Heated seat-passenger side quite

rtreptow7 · March 28, 2015

2010 GMC 2500HD 6.0

Drivers side heated seat works fine. Passenger side comes on, stays on for a minute and clicks off. If I try to turn on just the back the same thing happens, shuts off after about a minute. Did some internet searching and was assured that it has to be the heating element for the seat back that is burnt out. Order a new factory OEM one. plugged it in before installing completely, and the same thing is happening. About 2 seconds before it shuts off, I can hear a little click.... from under the drivers seat I believe? Any ideas? Thank you.

Green 1364 · March 28, 2015

It may be the thermister. It just looks like 2 wires you spread apart when installing the new element. A thermister cuts off power to the element if it senses heat a certain level. If the ends of the wires are to close it will send a signal to a relay to open and cut power to the element. The ends should never touch and should be kept apart. You may find a picture showing them if you google the seat. Most likely the click your hearing is the relay opening. A relay is just like a switch.

rtreptow7 · March 28, 2015

so the thermistor comes with the new back element? I don't see anything that looks like that on the new element? Or is the thermistor separate from the element? I googled the image too.

bansheerider06 · March 31, 2015

We have a 2010 Silverado LTZ and had the same issue where the passenger side heated seat would work for approximately 2 minutes and then shut itself off. The first couple of trips to the dealership ended up replacing the heated seat element under warranty. For whatever reason, this would fix the issue but only for a month or two. A few months ago, I asked the dealer to spend the time and figure this out as it is highly unlikely that brand new elements are failing every few months. They ended up tracing the wiring harness back to the connector (located under the drivers seat) which was corroded. The mechanic said it is likely from the moisture. He cleaned the connection and greased it and it has been working perfectly ever since.