Hello to the brickboard,
My driver's side heated seat hasn't worked for a couple of months. I've checked the thermostat and the switch and determined those aren't the culprit (I installed the driver side switch and thermosat on the passenger seat and they both work on that side). That led me to believe that the element itself was at fault. I purchased a new heating pad from the dealer for $70. I plan on taking the car into an upholstery place to have the leather seat restitched and they will install the new heating pad then. I was under the assumption that the heating pad was comprised of two separate pads, one for the seat and one for the backrest. However, my new heating pad appears to be one piece for both. This makes sense since I suspect the lower seat cushion pad is bad, but the backrest doesn't work because the circuit is broken. The new pad didn't include a thermostat, which I don't need, but my question is this ; How does my existing thermostat fit into the new pad circuitry to regulate the heat? I know the thermostat is in a hole at the seat cushion bottom, but is the thermostat wiring separate from the heating pad wiring? How are the two connected if at all? I would like to know the particulars so when I take it to the upholsterer, I can explain it to them. I suspect they are pretty well versed in this as they said they do a lot of seats with heaters but it never hurts to be sure. Sorry for the long post, I hope someone can expain this to me without too much effort. Thanks in advance.