Tahoe heated seat turns off after a few minutes.

[Chad]

I have a 2003 Tahoe with heated seats. Recently, the driver's side seat has been turning itself off after about 3 minutes. I turn it on, it warms up, then trips off for no aparent reason. If I turn the passenger side on ONLY it works fine. If I turn both seats on, the passenger side trips off at the same time as the driver side trips off. When I try to turn the driver's seat back on (after it trips off) it only stays on a few seconds to a minute, depending on how long it has been off. I checked the fuse that was labled ingintion/heated seats on the interior fuse box. It was fine but I replaced it anyways. No better. It almost seems like there is a thermostat that must be sensing the driver's seat is getting too hot and shutting itself off, yet the seat is just getting up to temperature. Has anyone experienced this, and do you have any recommendations how I may further troubleshoot and fix it? It behaves the same way whether I turn on just the back heater or back and cushion.

Thanks

 

[T3rry]

try using the button from the passenger's door on the driver's side... could be the button?

i know the buttons on mine are very sensitive, all i have to do is touch it with a feather and it turns on/off, could even be triggered by a bump.

 

[Chad]

Based on the symptoms, I am not real suspicious of the button, unless there is a thermostat of some sort built into it. When I have tested it, the truck has been in the driveway not moving and I am sure I am not bumping it. One of the times I was actually in the passenger seat and it still tripped off after the same few minutes. Also, when I try to turn it back on immediately after it trips off, it will only stay on for a few seconds. If I let the seat cool down, then turn it back on, it stays on for a minute or two until it gets warm and shuts off again.

 

[LazyAssLou]

Maybe it has a heat regulator on it?...

 

[Chad]

Maybe it has a heat regulator on it?...

That's what it seems like. I imagine that any heated seat must turn the element on for a certain period of time to get a seat up to warm but tolerable temperature, then cycle the heating element on and off to avoid literally cooking/burning the seat and person. With mine, it seems like when it hits that point where it would cycle the heating element off, it completely turns off the heating system rather than cycling back on to maintian a consistent temperature.

Am I over-thinking this? In any case, does anyone know what a new heating control unit costs assuming my heating elements are not the culprit? Maybe I could buy one from a salvage yard?

 

[pmbiker]

"One control system primarily designed for use in controlling the actuation or energization of a heated seat is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,238 to Ahs. The control system disclosed in this patent utilizes the fact that the resistance of the resistive heating element changes with temperature. By monitoring a voltage signal generated across the resistance element, the temperature of the resistance element is determined. comparator circuits in the control system energize and de-energize the resistive heating element to maintain the heating element temperature within a control range."

*Above copied from www.patentstorm.us.

If the heater itself is the control unit you just need to know which element is bad. GM parts website has L/R seat back and L/R seat cushion heating elements listed. Maybe it's something an electrician could find.

Or try to find a seat in a junkyard.

 

[NathanJax]

I know there is no regulator on it... or at least there's not on mine. Mine will stay on forever if I let it. I kept mine on for over an hour tonight, just because my back was hurting and it felt good. Had to turn on the a/c it was getting so hot.


I'm going with the bad element theory...

 

[TnTahoe]

mine does the exact same thing as stated above, if you find out the problem please let me know because i love my heated seats, but I also can hear a click when it goes off i was thinking more of a relay type ordeal

 

[lakaw]

I just had this fixed on my wife's 03 Denali. Both the back and seat heat elements had shorted out. This caused the resistance on the elements to rise above their designated limits and shut the heated seats off. Apparently it will cost somewhere in the range of $600 to have it fixed at the dealer. But I have a mechanic friend who does work on the side fix it for me. He gave me the old elements, and you could see the areas that were shorted were scorched looking.

 

[tsb09000]

I'm pretty sure this just happened to my 03 tahoe and I think I've narrowed it down to the driver seat cushion heating element. I've done some searching but can't come up with a part number. Does anyone have one? Do you think one from a similar year escalade be the same?

I might dive in a little deeper one night this week and see if it actually looks scorched or anything.