[w123luke]

When I got my 2016 Camaro one of the biggest features I had looked forward to was cooled seats. I know this may seem dumb but I've used them in other peoples cars and I love them. Fast forward to me having the car I noticed that the effect was pretty weak. After looking into it more I found out the seats are only ventilated. This set me on a mission. Why on earth would GM drop the cooled feature from their vehicles all together. For example the 2014-2015 GMC Sierra Denali has cooled seats but the 2016-2018 refresh does not. Anyways that's not really here nor there. So my buddy guntimer made a post a little while ago (https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=615408) about this for me asking the question if we could buy a peltier cooler and install in it our cars to help cool the seats better. I went ahead and purchased the cooler and went about modifying my seat.

My first attempt at this was to install the new fan and cooler directly attached to the seat itself. But this presented a problem immediately. I couldn't figure out how to power them and control them. My two biggest goals were to A: have colder seats but B: use the OEM buttons on the car. So I started looking into the electronics of it all. (Thanks to all of those who wanted to get the 1LE ventilated seats working in their 1SS's. Those threads gave me lots of information.) I tired to connect the cooler and the new fan to the power, ground, and PWM signals of the original fan. This however did not work because the power was a switched 12v signal, meaning when the car was on the power was on no matter what. So as far as the peltier device it was always on and without a fan blowing on it, it would burn out. Then there was the issue of the PWM signal. This one is still a little unknown to me but long story short it did not work with the fan from the cooler I had bought off an old Jaguar. The fan would work kind of in reverse actually to what I needed it but not fully either. So this got me thinking maybe I use a small Arduino to just code a simple if X = this then do this. So that the fan and everything worked. Well I'm not the best coder and my buddy and I tried this for hours with no avail. So that summer I gave up on the project…



It's now the next summer and I got the urge to get back on the project. This is where I am now. I've had a new design idea in mind. Instead of trying to use the new fan and peltier unit plugged into the power and PWM, I put the old fan back. Then from there run tubing from the peltier cooler into the existing fans. That way I still have fan speed control. But of course there is still the issue of powering the new fan and cooler. My solution to this as of right now is I just simply bought an on and off switch and connected the fan and cooler to the 12v switched signal going to the OEM fan. This setup is way simpler and I wish I thought of it forever ago. It actually works! For the most part I am getting cold air on my bottom and back!







So, two things are left before I'd call this project a success and one of them is where I think I need help. First problem which I listed earlier is I want to control this whole system using the OEM buttons on my car. Since I have this new system where fan speed is running through the original fans that's no longer a problem. I really only need the Peltier device and fan attached to it either fully on or fully off. With a little help from ChatGTP I asked if I could use a relay that simply turns on or off based if there was a PWM signal coming from the seats and it gave me some options. Long story short I think this will work. So I plan to get this relay and wire it up. If all goes well the peltier and its fan would just turn on all the way when I have the cooled seat on and turn off when I have it turned off! My second issue though is I feel like the original fan is simply just not pushing enough air at all... The back is doing just fine but the bottom, like I can feel it but it's not very strong. It is cold though, I just want more. Has anyone figured out a way to get the bottom to push more air? It also only feels like it's coming out the very back of the bottom seat rather than the whole bottom seat. The back on the other hand has air coming out all around and it's great.

Anyways, that wraps up my ramble for now. Sorry if this was hard to follow I just typed it out as I was thinking about it. If you have any question or ideas please feel free to comment! I want this project to turn out the best it can. I am happy where I am at right now though. I feel like it's so close to being a full solution without being to janky haha.

Quick side note. Between the first attempt and second I replaced hot glue with aluminum air duct tape. It works way better. It has some give to it and holds way better than the hot glue. The hot glue just kept coming apart after a few days at a time.

[dmk679]

Hi - stumbled on your thread! Such a great project. Wondering if you have any updates to share. Thanks!

[SomeGeoffGuy]

What if you ran a tube from the cabin AC outlet under the dash to the intake on the seat? I always though that would be a way to get cold air into the seat with just some tubes, then you could control it by turning on your AC to your feet. I think someone who is innovative with a 3d printer could even print up an adapter to put the tube on the end of the under-dash outlet, and still leave room for cold air to get to your feet.

