Heated seats problem

tlcruiser66 · Mar 26, 2009

Okay, been having an issue with my heated seats lately and hoping someone on here would know where to start.

I've got an 03' GMC 2500HD and the drivers side seat heater doesn't want to stay on, the passenger side works fine unless I try to turn on the drivers seat then neither will stay on until I restart the truck.

Normally i'd just ignore it because I really don't care too much about having a toasty ass but some mornings those leather seats are freaking cold and it would be nice to warm them up.

I haven't gotten any of it torn apart yet because frankly i'm not sure where to even start looking as this is something i've never tried to fix before.

Any GM guys out there run into this before and could give me some pointers where to start?

KarlVP · Mar 26, 2009

I've had problems with my seats on my 03 Chebby too.

Sometimes when it is cold out, the drivers window won't roll up or down, and the heated seat button for the drivers side takes some finesse to get it to work. Everything on the passenger side works great though.

I took the door apart to look for problems, and there is a printed circuit board in there instead of just switches. I figured it was some sort of moisture getting in there so I cleaned it up and checked the door for any water intrusion. No dice.

One day, the heated seat switch on the drivers side just stayed on. It kept cycling through the settings like I had my finger on the button constantly. After I got home, I went outside to take it apart and look for problems but it stopped doing it.

I've searched a few of the GM boards but haven't gotten any useful info. And it's tough taking it to dealerships because it is an intermittent problem and they won't actually see what it is doing. Plus I don't want to pay for thier labor time to tell me they can't replicate the problem.

The best I can tell you is the heater in the seat may be failing. I have seen that happen in my searches, but when the element fails, it usually just goes out and only the seat back will work. Many folks have replaced the element. It isn't hard, just very time consuming.

Hope I was at least a little help.

skinny_pedal · Mar 26, 2009

Lol, my 04 does the same thing. Passenger side seat warmer works fine. I turn the driver side on and it turns off after 3 minutes. So ya...you should figure it out for us

crash2 · Mar 26, 2009

:corn::corn::corn:

skinny_pedal · Mar 26, 2009

crash said:
:corn::corn::corn:

your such a sweetheart:booo:

tlcruiser66 · Mar 27, 2009

crash said:
:corn::corn::corn:

Big help there :flipoff:

Well I would take it to the shop but I'm not really in the mood to pay some joker to sit there and stare at it because they don't know how to diagnose problems anymore.

crash2 · Mar 27, 2009

tlcruiser66 said:
Big help there :flipoff:

Well I would take it to the shop but I'm not really in the mood to pay some joker to sit there and stare at it because they don't know how to diagnose problems anymore.

:booo::booo::booo::booo:

Do you have memory seats?

(some of still know how to :fawkdancesmiley

crash2 · Mar 27, 2009

skinny_pedal said:
your such a sweetheart:booo:

I fixed your turd :fawkdancesmiley:

tlcruiser66 · Mar 27, 2009

crash said:
:booo::booo::booo::booo:

Do you have memory seats?

(some of still know how to :fawkdancesmiley

Figured that would get your attention :haha:

Yeah, they're memory seats.

crash2 · Mar 27, 2009

There are a number of things that can cause this.

Bad upper seat heater or lower seat heater.

I have had the seat control module go bad and cause this..

Run the seat forward and get to the back side of it. You will see the main connector (usually a plastic cover over it). Pop the big connector apart and inspect the orange wire for being melted (common issue). If its ok, it is either the control module or a burnt heater.

skinny_pedal · Mar 27, 2009

crash said:
There are a number of things that can cause this.

Bad upper seat heater or lower seat heater.

I have had the seat control module go bad and cause this..

Run the seat forward and get to the back side of it. You will see the main connector (usually a plastic cover over it). Pop the big connector apart and inspect the orange wire for being melted (common issue). If its ok, it is either the control module or a burnt heater.

thanks mike:awesomework:

It not a turd by the way:fawkdancesmiley:

tlcruiser66 · Mar 28, 2009

crash said:
There are a number of things that can cause this.

Bad upper seat heater or lower seat heater.

I have had the seat control module go bad and cause this..

Run the seat forward and get to the back side of it. You will see the main connector (usually a plastic cover over it). Pop the big connector apart and inspect the orange wire for being melted (common issue). If its ok, it is either the control module or a burnt heater.

Thanks Mike, first thing i'll check in the morning. :awesomework:

tlcruiser66 · Mar 29, 2009

So I went out to check the wiring and the orange wire looks good, where is the control module so I can start to rule out what's causing the problem?

Also it's kinda strange but for some reason my seats forward/backward switch is now reversed, have to push back to go forward and forward to go back, but all the other controls work properly.

I'm starting to think it's a wiring issue and not the heater element.