ok well i went out and did it this morning, including the time to get the tools out, and clean up, and having to drag out the impact gun(one of the bolts holding the seat in was in there too damn good) it took me just over an hour (including quite a few coffee breaks )

so i thought it give you a nice write up for anyone else looking to try it


the problem



the diagnostic chart i used to determine what the problem was can be seen here




the procedure

first, park the truck somplace where you can easily and safely open the drivers (or passenger depending) door open ALL THE WAY, and the back door being open helps too.

first grab your tools

1/2 inch socket for the front of the seat



5/8 inch socket for the seatbelt bolt


18mm socket for the back (idk its the one that fit for me)


a socket wrench which fits your sockets (mine was 3/8" drive)

second, run the seat all the way back (im assuming you have power seats here)

(use the 1/2" socket for this)

you can see that i have already taken the bolts out in that picture

next run it far enough forward to take the seatbelt end off the seat

(use your 5/8" socket for this)

next, slide the seat ALL THE WAY FRONT

and use the 18mm socket to take out the two bolts that are now exposed
(i had to drag out the impact gun for the outside one it was too much work to do by hand, but was definetly doable, im just impatient and want results quickly )

i used the power drill to aid in getting the bolts out once i had them loose(except the back outside bolt which i used the air gun on )


next run the seat back far enough that you can lean it backwards to get to the power for the adjustment motors and the heating elements, and lean the seat back to get access




now you can take the seat out of the truck and go someplace warm (i did this in January when it was sub 30* outside so i moved it into the basement, anyplace you are comfortable working is fine) note: no pictures of this bc i needed two hands to carry the seat


once in a more comfortable place to work take the side panel with all the controls off, should be 5 screws, one is missing on mine, so give me a break

three of the 5 screws are under the wheel which controls the lumbar support, one is in the handle which allows you to recline the seat, right on the shaft part of it actually, and one is pretty easy to find right there on the side.

Once you have this off be careful as the controls for the seat adjustments are still attached, remove one of the two screws which hold it down and loosen the other.

as you can see here i have one of the screws out and the other one loose, i held it in place for the picture

ok, no pics for this part, but go around the bottom of the seat and look for black plastic clips that hold the cover (leather in my case) to the chair frame, and remove them, its not too hard to do, but be careful not to brake them as you need them to put the cover back on later. Once you do that pull the seat cover up and off of the cushion, you will not get it all the way off, but maybe 1/2 way, from there you can pull the cushioning material out a little ways.

Now it is time to look for the break (open circuit) in the heating pad (the white part) mine was easy to find as there was a burn spot showing me exactly where it was. found it yet? good!!, now carefully, and preferably with a razor knife (i used my pocket knife OOPS!!) cut through the white so that you can get the wire out of it, you will probably have to cut through on both sides of the wire.


once you get the wire out, pull the ohm meter out (most multimeters will work for this) and shave off a little of the insulation on each side of the break, to make sure there is no reading across the suspected break, if you get a reading of 0 ohms (an open circuit) or an out of range on a digital meter, you have found the problem area, strip the insulation off going to either side of the break and fire up the soldering iron. flux both sides of the break and twist together, then apply solder (sorry no pictures, i only have 2 hands and needed them to work the soldering iron safely).

now check for continuity at the plug under the seat, the inside two prongs are for the bottom and the outside two are for the back (yes i figured this out for you, bc im that awesome)



now, before putting the cover back on the seat make sure to cover up the bare wires you just soldered, i like liquid electrical tape as it will conform to the existing metal and wont come off as easily its like $5 for a bottle at your local HD




now put the cover back on, and take it back to the truck and plug the seat in, and make sure the blinking light is off, now you can put the seat back in in the reverse of how it came apart.

and here is the final result (remember the problem from above??)



happy fixing, and hope this helps you to some extent



EDIT: i am not responsible if you screw this up or make it worse, or damage yourself, or your vehicle while attempting this, JUST SAYIN!!!!!!!


and here are all the pictures i took while doing the project http://picasaweb.google.com/BillHoch...eat=directlink

 

Thanks Sharp!

 

np, i was doing mine anyways so now everyone has something to go off of

 

Great write up Sharp.. Now only if i had heated seats.. May i borrow yours?

 

Great write-up! Fortunately, both my fronts still work!

 

Sharp,

Good details and photos! now, since you are such a pro, come up to the great white north but you have to bring a few things.

1. Heated garage
2. Ohm Meter
3. Seat removal tools
and oh yeah!!!!!!! Heater pads.... LOL!!!!!!


I will provide the space available standby flight from EWR and back......You know the airport with such high security......LOL!!!!!!

Seriously I am looking for heating pads but I will wait till spring re-upholster the seat and get heating pads at the same time at least be ready for next winter. No access to heated garages around even if I did have the pads.

Just busting your chops, really good write up. Hope to see you on the Car/SUV/Truck-Lisle list soon.

 

Great write up! I have not seen so much DIY write up in this 1st gen forum in such a short time! But keep them coming! Maybe afterwards, we won't get anymore repeated request on something broke and how to fix it! LOL

 

lol yea newark airport is a nightmare dont even get me started on that one,

and just so you know, i did none of this in our heated 2 car (yes we fit 2 cars in it too) garage, i took the seat out in the driveway (froze my *** off as it was sub 20F here yesterday) and then moved into my basement next to the way too hot wood stove

and, a ohm meter is cheap, just go to the hardware store and buy one for like $5, or send Dan to harbor freight for a $2 one and have him ship it to ya


btw, any questions or if you need more details let me know and ill do my best to answer them

 

man i hate double posting but i couldnt pass this up, ill install if you buy and deliver em to me, o and make sure your beast has a full tank of gas when you leave it with me, ill be more than happy to relieve you of it while i got it

 

Wait, what? How did I get roped into this?? I'll do it for HALF the tank of gas!