New Seat Heaters with Odd Wiring Problem

[Pekoe1111]

Tired of freezing my butt on leather seats and trying cheap heated pads that slide around so I bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U6IL9O/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are super hot and I love them BUT I am having a strange wiring problem. They are basic plug and play, with ground wire and fuse tap for the power.

My problem is that when I tap into a fuse that does not get power unless the vehicle is on, they do not work - even if the vehicle is on. I tapped into a fuse called "Power" that is hot all the time and they work fine.

Any suggestions about why this may be happening, which fuse I should tap into?

Love these things, and the only sign of them is the subtle switch on the dash!

Thanks

BB

 

[Pekoe1111]

Tired of freezing my butt on leather seats and trying cheap heated pads that slide around so I bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U6IL9O/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are super hot and I love them BUT I am having a strange wiring problem. They are basic plug and play, with ground wire and fuse tap for the power.

My problem is that when I tap into a fuse that does not get power unless the vehicle is on, they do not work - even if the vehicle is on. I tapped into a fuse called "Power" that is hot all the time and they work fine.

Any suggestions about why this may be happening, which fuse I should tap into?

Love these things, and the only sign of them is the subtle switch on the dash!

Thanks

BB

Any ideas?

 

[concordcarlos]

Any ideas?

What fuse did you tap into first?

 

[jhfleet]

On my '96 there were several unused fuse slots on the fuse panel under the left side of the dash. With a meter I located one that was powered only with the ignition on and wired the seat heaters to an add-a-fuse in that slot. It's worked as advertised for a couple of years now.

 

[alumarine]

Tired of freezing my butt on leather seats and trying cheap heated pads that slide around so I bought these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U6IL9O/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are super hot and I love them BUT I am having a strange wiring problem. They are basic plug and play, with ground wire and fuse tap for the power.

My problem is that when I tap into a fuse that does not get power unless the vehicle is on, they do not work - even if the vehicle is on. I tapped into a fuse called "Power" that is hot all the time and they work fine.

Any suggestions about why this may be happening, which fuse I should tap into?

Love these things, and the only sign of them is the subtle switch on the dash!

Thanks

BB

If there's power it should work.
When they're not working with the vehicle on did you check to see if there's still power on both sides of that fuse?

Maybe it was drawing too much power for that fuse and it blew.

 

[spazzyone]

There is a fuse for "seat heaters" on the 3rd gen. It's a 20A fuse in the engine compartment.

I pulled this chart for my own project. It's on the left side, 3rd from the bottom. Try using that fuse instead.

 

[IBallEngineer]

My problem is that when I tap into a fuse that does not get power unless the vehicle is on, they do not work - even if the vehicle is on. I tapped into a fuse called "Power" that is hot all the time and they work fine.

Any suggestions about why this may be happening, which fuse I should tap into?

Love these things, and the only sign of them is the subtle switch on the dash!

Thanks

BB

It can only mean the fuse "isn't" powered with the engine on. Use a test light or DVOM to confirm.

 

[Pekoe1111]

There is a fuse for "seat heaters" on the 3rd gen. It's a 20A fuse in the engine compartment.

I pulled this chart for my own project. It's on the left side, 3rd from the bottom. Try using that fuse instead.

Thanks, all! I may just go through the firewall to that engine compartment fuse!

BB