Wiring Heated Seats

I've got my heating elements and leather coming in later this week and i've searched for this already but to no avail.

Is it ok to run the power for the heating elements straight to the blue sea fuse box i have? (provided i use the right fuse)
If so, Do i need to run a relay? if so, where would i tap into for the acc?

Any advice would be appreciated and sorry if this is the wrong section.

 

My heated seats came with relays for both of them. I used a fuse tap and just tapped into the fuse box in the cab. If you find the right fuse you can set it up so the seat stays on after you turn the truck off, once the door is opened they will turn off.

I love my heated seats, by far the best mod for the money IMO.

 

yes you can run a power wire from the blue sea fuse box. yes you need a relay so when the truck is shut off the seats shut off.
I used a volt tester and checked the fuse box behind the change slot in the dash, to the left of the steering wheel. I found an empty fuse spot that has no voltage when the headlights/running lights are off, but 12v when the headlights/running lights are on. Since I always drive with my head lights on for better visibility, this worked perfectly.

 

I would not wire them to straight power, unless you like a dead battery in the winter. Being the EE i am i used a pressure switch in the seat so when you sit in the seat it enables the relay and allows the seat to heat. When you are not in the seat it will not come on.
Just saying.

 

Thanks for the quick replys guys!
If i use a relay, could i use the cigarette light power for the relay to activate? (since that only turns on with the truck in acc or on)
I'm not sure if the heating elements that i'm getting from jhuey have relays though.

 

I hope you also have that wired to the acc circuit... otherwise my rear seat heaters would be on allllll the time

 

You have piqued my interest, do you remember part numbers for the pressure switch or where i could find 2?

 

I think its cool that he wired them that way, but I wouldnt want that.

When it's real cold out sometimes I'll start my truck to let it warm up, and turn on the heat seats so even the seat is warm when I hop in, or Ill even just turn the ignition to acc and just let the seat warm up.

if there is a pressure switch you cant do that

 

True, and considering i live in TX, i figured it would be something cool to have. It only gets cold maybe 1 week out of the year, so the not doing a pressure switch would be easier and less wiring.

 

I got them from omega engineering as samples at work, they are actually called strain gauges. They output in the millivolts, so you have to use an open collector FET to power the relays. I would have to see if i can find the packing slip from work for the actual part number.
Here is an excerpt from there website i found using google.
http://www.omega.com/literature/transactions/volume3/strain.html

 

Those look pretty cool and the concept is great, they seem a bit overkill for our trucks (unless done by the factory like how dodge does it.)

Power to ya for making it work and using that EE degree to it's fullest.

 

For connecting the relay, would the below picture be accurate?
Would the amperage on the relay matter? (if i only need 10 amp, would 20 amp be ok?)