I have a 2003 Disco SE7 - if I stare down at the buttons on my center console next to the parking brake, I see the controls for the windows and two buttons that look like they are for the heated seats.

When you press on one or both of them, the red light indicator turns on but the seats aren't warming up.

What's the deal with this? Is there something I need to do to make the heated seats work?

Many thanks!

Al
2003 D2 SE7

 

So have you tested the fuse under both seats and verify power is going in and coming out od the switch.
There is also the possibility that both heating elements are fried.

 

Mike, there are a few fuses under the seat - one is 40A and the rest are low amp ones 5A and 3A.

I would imagine the 40A is for the power seats and it must be one of those low ampere rated fuses, correct?

How would I know if the heating elements are broken? Thanks

 

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...t=heated+seats

Look at the second page i posted a picture of the seat heater they are pretty flexible you can actually pull it out to inspect it and it is attached to the cushion with 3m spray glue.

 

Once you check the fuses as per Mike's suggestion, if there is still no heat, they may be fried like he said.
I had heat in the passenger seat, none in my driver's seat.
I removed the leather covering and this is what I found. A short in the element, frying the connection on the side of the seat from sliding in and out of the truck.
I made the connection with a tiny butt connector, taped it up real good and presto...HEAT in the seat! Should of replaced it with a new element but figured I would see how long this fix lasts. So far so good. Cold here in Denver finally and the heat is nice!!!
Not saying this is your issue, but something to consider down the road

 

I do not currently have access to a wiring diagram as my wife is on the computer, but first find the plug in the seat for your heating element and use a multimeter to check for voltage on the vehicle side of the plug. If that checks out continuity between the pins for 12v and ground. If the element is "fried" it would be because it overheated and the wire melted or it suffered trauma and the wire got broken inside of it. All the heating element is, is a thinner gauge wire that snakes around inside of a pad. Current flows through and it gets hot, much like a light bulb filament, but not as hot.

I'll try to give more specifics if I can pull up the wiring diagram later on. This method beats ripping your seat apart to check what youu may or may not be able to see.

 

Hi Brandon

I surely could use your help here. Any chance you can pull up the wiring diagram for the heated seats? I printed out these posts this morning and made my first attempts to diagnose my problem, but there are too many harnesses and fuses down there below the driver's seat, so sad to say my first try was a bust.

 

OK, no help from the forum members here, EXCEPT for Dave! I PM'd him and he called me back.

Let me give an update:

Forget about analyzing the electric schematic diagrams, checking continuity, etc. - the forum guys are over 90% correct - the problem is usually the seat heating element getting severed on the left hand side of the seat, about 2/3 to 3/4 from the front of the driver's seat, right by the ribbed seam.

Note: I have a 2003 D2 SE7, left hand drive. See attached photo



Here are the steps I took:
1. Remove the driver's seat - mine has 4 11mm torx bolts. Bought a torx socket from Sears for $2.99. Note that one of the bolts has a nut (rear left). I don't understand the engineering behind it!
2. Before lifting the seat out, pull out all the wiring harnesses - there are 6 of them. All of them have some sort of button you need to press to separate the harness.
3. When the bolts are out, you can tilt the seat backwards to expose the wiring harnesses.
4. Carefully lift the seat out. Be careful not to hit anything. You will scratch both the seat and whatever you hit.
5. Place the chair on the floor and sit on it. Your weight will press on the cushion which will make it easier to remove the front lip of the leather cover. Remove the two lips on the left and right side too.
6. If you're lucky like me, when you lift up the seat leather cover and the left side, you will see the infamous burn mark as shown on the photo.
7. Fish out the severed wires - they will be very thin, almost feels like 22 gauge stranded speaker wires with no insulation.
8. THIS IS ONE TIME I TESTED FOR ELECTRICAL - there are two white harnesses coming down from the seat back - one of them is a 4-pin harness. This is for the heating elements. The other white harness is for the motorized seat back. Using a multimeter, check continuity on pins 1 and 4 (the two outermost pins) on the connector. It should test for open.
9. I soldered the severed wires together and clamped it with a wiring connector (see photo)

10. Test continuity again on pins 1 & 4 and it should test for OK. If not, there may be other breaks in the heating element and I would defer to other forum posts for that.
11. I tucked in the wiring connector inside the burned hole and cut very thin slices of foam and glued the foam on top of the repair. We'll see how long this repair lasts!
12. Test continuity again. Also test for actual ohm reading which should be around 1.4 ohms.
13. Sit on the chair again to let you reattach the lip on the front and sides.
14. Assembly is reverse of disassembly. Wait for a day or two to put back the chair since the smell of the glue will permeate your vehicle. Enjoy your heated seat!

Regards

Al G
2003 D2 SE7

 

Looks like it broke connection and fried in the same spot as mine...check my pics above.
Pretty common failure spot I imagine.
Sliding in and out of the drivers seat over the years.
I removed my seat cover without removing it from the truck.
I bet it could be easier to do once the seat is out

 

Good work!

I still have not solved my issue... I have continuity between pins 1 and 4 of the lower seat connector (green and red), and 12v when the button is pushed down, but no heat.

The only other thing I've noticed is that pin 4 in the connector looks like it has gotten hot before, but this is my third seat heater element, the previous two were replaced by the dealer under warantee. So since the ohm test proves good I assume it must be previous damage.

Is there any other item in the circuit that fails, like a thermostat? If so I assume the fix is to just buy a new element.

I found an upholstery guy who will replace the cover & hog rings, fix the left hand side of the bolster, sew new lips on all 4 sides and fix one small rip in the fabric for $75. Only deal is I have to get the element working first.

Found an element online for $41 from some LR place in Indiana that I've never heard of. They are $66 at the dealer.