A couple years ago I salvaged the leather seats out of a Laramie that got wrecked. I was happy to see that not only was the driver side powered, but both front seats had heaters in them and the harnesses were intact. Obviously, my SLT didn't come with heated seats, but I was guessing that if I was patient enough and got the switches and wiring harnesses from another Dak (or Durango) it would almost be a plug and play install.

As luck would have it, I found a guy on eBay that was selling the center console from his Durango (that had heated seats) and he was willing to sell me (what I thought would be) the switches and harnesses I needed...and for only $40!

So, they arrived the other day and after taking a closer look I noticed that there 6 different ends on this thing. 2 of which are the the driver and passenger switches
1 that clearly plugs into the 12v power outlet inside the center console
1 that is clearly plugs into the harness going forward towards the dash
1 that plugs in a small white plastic box (that I'm assuming is some kind of heater control module)

Then there is only 1 left (and of course 2 seats with plugs on each) and I can only fathom that it is supposed to connect to an additional harness that branches to both the driver and passenger seat to actually turn the heaters on and off.

If my assumptions are wrong, please tell me. I'm a lil in the dark on this one. Because now I'm also wondering...the harness that plugs into the wiring going forward, will it work or do I have to get a different harness that goes from under the center console to behind the dash?

It just so happens that today I went to a salvage yard to pick up an extra radio bezel to tinker around with (in case I want to get crazy and replace my radio with a tablet or something) and while I was there I saw a loaded (or at least used to be) Dak that was being parted out. It had leather seats and I could tell that they were heated, and I did see a few diff harnesses sticking out here and there from under the carpet, but before I went ahead and started ripping **** apart to get at them, I figured I'd check in with you guys and make sure I know from this point forward exactly what parts I need.

I'm gonna try to add a pic of the plugs coming out of my seat and a pic of the harness I just got in the mail. I hope it helps.

Thanks in advance!

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Ok, I think I figured out that the left over plug is actually for a center console light in loaded durangos.

But my new question is.... Other than stripping out wrecked vehicles, where can you go for factory wiring replacement?

 

Probably a dealer...Oh, the horror!

 

Ouch lol, Well, if any of you have a Dakota with the factory heated seats, could you enlighten me as to how they are wired?

 

I never looked....

 

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the chance to go back to the junkyard and look at the loaded Dakota that was being parted out. At this point, my best guess is that the harness for the heated element Is plugged into the same harness that the powered seat is itself, And meets up with the wiring coming from the center console somewhere underneath the dash. I really don't know, until I can get a closer look at it.

 

Hope this helps, the first two pictures are the top half / bottom half of the whole system.

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And here are the connector (plug) pin outs.
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The heated seats on my wife's Dak have the switches on the dash next to the 4WD ****. Not the enter console. If you have access to a harness at the wreckers for a Dak I would strip it back starting at the seats and just follow it back to either the main harness or the switches. I wouldn't bother with the Durango one.

 

Thanks for the input guys. Schematic helps man thanks! Yeah, I was wondering about that Clay, cuz the one I saw at the junk yard clearly had heated seats and was loaded, but no switches on the dash. I might have missed them, I'll check again. Chances are, I'll have to go out there with the guy and start tearing it apart. Sad thing is, unlike some junk yards, this place doesn't let you pull your own parts they have to do it for you so they can add labor to the cost of the part. Still cheap prices though. I'll let y'all know what I find. Thanks again!