Heated steering wheel is an additional option that allows the driver to comfortably control the car in winter during cold weather. On many premium and business cars, this system is already included. What about car owners who are deprived of this opportunity?
Heated steering wheel can be installed in a car service or try to do it yourself. When contacting specialists, you will have to pay for a warm steering wheel, and this service is not cheap. The total amount for steering wheel heating, depending on the brand of the car, can reach up to twenty thousand rubles.
In the absence of a desire to overpay for car services and self-confidence, you can try to install this warm option yourself. However, it must be borne in mind that this work is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.
At the first stage, you should remove the steering wheel and decorative trim, which is a faux leather or leather. It must be borne in mind that if the steering wheel is equipped with a substrate glued to the rim or skin, it may break during operation, therefore, special care must be taken. To do this, cut the tightening central thread from the lacing of the steering wheel, remove it, and then carefully peel off the skin. After doing this, remove the remaining adhesive from the rim and get to the plastic.
After removing the trim, insert heating elements into the steering wheel rim. The most difficult thing at this stage is to install the hidden wiring, which is carried out to the center of the steering wheel. This will require eight meter-long copper lacquered wire, a soldering iron, solder, flux, insulating tape, glue and other devices. Since the wire is very thin, when it is wound on the steering wheel, care must be taken not to break it in any case.
It is necessary to determine the appropriate wires from which power will be supplied to the heating element. Many car owners use a cigarette lighter for this purpose, however, it is not available on all models. In this case, the steering wheel heating can be connected to a standard system that provides seat heating and display it as a separate button on the panel.
After completing these manipulations, they constrict the steering wheel rim, install the device in its place and check the performance of the car. This is done in the reverse order to removal, the skin is pulled onto the steering wheel again, the skin is glued and the device is laced up.
If the steering wheel is heated in a car service, it usually takes about two days.
Another option for installing a warm steering wheel is an autonomous prestarting heater. Today on the market there are many ready-made steering wheel heating systems. For example, you can purchase a special steering wheel braid of the Pitstop HOT HANDS brand, which is the size of the steering wheels of most cars from different manufacturers. The convenience of this device is that the steering wheel heating can be turned on even when the car is parked. A few minutes are enough to warm the steering wheel. And, what pleases, these systems are quite inexpensive: from 800 rubles. It is only important to remember that before starting the movement, you must disconnect the power cord.
A good steering wheel heating system is the ACVST brand device. This option can be used both separately and with seat heating. The kit includes steering wheel heating elements , fused wires, and switches. The presence of detailed instructions will allow you to set the steering wheel heating without any problems.
Thus, the choice of a method for heating the steering wheel remains with the car owner. It is important that in the future the driver was comfortable in the car in any frost.