05 Suburban seat heater problem

[firemedicsafd]

I have a 2005 suburban z71 with a little issue. The seat heater comes on when i start the truck. It also comes on while driving when no other buttons are pressed. Each time i turn it off, it comes back on from 5 sec to 3 min later. It also varies the intensity of the heat setting while i am watching it. Does anyone know what the problem is and how i can fix it short of pulling fuses? Thank you!

 

[Xtremegmc80]

Man! I have no clue but my problem is sorta same, i turn mine ON a few sec to mins later it Shuts itself off. Variety of heat too. So im gonna join here to see if any other peeps have ideas.

 

[Xtremegmc80]

Mine is 2005 aswell but mines silverado duramax.

 

[RIPPEDK5]

Sounds like heater timer problems or module problems

 

[jeff in co]

My 04' works most of the time but on occation, it will not turn on. Also, sometimes it turns off all on it's own.

Although I have not investigated the REAL source, I have found that under the driver's seat coming from the back seat area.....the wires in there. I jiggle them a bit and then the heated seat comes back on. So, basically the wires under the driver's seat need to be checked out. I guess I'm waiting for it to go completely out before investigating further.

 

[firemedicsafd]

Hey ripped, do you know where those are on the truck?

 

[RIPPEDK5]

Should be located under the seat. you should use a multimeter to test circuits properly


there may be a couple different modules under there so make sure you pick the right ones. there should be wires that are under the fabric of the seat that lead down under the seat. You can test resistance of the seat or test continuity. once you test the actual heating unit you can test further down the line. for most in an inoperative heating unit this is the end of the diagnosing.

But since your heat works an is erratic, i would be more apt to look at the module or thermostat that it runs off of, which is basically the timer like in your rear window defroster. could have a short to power, since there is a thermister in there that will disconnect under extended current and reconnect when cooled down, this may be your issue.

 

[Blue85]

When the heater kicks off after a few seconds, the most common failure point is the heating element.

 

[jeff in co]

Well, I guess I'll post my fix! The connector was the problem for my truck. It's taking some very heavy gauge wire (like 10 or 12) and throttling down to a tiny pin in a connector, to transfer all that juice. When I took the connector apart, it was charred. Pretty amazing really. I just by-passed the plug with larger connectors and now my seat heaters work perfectly! Also, the driver's side power seat did not work too, but this fixed that as well. Here are the pics......

 

[jeff in co]

 

[Jessie James]

I love when someone takes such good pictures on a project! Nicely done!