Heated Seat stopped working

[Big_Jersey_Hoe]

Hey I have a 99 Tahoe and I have lost my drivers side heated seat. It stopped working. It was making a humming sound every once in a while if I was sitting a certain way. Where would you guys look first to figure out what happened. I know I can just get the VOM and see if the switch is good but what else should I look for?

 

Later,

Brandon

[Yukon04]

Seat heat was humming?? The module could have been making noise, but still seems strange. I can help you.

 

Is your Tahoe a NBS or OBS?

 

Do you have memory seats or is this an aftermarket seat heat system?

 

My first educated guess is the seat heat pad failed, but because the pads are in parallel, is your seat back heating up? Is the entire seat not working?

 

Please advise and I can point you in the right direction.

 

Sam

[Big_Jersey_Hoe]

Hey Sam, I have the OBS. It has the fully adjustable power seats but no memory. The whole seat stopped warming up. Everything else seems to work. It was humming. Kind of made the sound of an old slot car that needed to be oiled. That ERERERERERERERERERERERRR sound. But with a little more buzz. It is also the factory heating system.

 

Thanks,

Brandon

[Yukon04]

You have a system that is self contained in the seat, meaning that there are individual heat modules in each seat. I suspect that your warranty is up and you will attempt the repairs yourself. You want to first start with the heat pads to determine if the pads are good.

 

Under the cushion there will be a pigtail with a small connector (I think it is green, it's been awhile since I worked on these). Un-connect from the seat harness and check the resistance across the yellow wires. It should read around 4ohms. Try to find the seat back pigtail as well, it should drop down near the rear of the seat near the recliner mechanism. This should be around 4ohms also.

 

If the pads read OK, then check the switch. if the switch is functioning OK, then the heat module is bad. You will have to replace the cushion heat pad. The module is contained within the cushion heat pad pigtail. It is a rectangular plastic housing taped into the pigtail (approx 2" x 1") . Good luck and let me know.

[Big_Jersey_Hoe]

WOW. Thanks very much. That sounds good. I Will look into it this weekend hopefully. I will let you know as soon as I check it out. What could this cost me?

 

Later,

Brandon

[Yukon04]

WOW.  Thanks very much.  That sounds good.  I Will look into it this weekend hopefully.  I will let you know as soon as I check it out.  What could this cost me?

 

Later,

Brandon

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

 

Check with your local dealer and have a local trim shop install it.

[jimmyjay]

I had the same problem. But found and fixed it.

 

 

Troubleshooting steps

 

1.) Tested the switch for the heater on other seat. It was OK.

2.) Check voltage on broken seat. It was OK.

3.) Plugged in the seat cushion on the other seat. Still didn't work.

Funny thing. The back cushion didn't work on the other seat during the test either.

What did that mean? Maybe the seat heater is in a loop with the bottom and the top.

4.) What the hell, it was broken anyway, so take a chance. I cut open the foam on the seat

cushion to look for a broken wire.

5.) Bingo. The wire had shorted and melted in a spot. It showed up as a small brown burn mark

on the foam. I cut the wire at the burned area and soldered them back together.

 

SWEET!

 

Savings?

$500 + for a new seat that the dealer quoted. Or forever hunting down just the seat cushion

on the internet. I found one set that wasn't even heated for $240.

 

YAY.

 

Mr. Warm Butt.

 

[groundrush54]

Hi Sam,

 

I am also troubleshooting my 99 Suburban 1500 heated seats. They both just stopped working. I've checked fuses and under seat wiring. It's a jungle down there without a map (wiring diagram). Can you help?

 

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Hank

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