Heated steering wheel

LordTJC

Member
Just wondering if anyone has ever tried fitting a heated steering wheel to an A2? I know there’s heated steering wheels fitted to A6s that look identical to A2 4 spoke wheels so I’m guessing they will physically just bolt straight on but what about the electrics?

Do they have internal controllers or need modification to the vehicle wiring to work? I believe in A6s the wheel heating is activated in conjunction with heated seats so may only be possible in A2s with these?

Will be nice not to have freezing cold fingers over winter. :)

Tim
 
@timmus would probably have the most informed opinion on this one. The first question that comes to mind is the airbag. Would it be single-stage or could the A2 one be used with the A6 wheel? If so, and the electrics work out, this would be an interesting development.
 
@timmus would probably have the most informed opinion on this one. The first question that comes to mind is the airbag. Would it be single-stage or could the A2 one be used with the A6 wheel? If so, and the electrics work out, this would be an interesting development.

The standard wheels and airbags on the right vintage A6 is the same as the A2 (much like the A3/A4/TT). Following for an answer regarding the electricals. Got an A2 customer here with heated seats who is desperate for a heated wheel!
 
Hi Tim,

I spent a considerable amount of time investigating this option a few years ago. It's doable ...sort of.

I believe in A6s the wheel heating is activated in conjunction with heated seats so may only be possible in A2s with these?
The heated steering wheel is indeed activated in conjunction with the driver's heated seat.

Do they ... need modification to the vehicle wiring to work?
Most definitely! In order to keep weight to a minimum, each and every A2 had its wiring loom custom made, meaning that there is no wiring present for any optional extras beyond those that were specified by the original purchaser of the car. As such, in order to retrofit anything, additional wiring looms are always needed. The only exception to this rule is heated mirrors, for which the wiring is present in all A2s. Given that a heated steering wheel was never an option that could be specified on the A2, the electrical infrastructure for this option would have to be designed/fabricated from scratch.

Whilst I have done this design in my head, and I know I could get it to work, the next problem is, for my A2 at least, a deal-breaker. The A2's heated seat regulators do not have the necessary connections to also run a heated steering wheel. As such, regulators with greater functionality need to be used from another Audi ...and they don't fit in the A2's centre console receptacles. They're the wrong size, the wrong shape, the wrong orientation, etc. I'm too much of an aesthete to cope with anything on-show that's not seamlessly integrated. There's no way of doing this retrofit without having custom bracketry or glued-on bits of plastic on display.

Even if this isn't a problem for you, the costs might be. As you look into the project in greater detail, you realise that the number of parts needed to complete the upgrade is a lot more than just what meets the eye. Of course, I'm happy to do the retrofit for anyone who's keen, but there's always the issue of how to mount a non-standard regulator in a way that's not too offensive.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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so no wiring hidden for front fogs if not specced on the car at build ?
Correct. There is no hidden wiring for anything other than heated mirrors. If you want to retrofit stuff, additional wiring looms are always needed. I can't begin to add up the cumulative amount of time I've spent tied to my soldering iron adding optional extras to hundreds and hundreds of A2s across the UK and Central Europe ...basically because Audi were true to their engineering principles and prioritised lightness over ease of manufacture.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Bug ger. How much is the loom for Front fogs then Tom ?
It's one of the cheapest retrofit upgrades that I offer. However, I don't like to 'talk shop' on the public forum, so can we please shift specific enquiries to a private conversation? Ta. :)
 
Hi Tim,

I spent a considerable amount of time investigating this option a few years ago. It's doable ...sort of.


The heated steering wheel is indeed activated in conjunction with the driver's heated seat.


Most definitely! In order to keep weight to a minimum, each and every A2 had its wiring loom custom made, meaning that there is no wiring present for any optional extras beyond those that were specified by the original purchaser of the car. As such, in order to retrofit anything, additional wiring looms are always needed. The only exception to this rule is heated mirrors, for which the wiring is present in all A2s. Given that a heated steering wheel was never an option that could be specified on the A2, the electrical infrastructure for this option would have to be designed/fabricated from scratch.

Whilst I have done this design in my head, and I know I could get it to work, the next problem is, for my A2 at least, a deal-breaker. The A2's heated seat regulators do not have the necessary connections to also run a heated steering wheel. As such, regulators with greater functionality need to be used from another Audi ...and they don't fit in the A2's centre console receptacles. They're the wrong size, the wrong shape, the wrong orientation, etc. I'm too much of an aesthete to cope with anything on-show that's not seamlessly integrated. There's no way of doing this retrofit without having custom bracketry or glued-on bits of plastic on display.