Just thinking out loud...

-Geoff

[dmk679]

When I turn my AC to the floor is really when I can feel the effects of the seat coolers; otherwise, I normally leave mine off.

I have a 3D printer and am a little familiar with some of the free AutoCAD tools. Where would we route the tube, under the console?

[SomeGeoffGuy]

Originally Posted by dmk679

When I turn my AC to the floor is really when I can feel the effects of the seat coolers; otherwise, I normally leave mine off.

I have a 3D printer and am a little familiar with some of the free AutoCAD tools. Where would we route the tube, under the console?

Yea, that is what I would try. Assuming there is some room there, which I don't know. Maybe 1/2" plastic tube? Bigger would be better but maybe harder to run. Usually most components in cars get a 10 mm gap, so 1/2" could be stuck between stuff. I wish I had time to try this, I would love more cold into my seat vent.

-Geoff

[dmk679]

I'll have to look at the floor AC vent to see if we can hook up an adapter to it. I've never looked at it before to see if that is a possibility.

I was intrigued by the Cadillac DTS unit, which I believe is a peltier unit. I'm running the Gen5DIY seat cooler retrofit and I was thinking about connecting the peltier unit with the Gen5 harness and on/off switch.

[speedyink1]

Originally Posted by dmk679

I'll have to look at the floor AC vent to see if we can hook up an adapter to it. I've never looked at it before to see if that is a possibility.

I was intrigued by the Cadillac DTS unit, which I believe is a peltier unit. I'm running the Gen5DIY seat cooler retrofit and I was thinking about connecting the peltier unit with the Gen5 harness and on/off switch.

I just learned of this mod, debating doing it. I see you're looking for more cooling, is this worth the work to install as is do you think?

Might do regardless, as I like the idea of activating the hardware that's already in my seat.

[dmk679]

Originally Posted by speedyink1

I just learned of this mod, debating doing it. I see you're looking for more cooling, is this worth the work to install as is do you think?

Might do regardless, as I like the idea of activating the hardware that's already in my seat.

I think the Gen5DIY mod is definitely worth it when you activate your lower AC. If the windows are open, then it is not worth it, IMO.

[beowulf556]

Originally Posted by dmk679

I think the Gen5DIY mod is definitely worth it when you activate your lower AC. If the windows are open, then it is not worth it, IMO.

I agree. Because it's just a fan, the cabin temp is going to determine how cold it "feels".

I really like the tube idea you guys are talking about, subbing.

[dmk679]

Here is an image of the lower AC vents in my 2018. Looks like three holes. I can mock up a connector to the vent closest to the console to see how that impacts the flow from the other 2 vents.

[2018 Blue 1LE]

Just throwing it out there, no research done.


1) why not just add an on/off switch, like the Gen5 kit, into the side seat control area to turn the additional item on. Then, like you said, the existing controls can do the rest.
Although the Gen5 kit could come in handy if you want to control the additional fan strength.


2) if hooking to the floor vent, it MIGHT be possible to run tubes in the center console sides to the seat.


Again, just spit balling things.

[dmk679]

Originally Posted by 2018 Blue 1LE

Just throwing it out there, no research done.


1) why not just add an on/off switch, like the Gen5 kit, into the side seat control area to turn the additional item on. Then, like you said, the existing controls can do the rest.
Although the Gen5 kit could come in handy if you want to control the additional fan strength.


2) if hooking to the floor vent, it MIGHT be possible to run tubes in the center console sides to the seat.


Again, just spit balling things.

Appreciate the input, thank you!

We will try to explore both options. For the TED/peltier unit retrofit, we'll try and tie that into the Gen5Diy harness and the on/off switch. I've been doing some research to see how other folks are successfully performing the retrofit on other vehicle platforms.

The ac redirect will be the easier approach if we have enough clearance to run the tube.

[BryanT2016]

Old thread, but my 02 cents.seems if you want the cooler to work every time the seat fan is on, a simple relay switched on from power to fan itself is all you need. if you want fan only sometimes then just a simple switch on the seat like others stated.