. I’m assuming the 2017 models shipped with the TSB modified unit, but don’t know for sure. See poll at top of this topic set up to gauge interest in finding a solution for the 2017 models.

Will this cool the lumbar area?
The entire seat back does not cool. This is an unfortunate limitation due to the way Ford designed the seat. The primary area cooled is the second panel from the top. Some cooling will spread from there to the top panel and third panel. The bottom lumbar panel will not cool at all, although, if you’re lucky, there may be a slight cooling effect from the seat cushions cooler.

I don’t like the A/C blowing out the floor vents onto my legs. Is that really necessary?
The colder the air that gets to the blower, the better the cooling will be. The cooler your car is though, the less the need is to include the floor vents in the mix. Even without using the floor vents, the performance will be improved over Ford’s original configuration, but to get the best cooling you do need to split the air between the panel and floor vents.

Wouldn’t 1 larger tube be better than 3 small ones?
Yes, but due to limited space within and under the seat as well as a desire to use easily accessible hose, I decided the 3 hose method was the best way to go.

What’s with the foam weather stripping? Is that really the best option? Why doesn’t it go all the way around?
I needed something that’s highly compressible and economical. Maybe something else would work, but it does the job quite well. It’s only needed along the thin edges of the attachment. The fit at the bottom is sufficient and does not require it

Why don’t you include the tubing?
It costs too much for me to ship. I specifically chose a tubing method that was readily available for purchase locally or online. Including it would end up increasing the end cost unnecessarily.

Why is the attachment orange?
I got a good deal on a roll of orange filament, so that’s what I used for prototypes. I will likely use black going forward unless another deal comes along.

Why does the attachment look different than some of the photos?
The final shipping version has some cosmetic differences and minor improvements different than the prototypes shown in the instructional images.

What about the hot air exhaust inside the seat – isn’t that a problem? Why doesn’t the fix include a way to remove the hot exhaust?
Yes, but not as much as you would think. The cooler the intake air, the cooler the exhaust air, so if you can feed the unit cold air, the inside of the seat doesn’t get as hot as it does under the original configuration. I have worked on an exhaust system and will be testing it in the near future to see how much, if any, it helps. The exhaust is more difficult to deal with. We were lucky on the intake side because the deflector provided an easy attachment point. The exhaust doesn’t have as easy a way to attach something. There’s also the question of where to exhaust the air. You don’t want to have it go under the seat where it will heat up the air your feeding the blowers. And, the other option is routing it out the back of the seat which requires cutting a hole or something to provide a way out.

 

[ib2loud]

Thanks for the great work. I'm wanting to try this out but I'm having a little trouble ordering the orange attachments from your site. I sent a message through the site but thought it may be just as quick to post here. The shopping cart isn't giving me a valid payment option.

 

[papinist]

Great work!
Don't get me wrong but.. I have to ask: will you made available your 3d file online, for example on thingiverse so that those of us at the other side of the world but with a 3d printer could create the fix on its own?

 

[Rypkr937]

Does this improve seat bottom cooling as well? My seat back heats like other but even my seat bottoms barely cool. I'd rate it at a 3/10 of what I expected seat coolers to feel like and it's primarily only in the very front center between my legs where I'm not even sitting.

Does this fix address or improve seat bottom cooling also?

 

[shobbs007]

I've been following this for a while now, and have the same issues with the not-so-cooled seats as others. Nice work on a mod that will make the cooling perform better. When will the attachments be available? I tried to order as well, but got a message saying no payment options for my state.

 

[wsfrazier]

sub'd, can't wait to try this.

 

[Darko66]

Thanks for the great work. I'm wanting to try this out but I'm having a little trouble ordering the orange attachments from your site. I sent a message through the site but thought it may be just as quick to post here. The shopping cart isn't giving me a valid payment option.

Hi, thanks for your interests and for letting me know about the problem. I will investigate once I get into my office and try to figure out what the issue is.

 

[Darko66]

Okay, the website will now work with Paypal. I apologize to those who had an issue.

 

[fionic]

cold air intake for seat coolers, neat.

 

[Darko66]

Great work!
Don't get me wrong but.. I have to ask: will you made available your 3d file online, for example on thingiverse so that those of us at the other side of the world but with a 3d printer could create the fix on its own?

I probably could. That would be the nice thing to do. The only concern would be whether the holes would align properly from a different printer. I created the file with a less popular program, so I'm not sure if I could provide editable files. Let me look into it and give it some thought.

 

[ib2loud]

Got mine ordered. I'm anxious to give it a shot. Now if only Ford service would get the parts in they're waiting on to fix my car so I can drive it again...

 

[shobbs007]

Got mine ordered as well. Can't wait to do this!!

 

[Darko66]

Does this improve seat bottom cooling as well? My seat back heats like other but even my seat bottoms barely cool. I'd rate it at a 3/10 of what I expected seat coolers to feel like and it's primarily only in the very front center between my legs where I'm not even sitting.

Does this fix address or improve seat bottom cooling also?

The attachment for the back won't help the bottoms, but splitting the A/C between the panel and floor will. The exhaust from the seat cushion blower can get trapped under the seat and decrease its effectiveness. Blowing the air out the floor vents not only provides cooler air, but also forces out that hot exhaust.

Our seats are just so low to the floor that airflow under them is awful especially if you have the seat all the way back.

 

[zuki_dan]

Some more feed back. I was driving my car Saturday it was 94 degrees ambient and with the heat index 105 degrees outside. I had the A/C on panel and floor temp setting LO the seat back stayed cool the whole time. It wasn't as cool as the seat bottom but I could definitely feel the coolness on my back. This was during several drives a 30 minute drive about noon then an hour drive home mid afternoon. While driving home in the afternoon I placed my hand under the front of the seat cushion up high and I could feel the warm exhaust from the under seat TED. I think I am going to try and move the seat back intakes down closer to the floor to see if it improves its cooling ability. There is a lip under the front of the seat and I could feel the warm air just sitting in the channel there.

Also I tried to get some passenger side pics but they didn't turn out real well. There is more stuff under the passenger seat with the addition of a weight sensor for the air bag it is a tighter fit to route the hoses.

@Darko66 Might want to add this to the instructions. When attaching the hoses to the front of the seat frame you want to have the seat folded full forward so as not to stretch/stress the hoses when the seat folds forward. This will leave a little slack under the seat when the seat is in the normal upright position.

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