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Re: Switch testing-Dashboard mounted heated seat switch Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Thu, 12 Oct 2000 21:43:21 In Reply to: Switch testing-Dashboard mounted heated seat switch, Morgan [Profile/Gallery] , Thu, 12 Oct 2000 15:55:25 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Got to ask the question - what's wrong? If one seat isn't getting hot, then the chances are good it isn't the switch - it's the heating element in the seat. The seat heating elements have a tendancy to break - usually at the front door side of the seat bottom - that's the point the gets the most abuse getting in and out of the car.
If you want to test the switch, swap it with the one from the passenger seat. They're interchangeable. If the problem follows the switch, that's your problem (my guess remains the seat).
No dealer I know of will/can test the switch. They never test electrical components - just replace them.
Resistance measurements won't help. The switch is actually a controller unit. There is a temperature sensor in the seat. Circuitry in the switch (controller) compares the temperature of the seat with the setting on the switch (0, 1,2,3). There is a relay in the controller that supplies 12 volts to the seat heating elements. If the seat temp is below that of the switch setting, the relay closes, and the seat heats up. Once the temperature sensor is warmer than the setting, the relay opens. The higher the setting on the switch (say 3), the longer the relay is closed. At 0, the relay never closes.
If it is the controller, you can open it up. I've seen them fail in two ways - the switch is a wiper mechanism that sometimes gets dirty. The other way is the contacts of the relay get dirty. Beyond that, don't bother trying to fix it unless you've got an electronics background. It's just much easier to buy a switch from a junkyard. Any Saab seat controller will do- they're all the same. Any 9000 from 86 on, and the old generation 900 after about 89 or 90 had the controller.
Good luck!
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