Cadillac Repair/Heated seats

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Expert: - 11/2/2011


Question
Thank you for your.time. I enjoy your column very much. My question:'02 caddy DTS. Both front heated seats don't work. I checked fuses under rear seat and they appear to be OK. What else can I check befor letting the garage nail me. Thank you again...

Answer
Hello,

Glad you enjoy it. I have enjoyed helping people for close to 10 years. Most are very appreciative for reliable answers they could not get elsewhere.

As for your seats: Rather simple to diagnose in most cases. You need to take a test light and see if you are getting power to the switches first. If you have power to the switches and with the switch on, power going to elements. If you have power to the elements. The elements are burned up. Now, I do not know if they are hooked in series, where if the cushion element does not work, power is not supplied to the backrest.
In the event the element is burned out, the seat must be removed. The cover has to come off and the element must be replaced. If this is your situation, don't pay the ridiculous dealer price. After market units are more inexpensive.

You could have 2 different problems, a bad switch on one side and a bad element on the other.

You should have a factory service manual for the car anyway and very cheap investment at $30 at http://www.alldata.com Saves you from getting nailed at the repair place. Stuff like this with a downloaded manual, you should be able to easily diagnose yourself.


Good luck!



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Rob Painter

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Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?

Experience

Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.

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