Seat heater does not work?

Tiny
STAYLOR69
  • MEMBER
  • 2001 CADILLAC DEVILLE
  • 74,300 MILES
2001 Cadillac Deville the heated driver's seat does not work for the bottom or back. I checked the fuse and it is good. When I push the button to turn on heat or change setting I can hear clicking coming from underneath the seat. What is the problem and how do I fix it?

I checked passenger seat and it works fine, both bottom and back. I hear clicking coming from underneath the driver seat.


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Monday, December 12th, 2011 AT 2:49 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 42,544 POSTS
Hello,

2001 was a common year for heating elements to go bad, in fact there was a service bulletin published for it. Since it comes on, and immediately shuts down, it is an indication that there is either too much current flow, or too much resistance to current flow. You would need to check resistance of each individual element. Not necessarily all are bad, it may just be one. If it is a base deville, it has one element in each cushion(bottom/back). If it is DHS/DTS it has four(back/bottom/thigh(x2)).

Here is a guide to check for power and to check the relays and see if power is coming out of the heater control module under the driver's seat.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-use-a-test-light-circuit-tester

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-an-electrical-relay-and-wiring-control-circuit

(Below is the wiring diagrams)

Here is the bulletin.

#01-08-50-001C: Front/Rear Heated Seat Inoperative/Cold (Install Seat Heat Element) - (Jul 1, 2011)

Subject:

Front/Rear Heated Seat Inoperative/Cold (Install Seat Heat Element)

Models:

2000 2003 Cadillac DeVille (All Models) with RPO KA1

This bulletin is being revised to update the model year information. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number?01-08-50-001B (Section 08 Body and Accessories)

Condition

Some customers may comment that the front/rear seat assembly heat function is not operating properly. The front/rear seat back and seat cushion remain cold when either the HEAT/OFF switch or the BACK ONLY switch is activated.

Cause

This condition may be due to a non-functioning heat element in the front/rear heated seat back/cushion trim cover.

The heated seat system consists of four heated seats, two in the front and two in the rear. On the DHS and DTS models, each heated seat consists of four heat elements, one in the seat back and three in the seat cushion. On the DeVille model, each heated seat consists of two heat elements, one in the seat back and one in the seat cushion.

My money is on a bad seat control module FYI.

Check out the diagrams (Below)

Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

Cheers, Ken
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Monday, December 4th, 2017 AT 2:09 PM
Tiny
GENIUS888
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
  • 2002 CADILLAC DEVILLE
  • V8
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 101,000 MILES
Interior problem
2002 Cadillac Deville V8 Front Wheel Drive Automatic 101000 miles

My car which has heated seats stop working on the driver side. The passengers side works great. What could have happened. Ken
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Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 AT 12:41 PM (Merged)
Tiny
FACTORYJACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 4,159 POSTS
Most often, one or the other element has gained resistance, and that shuts the module down. Repair is by first determining which element has high resistance, cushion or back, and replacing it. Some of these(DTS and DHS) had thigh elements that could be at fault as well. And it is not uncommon, that both elements could be faulty.
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Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 AT 12:41 PM (Merged)
Tiny
DAKID6945
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
  • 1999 CADILLAC DEVILLE
  • V8
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 61,000 MILES
The driver's side seat in my Cadillac broke. The back part where your upper body rests broke from the lower part. The original seat was fully loaded with the heated seats and lumbar. I bought a used seat from a junk yard that did not have the heated seat functionality included. When the seat arrived, it would fit in the car but I could not connect it to the computer inside the car. When I attempted to connect the new seat to the computer, I got a message on my dashboard that read: Anti-Theft System Activated. Car May Not Start. The car did not start until I unplugged the seat from the connection. I called the junk yard and was advised to remove the tracks that are on the original seat that includes the original parts that came with the car and attach it to the seat that came from the junk yard. My mechanic said that this would not work. The junk yard said that it would. I am looking for an outside opinion to the problem.
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Monday, January 4th, 2021 AT 9:12 AM (Merged)
Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
Thats one where you would need to place them side-by-side to see what the difference is.I really cant imagine GM making 2 different seat tracks, when all they would need to do is add the heater or whatever to the same track. Im going to side with the salvage yard on this one, but it would be nice to see them both before making a judgement. Your best bet would proabably be to take it to an upholstery shop to have it all switched over, they deal with that kind of stuff alot
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Monday, January 4th, 2021 AT 9:12 AM (Merged)

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