Easy & Cheap Jeep Seat Heater Element Diagnosis and Repair

None of my 2012 Jeep Wrangler seat heaters worked anymore and the likely culprit was a bad heating element. Here's how to go about diagnosing and repairing it quickly and easily.

[@BeeRAD56]

Awesome video! I have the same exact issue on a 2013 and now I know how to fix it. Liked and subscribed.

[@3rdstallgarage]

Thanks for the sub!

[@gonzalolopez1912]

With this video, You just did help a neighbor!!

[@3rdstallgarage]

I'm glad it helped!!

[@AndreiFinskiGPlus]

great guide! where would you start from if the lights were not there on the switches? (apart from just checking the fuse)

[@3rdstallgarage]

Good question. Yeah, I'd start with the fuses to make sure they are getting power. I'm not sure if all the models act the same. My light still came on even if the heated seat didn't. I hear reports that some models/years will have one seat work while others shut off both seats if one fails. After checking fuses, I'd unplug all four seat heating elements and see if the lights go on then. Then I think I'd measure the resistance across all four seat heating elements. My guess is you still have a bad element that is taking down the system. Good luck!

[@AndreiFinskiGPlus]

thanks! sounds like a summertime project. I’ve also heard there is some control module behind the dash, but couldn’t find the location..

[@3rdstallgarage]

@@AndreiFinskiGPlus I'm fairly sure the switch is part of a whole canbus system and isn't just a stand alone switch. The switch is part of that whole control system and can't be replaced separately. It's possible, but not likely that the switch and the control module are the problem. Most of the time it's a heating element.

[@user-hw6jw2sd9s]

thank you for this! so, the lights on the switch for the drivers side stay on but no heat and the passenger side lights swill not stay on and do not get hot. why lights on one side and not on the other? any thoughts? thanks!

[@3rdstallgarage]

I hope this video helps you out some. I don't fully understand why they behave the way they do and it seems like different model years operate differently too. Best of luck to you!

[@cristianrendon3182]

Have you ever had problems with the drivers side vents not blowing hot air? Passengers side vents blow hot just not the drivers side

[@3rdstallgarage]

Nope. I haven't. But in other cars I've had that usually indicates a partially blocked heater core. You might want to google symptoms of that or try backflushing it.

[@MinnesotaClassof]

I’m confused about how the electrical system works because on my 2011 JK the drivers side doesn’t work but the passenger side works is fine.

[@3rdstallgarage]

I'm not sure about the difference between the JK and JKU. I'd start by measuring the resistance across each of the heating elements. That's pretty easy to do if you have an ohmmeter or muliti-meter. The heating elements are the typical problems and that's an easy way to confirm if one of the heating elements is the problem.

[@MinnesotaClassof]

@@3rdstallgarage after some troubleshooting I discovered it’s the upper element on the drivers side. There was 0 ohms on it so to verify it was bad I took off the back of the seat and connected it to the passenger seat that is working. It wouldn’t work with the bad element. So I ordered a Dorman off eBay. Thanks!

[@3rdstallgarage]

So glad it helped!@@MinnesotaClassof