Cooled Seats

[pinyin]

My seat back stopped cooling today. the car only has 80 miles on it.

 

The day I brought it home from the dealer the seat back did cool.

 

Now it doesn't.

 

Not a good look for Ford.

 

Perhaps they should have never offered this option if their engineers can't figure out how to make it work properly.

 

I remember my 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero had cooled seats and they worked great for the life of the car.

[akirby]

Ford has had cooled seats that worked fine (including the back) as far back as 2003. This was simply a new design that didn't get tested well enough.

[minervadreaming]

Does your seatback cool the lower portion or the whole length?

 

Up to just under my shoulder blades, where the leather facing starts.

[Paul Proefrock]

I had the TSB revisions applied to my 15 Edge Titanium. It helped but didn't solve the back issue 100%. Also own a F150 so am familiar with the issues. On the F150 Forum, TWakefield has developed a fix that finally addresses the issue. Seems the air from the TED (ThermoElectric Device) that generates cooling discharges into the seat cavity, causing it to heat up and negate or greatly reduce the upper back cooling.

 

He's made an adapter that vents the hot air out into the passenger compartment (under the seat) which greatly improves the operation of the seat back. The thread on the F150 forum is almost 300 pages long but very good reading if you're having the issue. Thread Link if you'd like to see Tim's website that address this, here's that link: TWakefield Mod

 

I've installed the mod on my seats and would have to say they are now at 85% of what the bottom seats are. Temperatures in the midwest should be in the 70's shortly so I'm ahead of the curve for this summers use.

 

 

 

FYI

 

Paul

Edited April 2, 2016 by Paul Proefrock

[Picturepro]

Thanks Paul for the info. $130 for 2 seats to fix Ford issue. I'd like to see Ford fix this issue. I went to a Kings hockey

game last night and my passenger used the seat AC. I said nothing about the seat issue, just let them figure it out.

15 minutes in he said but cold but the back is still hot, doesn't it work? I laughed and said it was fixed by ford as a TSB.

 

He has a sport trac truck now and has been considering a new Ford, less chance now.

[t0lkman]

Titanium awd 2016 here, upper part of the seats are not cooled (only bottom)

just bought it last week... What TSB would you suggest for my model?

[cv27]

Titanium awd 2016 here, upper part of the seats are not cooled (only bottom)

just bought it last week... What TSB would you suggest for my model?

Check this post here

[Pardo714]

I took mine in today 2015 titanium edge. Dealer told me they ordered seat motors. I'll post more when I pick it up.

[cv27]

Good if you post, but you might be disappointed. There is NO solution currently that will fix the cooling seat issue. Check other threads.

[Antonwind]

Brought my 2015 Edge Titanium for checkup and the 2 front seats AC didn't work. Was told tge coil needed replaced. After technician replaced the coils, cooling was very weak and noticed following:

 

1. Bottom seats driver and passenger takes 2 to 4min for cool air start blowing.

 

2. Only feel very slight cool on driver and passenger backrest seats.

 

After the coil fix, the cooling of the seats are not functioning as strong as first bought vehicle.

 

Is tgere a recall by Ford yo fix this seat cooling issues?

[akirby]

Recalls are only for safety problems and this isn't a safety problem so no recall. There was a TSB instructing dealers to make some updates but most reported either no change or only a slight improvement. Have the dealer check it.

[bsk6294]

Paul,
I'm currently trying to install TWakefield's 3d-printed parts. How were you able to get the seat cover removed? I have a 2017 Edge Sport and there don't seem to be any zippers or closures. I got as far as the j-channels, but am having an issue getting the seat cover out of the way enough to install the fix.

Thanks,

Brian

 

 

I had the TSB revisions applied to my 15 Edge Titanium. It helped but didn't solve the back issue 100%. Also own a F150 so am familiar with the issues. On the F150 Forum, TWakefield has developed a fix that finally addresses the issue. Seems the air from the TED (ThermoElectric Device) that generates cooling discharges into the seat cavity, causing it to heat up and negate or greatly reduce the upper back cooling.

 

He's made an adapter that vents the hot air out into the passenger compartment (under the seat) which greatly improves the operation of the seat back. The thread on the F150 forum is almost 300 pages long but very good reading if you're having the issue. Thread Link if you'd like to see Tim's website that address this, here's that link: TWakefield Mod

 

I've installed the mod on my seats and would have to say they are now at 85% of what the bottom seats are. Temperatures in the midwest should be in the 70's shortly so I'm ahead of the curve for this summers use.

 

 

 

FYI

 

Paul

[Paul Proefrock]

Brian

No Zippers on the Edge - Kind of like rolling a condom off. It isn't easy as the fabric and padding is stiff. You can roll it back till you get to side airbag, that gives enough room on the back to access the TED.

 

There is some heavy duty Velcro in the bolster channels where it meets the seat center back that needs to be loosened to get it to roll back. Shows as green in the photo. You can't roll it much higher without getting into the airbags. Just is high enough in the back to access the TED

 

I've attached a picture and a PDF of the notes I sent to Tim when I did mine

 

Paul

Seat TED Conversion notes.pdf

[bsk6294]

Excellent. Very helpful. Thanks a ton! I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend

[1004ron]

Glad I stumbled on this thread.

 

The backrest is not cooling anything like the seat, and I cant recall when it stopped working - 2017 Sport.

[THE_BOLT]

I have my 2016 sport at the dealer now for the second time due to lack of cooling in the seats. The first time the service rep told me the A/C needs to be on also for the cooling to work in the seats...but on mine right now in 90 degree weather with the windows up, A/C running, and seat cooling set on high you can barely feel cooling on the bottom and non existant on the seatbacks. Its mainly in the shop for adaptive steering fault and vista roof making a click noise while fully open and going over the smallest bumps

[akirby]

Your service rep is totally incorrect. There is no connection to the HVAC system - the seat heating/cooling is self contained.

