03 silverado (heated seat + no power to drive side seat)

[sweetassz71]

my heated seats in my 2003 silverado have been acting up, also the power to my drive seat. i think i have a loose connection on one of the plugs under the drive seat (The plug that is loose i think it sits right behind the seat controls on the drive side) i can reach up under there a kinda of move them a round and it will work for like a min but then i lose both heated seats and just have power to the passenger side seat and not the drivers kinda crazy. i was woundering if anyone had any ideas on how i could fix this or tell me how to get a better look at the plugs so i can check for a loose connection or something?

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by sweetassz71

my heated seats in my 2003 silverado have been acting up, also the power to my drive seat. i think i have a loose connection on one of the plugs under the drive seat (The plug that is loose i think it sits right behind the seat controls on the drive side) i can reach up under there a kinda of move them a round and it will work for like a min but then i lose both heated seats and just power to the driver side seat to kinda crazy. i was woundering if anyone had any ideas on how i could fix this or tell me how to get a better look at the plugs so i can check for a loose connection or something?

remove the seat fasteners and move seat to get a better look at cables and connector pins

[Art's Auto]

Originally Posted by sweetassz71

my heated seats in my 2003 silverado have been acting up, also the power to my drive seat. i think i have a loose connection on one of the plugs under the drive seat (The plug that is loose i think it sits right behind the seat controls on the drive side) i can reach up under there a kinda of move them a round and it will work for like a min but then i lose both heated seats and just power to the driver side seat to kinda crazy. i was woundering if anyone had any ideas on how i could fix this or tell me how to get a better look at the plugs so i can check for a loose connection or something?

You may not have a loose connection at all (although you should check it out). It turns out the seat heater module (it's under the driver's seat) checks for proper current going to the seat heater elements and will shut down heat to both seats if it thinks something's wrong. I had my passenger side seat start to go out (resistance got higher as an element or two stopped working), and the control module decided "no go" to the whole system. The driver's heat would work fine until my wife turned on the passenger seat heat; then the whole thing would quit. It took me a while to figure it out since the passenger's seat heater element still showed continuity. I finally got the system working again by putting resistors in parallel with the seat element to fool the controller into thinking the seat heater was the proper load. The seat still got hot too. Fixed for real with a new passenger's side seat heater element.

Note there are separate power and sensors for the back heat and the butt heat for each seat. The control module will shut the system down if it detects shorts to ground or +12 or if it detects too little load (which was the problem with my seats). I suppose you could also have a bad controller...

Good luck!

[yakkk]

A little late reply, but I had a similar problem. On mine, the cable harness keeps binding on the end of the metal rail that the seat glides on, causing the harness to start to pull out of the connector, shorting the connection and melting the insulation. I twisted the harness so it sits up high above the rail, and wound it with enough electrical tape to hold it in that position.

Jack

[mrhab68]

To arts auto- I am having the same problem with my seat heaters. What kind of resisters did you use did you use, where did you get them and where did you install them? I would greatly appreciate a reply.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by mrhab68

To arts auto- I am having the same problem with my seat heaters. What kind of resisters did you use did you use, where did you get them and where did you install them? I would greatly appreciate a reply.

rather than hacking up your vehicle, go to the scrap yard and get one.,..

replacing this componet will take some time ..and care to make it look as good before you started..

at the scrap yard if you remove this you will now know how to install yours.

[mrhab68]

Thanks J Cat. I wasn't going to do any butchering on my wiring just curious as to what he had done. My seat bottom has a tear from getting in and out and I will be taking the seat to an upholstery shop to get it re covered. I think I will get a new heating element and put it in while the cover is off. I haven't really checked the connections out yet as it has been colder than I care to get out in but my seats are acting similar to his.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by mrhab68

Thanks J Cat. I wasn't going to do any butchering on my wiring just curious as to what he had done. My seat bottom has a tear from getting in and out and I will be taking the seat to an upholstery shop to get it re covered. I think I will get a new heating element and put it in while the cover is off. I haven't really checked the connections out yet as it has been colder than I care to get out in but my seats are acting similar to his.

It would be possible to purchase a new oem seat heater. this would solve your problem if the heater is defective. check the wiring and connectors first. could be simple fix.

On the repairing of the seat cover have the shop install more cushion stuffing to compensate for the foam shrinkage. I did this to both front seat bottoms..this reduces fabric stretch and provides a more comfortable seat.

post back how you made out.

[mrhab68]

Thanks again J Cat, I will keep the extra cushion in mind. I have been getting some of my parts from Rock Auto Parts a lot cheaper than my local Chevy dealer. I will check with them on the heaters.

[Art's Auto]

Hi folks - even though I "hacked" up my seat heater system with resistors in parallel with the damaged heater elements, I wouldn't recommend doing this. The manual will give the resistance of the seat elements which you can check to see if this is your problem. What I did was my way of making sure what my truck's problem was and making sure of the fix (I'm an electrical engineer and I'm cheap!), and applying a band-aid until I could get the new seat elements installed. Getting the seat back cover off is a real pain especially in cold weather! So I lived with this "kluge" until the following summer.

Art