Even if this isn't a problem for you, the costs might be. As you look into the project in greater detail, you realise that the number of parts needed to complete the upgrade is a lot more than just what meets the eye. Of course, I'm happy to do the retrofit for anyone who's keen, but there's always the issue of how to mount a non-standard regulator in a way that's not too offensive.

Cheers,

Tom
Dear Tom,

I'm trying to be very careful with my words as you are by far the best A2 electric professional I've known and I'm just a hobbyist.
But as far as I know, to switch on the steering wheel heating with the roller switch for heated seats you need to connect pin 17 on the MuFu relay (616) with pin 4 on the heated seat rolling switch (driver side). You have countless other jobs to do of course but this one gives the signal for the wheel heating to switch on, what was the issue you wrote about.
I have read carefully the PDF doc I found at a2freun.de (it's a very detailed document on MuFu installation, unfortunately too large to attach) and this is how I understood.
If this is correct then the heating wheel is installable without any deal-breaker modification of the interior.

Cheers
George
 
Correct. There is no hidden wiring for anything other than heated mirrors. If you want to retrofit stuff, additional wiring looms are always needed. I can't begin to add up the cumulative amount of time I've spent tied to my soldering iron adding optional extras to hundreds and hundreds of A2s across the UK and Central Europe ...basically because Audi were true to their engineering principles and prioritised lightness over ease of manufacture.

Cheers,

Tom
Ahhaaaa, so is this true for rear door speakers too?
 
Place the car under my nose, and a few hours later it’ll be like it left the factory with rear speakers…
Cheers,

Tom
 
I'm trying to be very careful with my words as you are by far the best A2 electric professional I've known and I'm just a hobbyist.
Hi George,

Thanks for your kind words. I am definitely experienced with A2 electrics, but I am not infallible; I am sometimes wrong, and welcome having my positions/opinions/conclusions challenged.

But as far as I know, to switch on the steering wheel heating with the roller switch for heated seats you need to connect pin 17 on the MuFu relay (616) with pin 4 on the heated seat rolling switch (driver side).
Pin 4 of the A2’s heated seat roller controls is connected to permanent +12V power (straight to the battery, only via fuses). As such, this certainly could not be used to trigger the 616 relay.

I’m happy to revisit this topic if there’s something I’ve overlooked.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Hi George,

Thanks for your kind words. I am definitely experienced with A2 electrics, but I am not infallible; I am sometimes wrong, and welcome having my positions/opinions/conclusions challenged.


Pin 4 of the A2’s heated seat roller controls is connected to permanent +12V power (straight to the battery, only via fuses). As such, this certainly could not be used to trigger the 616 relay.

I’m happy to revisit this topic if there’s something I’ve overlooked.

Cheers,

Tom
Thanks Tom,

As I mentioned, I'm not experienced at all, I just read the forums (this and the German) diligently. I don't know if you speak German or not but you can see it here: https://wiki.a2-freun.de/wiki/index...halter_mit_Lenkradheizung_.288D0_963_563_D.29 (if you don't, maybe Google translator can help a bit). You can even download the guide in PDF at the bottom of this page, just click "Anleitung PDF".
And sorry, I was careless, I did not read it carefully. You need to use another type of roller switch which ends with D (8D0 963 563 D). This is the same, I mean looks the same, you can install it without any modification of the interior, and has 7 pins too, but the allocation of pins differs. According to the installation guide you need to use pin 4 on this "D" switch. (And obviously, you also need to rearrange the cables in the connector if you want your heated seats to keep working.) Find this in the chapter "Beheizbares Lenkrad" under the link above.
Do you think this can be a step toward wheel heating installation? I would be more than happy with this as we have dozens of days in winter with low temperatures and unfortunately my car parks on the street.

Cheers:
George
 
Wow. @timmus that is something I didn't know. Every A2 wiring loom is custom made. I don't think I have seen a car like that before.
Even my old 2.5TD Gl Granada (Mk1 Scorpio shape) had almost all of the plugs to add the Scorpio level equipment, including the heated screen and electric rear seats. Mr Rover 800's have all bee top spec though, so can't say for those.

I am mighty glad the A2 Fsi i bought had front fog lights! Not seen if it has rear door speakers yet!
 
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