Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Discussion on body issues/mods, appearance, interior/trim, and detailing (i.e. how to keep your car looking showroom new, or a reasonable facsimile thereof...).
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bigboost
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Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by bigboost »

I had seen this topic brought up a handful of time and saw what a cluster **** it was to try to retain "Factory Like" seat heating and cooling when upgrading to SS Sedan seats.

I decided to bypass the BCM / factory functionality and put together a decent write up for anyone else who would like to do this with their seats.

All in all I don't think it was very difficult and worth the amount of time/effort I spent doing it, this can be done for less than $30 in materials.

PS. I am not responsible for anything you do or any injuries or damage you may cause to yourself or your car. You will be cutting wires, extending wires, and drilling holes into your seat, there are airbags present, please exercise caution.

I used the following things.

2 Red LED 2 Pole Rocker Switches
2 Blue LED 2 Pole Rocker Switches
2 30Amp Relays w/Harnesses
13/16" Drill Bit
Misc Spade Terminals/Ring Terminals/Butt Connectors

I was able to retain the SS Sedan Front Seat Heaters and Seat Ventilation Fans in a 2014-2017 Caprice PPV using 30amp relays and rocker switches. I am also going to attach some of the factory wiring diagrams as reference.

Image

Per the diagram, these two wires (Pin 2 and Pin 20) in the X323 48 Pin Driver Seat Connector will have 12V applied to them from the 30amp relay. 1 Wire is for the Driver Back Cushion heater, the other wire is for the Driver Seat Cushion heater.

Image

Per the diagram, these two wires (Pin 5 and Pin 6) in the X2 8 Pin Temperature Control Module Connector under the Passenger seat will have 12V applied to them from the 30 amp relay. 1 Wire is for the Driver Back Cushion heater, the other wire is for the Driver Seat Cushion heater.

Image


This concludes the Heater Element portion.

The ventilation fan install is a little easier as I am not using a relay to power the fans since their draw isn't anywhere near as much as the heaters.

Image

There are 2 Solid Red wires that drive the ventilation fans, 1 wire is for the seat back fans, the other is for the seat cushion fans.

For the Driver seat, there is a GREY, 10 Pin connector, Pin number 8, is the first solid red wire. The second red wire that runs the seat back fans, is found in the wire bundle that is pictured below, pull back the loom, find the solid red wire. I opted to connect both solid red wires together and apply 12V directly from the rocker switch.

Image

For the Passenger seat, there is a GREEN, 10 Pin connector, Pin number 8, is the first solid red wire. The second red wire will be found in the same wire bundle that is pictured above, pull back the loom, find the solid red wire, apply 12V from the rocker switch.

That wraps up the wiring portion, I am not exactly a great writer/teacher so forgive me if my instructions aren't the greatest. Refer to the diagram, it's worth 1000 words.

For the switches I took a 13/16 drill bit and made 2 holes in the seat controls plastic panel, this location has nothing behind it to interfere with the switch connections and has a somewhat factory feel.

Image


All in all I didn't think it was all that much work and now I have heated and cooled SS seats in my Caprice.

Feel free to provide any thoughts or feedback.

Per request, here are the links for the LED Rocker Switches and Relays w/Harnesses

Rocker Switch Pack of 8 (2 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Green, 2 Yellow)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W4HGMZS?re ... tails&th=1

2 Pack of 30amp Relays w/Harnesses and Fuse Holders
https://www.amazon.com/Recoil-Automotiv ... s9dHJ1ZQ==

4 Pack of Inline Fuse Holders
https://www.amazon.com/Gauge-Holder-Sta ... NrPXRydWU=

(Below are factory wiring diagrams for reference)
Attachments
Temp Control Pinout.JPG
Temp Control Pinout.JPG (95.47 KiB) Viewed 2461 times
Seat Wiring Diagram.png
Seat Wiring Diagram.png (127.61 KiB) Viewed 2461 times
Last edited by bigboost on Mon May 08, 2023 1:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
s/c'd cav
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by s/c'd cav »

great work !!!

just wish i had time to do mine before going on vacation , they would both come in very handy on the trip !! lol
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elc32955
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by elc32955 »

AWESOME! I've been asking about this mod for a very long time, glad that someone finally took the time to investigate it & make it work.

Thanks for sharing with us!!
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
smwalker
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by smwalker »

Very nice!! So as I see it there is only one heat temperature setting correct? Fully on hi? Does the seat get uncomfortable hot?
Steve Walker
Azusa, CA
'11 PPV 9C3 Huron White
bigboost
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by bigboost »

smwalker wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 8:09 pm Very nice!! So as I see it there is only one heat temperature setting correct? Fully on hi? Does the seat get uncomfortable hot?
Yes, this method will only allow for heaters to be set at maximum, that being said, these heaters are incredibly weak so it definitely never gets uncomfortable, if anything I wish they were hotter. A a quick gander at the SS forum and you can see that SS seat heaters in general are pretty weak compared to most.
bigboost
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Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:59 am

Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by bigboost »

elc32955 wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 3:40 pm AWESOME! I've been asking about this mod for a very long time, glad that someone finally took the time to investigate it & make it work.

Thanks for sharing with us!!
Eric
I got the opportunity to get a cheap set of SS seats and I figured hell why not, I'll at least investigate and see what it takes!
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elc32955
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by elc32955 »

Glad you did. I stickied the topic so that it stays near the top of the heap, makes it much easier to find quickly!

Thanks
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
impalaplt
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by impalaplt »

For those of us who have the SS Dash, with seat heater/cooler buttons, would it just be a simple run the wires up to those switches, rather than drill into the seat side plastic?

I was just thinking today, that because I live in Arizona, seat HEATERS don't really matter most of the year, but seat FANS would really be nice.

Thanks
s/c'd cav
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Re: Write Up - How to make the SS Seat Heaters and Ventilation Fans work 14-17 Caprice for $30

Post by s/c'd cav »

the buttons in the dash run through the radio/hvac , and into the bcm , so not likely for them to be used unless swapping in the SS harnesses into the whole car , which presents even more problems

also you dont need to put the switches into the seat , center console or any where they fit would work , just the seats are the easiest and quickest
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