[cv27]

Your service rep is totally incorrect. There is no connection to the HVAC system - the seat heating/cooling is self contained.

But the seat cooling is not adequate. Yes, the seat bottom kind of feels cool; the seat back, not at all. I can't imagine anyone using any setting lower than max for cooling.

 

Long standing issue, long standing denial or ignorance of the cause of the problem from Ford. I gave up.

[akirby]

I know it’s not adequate. We had a 2003 Aviator that would freeze your back so I know what it’s supposed to feel like. But the service writer was wrong about it being tied to the HVAC system.

[cv27]

I know it’s not adequate. We had a 2003 Aviator that would freeze your back so I know what it’s supposed to feel like. But the service writer was wrong about it being tied to the HVAC system.

I suspect the tech advisor mentioned by the OP was trying to 'alleviate' the issue by suggesting the AC should be on. Of course, if the ambient air in the car is cooler, then the TED's will be more efficient, so perceived cooler seats. Only problem with that theory is that it does nothing to 'alleviate' the seat backs.

[enigma-2]

I remember reading in one of the forums where someone discovered that if the back of the seat was open, the airflow improved by x amount. Supposedly made a big difference. He was thinking that the airflow into the seat was the limiting factor. (Easy enough to verify and fix if that really is the cause).

[akirby]

I think the problem is getting the hot exhaust air out of the seat back, so opening it helps.

[tmarsh]

I think the problem is getting the hot exhaust air out of the seat back, so opening it helps.

 

 

That is exactly the issue. I found on the F150 and Explorer forums that there is a guy that custom makes adapter fittings for the blower assembly in the seat to vent the air intake and exhaust below the seat. But, 3 weeks ago I made an order, and have not received the parts, or even a confirmation email of my order. Ive tried contacting him as well. If I hear back from this guy, and receive the parts, I will post back.

 

The assembly in the seat is the same across ford models. Just getting to it is a PITA on the Edge seats.

 

The assembly in the seat, for those that don't know how this works, is a blower with a thermo electric device (peltier). It looks like a small bathroom tile. The peltier, when given voltage, gets hot on one side and cold on the other. When voltage is reversed, the hot and cold sides switch.

So the blower, blows air across both sides of this tile. The exuaust, one side goes into the seatback, the other side goes into open air inside the seat. Here lies the problem.

 

The peltier gets hotter than it does cold. SO your heated seat works fine, the hot side is blown into the seat back, and the cold side is blown into open air(still inside the seat) but the peltier is more efficient at heating, so no issue here.

 

The cooling function, voltage is reversed, and the cold side of the peltier gets blown into the seat back. The hot side is blown into open air, but again still inside the seat. Once the inside of the seat gets so hot, and I mean HOT, the blower is now sucking in hot air and the peltier cannot cool down the hot air. The fix, is to exaust the hot air out of the bottom of the seat into cabin air, and have fresh air brought into the blower from the cabin air. If you feel above the seat pocket on the back of the seat, it is very hot from the exhaust air trapped inside.

 

The seat bottom works because the blower assembly is not trapped inside the leather.

 

On my Edge, if I turn my cooled seats on when the cabin is a comfortable temperature and the leather has had time to come down to cabin temperature, I can briefly feel it on my back, only until I feel the back of the seat get hot above the pocket.

Edited July 11, 2018 by tmarsh

[tmarsh]

Alright so I got my kit in the mail from http://seatguru.wixsite.com/fordseatfix#! and didn't waste any time getting it in there. The parts look strong and well made to withstand a toddler kicking the back of the seat.

The only issue I had was finding a Torx T6 screwdriver bit at home to remove the screws. But, start to finish took me maybe 15-20 minutes per seat. But I do recommend pulling the seat out of the car for sure. 4 bolts and a few connectors.

 

His website does not have instructions for the Edge, only F-150. Seats are different, but seat coolers are the same. The service manual says to take the seat out of the car(which might make it easier) and then pretty much remove all of the upholstery, separate the seat back from the seat bottom...no. I didn't do any of that,

The way I did it, I just put the seat bottom up and forward, with the seat back fully forward. Underneath the seat are two connectors, small yellow connector is the airbag(I recommend depowering the airbag system, or at least unhook your battery for a half hour before starting. Although I didn't do either). Unplug these two connectors and make sure they are loose. Then, there is two bungee cords holding the seat flap to the bottom of the seat, undo these. This exposes the J-channel. The J-channel is your entry way into the seat. I cannot explain in detail how to unhook it, but definitely start on an end and I used a right angle dental pick. Once the J-channel is loose, remove the plastic from the seat pocket, then you can pull up the upholstery enough to get to the blower assembly. Have someone hold the upholstery up for you while you work.

 

This project is a PITA! But well worth it! Grab a case of beer to get you through it. The F-150 seat has zippers on the side to make this job a lot easier, the Edge unfortunately does not have these zippers.

 

Sorry I completely forgot to take pictures while in there.

If you look on the website, the inside of the seat looks the same as the F-150, the blower assembly is exactly the same, and routing of the pipes is similar.

Here is the area you will be working in. I thought I could at least show something.

Edited July 24, 2018 by tmarsh

[tmarsh]

The final test- The seat back now gets so cold to the point that I have to turn it down, or off, and I was only on the road for 20 minutes. The seat back works just as well, if not better than the seat bottom.

 

I recommend buying Tim's kit from the website in my above post. Well worth the work and money.

I suppose a custom accessories shop would likely install this for you if you supply them information and instructions.

Edited July 24, 2018 by tmarsh