2012 Ram 1500 switch to power, heated / cooled seats- done!

What was the total cost of this project?

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Awesome job man! I have thought of doing this on my truck but didn't have the guts to try it. If you don't mind sharing the part #s for the connectors and other items that would be great.

Greg
2012 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | MM3 tuned by Double R Diesel
2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

The seats were $1,200. Wire package $20, connectors and terminals about $75, terminal tool $30. New dashboard switch which I may or may not need, $60. I am still shopping for a heated steering wheel, and there is some leather repair that needs to be done on the rear seat i haven't priced yet.

In an effort not to mislead anyone on a truck that might be different than mine, I am not going to list any of the part #s I used. But, all of the necessary part #s are listed on the wiring diagrams and connector diagrams available at Tech Authority. I think you will have an easier time of the project overall if you take some time to study these and wire it per the factory- correct wire gauges etc. Also, you need to purchase seats that have the controller for heating and cooling that match your truck- most wrecking yards will know the year model and VIN for the seats they sell. The person I purchased from had no idea what truck they came out of, so I used the part# of the controller and checked it for compatibility on one of the online factory parts sites - it may be that my LEDs aren't lighting because the dash switch is not compatible with the seat controller- still working on that.

Once I identified the parts I needed, all I did was do an internet search using the part # and manufacturer and started sorting out leads- most sellers of these parts deal in large orders, but I submitted my request anyway and several were willing to fill the order at a higher per unit price- I paid about 3x the gross price for one or two connectors and $0.50 per terminals that typically cost $0.20. I ended up buying from 2 different suppliers in order to get exactly what was needed for the project. This takes a little time.


GFK

Thanks for reply. Good Stuff. Mainly interested in power for seats. Heating and Cooling not necessary for me. I have seats im interested in but havent purchased yet.

GKrabbe said:

Hi all,

some time ago I posted an inquiry about switching in power/heated/cooled seats into a basic 2012 Ram 1500. Quite a few of you reviewed the post, but there wasn't much help offered so I though I would summarize how I did it for any of you considering the switch. First, this turned out to be totally worth the effort. I was able to find some leather, fully optioned seats in good condition for a fair price. The addition has made a relatively base model truck that I don't owe any money on really cool!

Here is what I did:

Spent about 4 hours studying the wiring and connection diagrams from Tech Authority. There is no way I could have done this without these diagrams, wire specifications and part #'s for the necessary connectors and wire terminals. Tracking down the parts took about 4 weeks. Initially I tried to find a used harness to scavenge, but these were few and far between and the ones I did find were too much $$. I finally sourced new connectors and terminals from a variety of parts suppliers online who were willing to sell me less than 1,000 units. I found a wire seller on ebay that put together a custom wire order of the correct gauges and lengths and enough different colors so I didn't get confused when assembling the new harnesses needed.

It was necessary to bring 3 new circuits in from the fuse box, through the firewall and to the drivers side seat.

It was necessary to cut splices in the CAN (Controller Area Network) circuit immediately in front of the drivers side seat ( the dashboard switches are not really switches that complete circuits, instead, they send signals via the CAN system which in turn trigger relays in the control module under the drivers seat).

These circuits and originals + new grounds had to be fitted into a new connector that matched up with the one fitted to the new seat with the proper wire terminals. I purchased a special tool for wire terminals off amazon that worked great.

A new wire harness from the new drivers side seat to the passenger side had to be assembled with the correct connectors and wire terminals. This harness brought power and the heating cooling module connections under the drivers side seat to the passenger side power controls and heating cooling elements.

The dashboard control module for the heating and cooling elements was installed into a blank in the center console-fortunately there was a CAN pigtail just for that purpose already wired into the dash harness.

The physical work of gutting the interior, assembling the new harnesses and installing all of this stuff took about 10 hours (one long Sunday). About the time I was splicing into the CAN circuits I had some doubts about whether this was going to have a good ending. For the most part it did- everything works great EXCEPT- the on/high/low LEDs in the dashboard switch do not light. The manual says that a new switch is needed. I bought a new switch module and still no lights. I figure there are 3 reasons why this might be:

1- the control module under the drivers seat is faulty and not sending signals to the switch LEDs.
2- since the dealer codes programmed into the truck don't know about the new seats, some other computer in the truck is not sending the right signal to the switches.
3- the outside chance that I have purchased TWO faulty switch modules.

If any of you have any ideas to solve this last issue that would be great. Hopefully it isn't the dealer codes because my local dealer has been less than helpful in this effort.

Cheers!​

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I know there was somebody in the past that had it done pretty much the same thing you did but his truck already had the wiring for it because of its trim level. His LED lights did not work either. I'm not sure if he was ever able to correct it. Is there any way you can check to see if you can possibly enable the codes is the BCM?

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You may be able to enable the codes with the alpha OBD tool. I know it says it will work on the 2012 trucks at the best of my knowledge none of us have done any programming with it on anything other than a 2013. It might be something worth looking into. There's a lot information on it in the alpha OBD thread.

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I added the heated\ventilated seats to my 2010 a while ago. I did have all the wiring installed, basically plug and play for me, and my LED hi/lo lights didn't work either, found a bunch of posts by a user named bigtone on several forums who tried several times at a dealer with no luck. (google bigtone heated seats).
I've been periodically following the AlphaOBD thread, not sure how much support they have for a 2010 yet though. One of these days I'll give it a shot. 2012 isn't that much different than mine, so if it supports that, I may get lucky, If it works, I'll be sure to let you all know, but don't hold your breath, not the highest thing on my priority list right now

Awesome job!

Thanks for OBD idea to add/change options codes. I have heard rumors from others that the right tuning software can do this. Trying to wrap this project up soon, will let you all know if I find a way to do it myself.

Simpsj2, adding power should be easy- controls are entirely within seat, no need to tap into CAN system. Check the wiring diagram to be sure, but I think all you would need is a power circuit from the fuse box and a few new ground wires from seat to chassis connections. Good luck

GFK

Just an FYI,

AlfaOBD works miracles, and this is on a 2010, so yes, it will work on older models just fine

I made the following two changes to SET,

Car configuration change: Vehicle Config 1: Heated Seats Present: ' NOT SET ' -> '1 '
Car configuration change: Cabin Network: HSM Heated Seat Module: ' NOT SET ' -> '1 '

and Voila! the switch LED's for the heated\vented seats, and heated steering wheel all work as designed.

I am a happy guy!

Excellent! That solves the last item on this project list. Thanks!

Can you post pictures of the plugs you have coming off your seats, and where you spliced in front of the CAN system? I've redoing the entire interior on my 03 ram, and putting in some 2016 heated/cooled seats along with a 2017 jumpseat. I've bought a membership at tech authority to get diagrams and what not. Having a tough time figuring out each plug. I found the diagram for both yellow plugs on the driver/passenger, and one of them on the jumpseat, and also the usb mini for the jumpseat. But I'm unsure what the non yellow plug coming off my driver seat is, and the third plug on my jumpseat is. I know your set up may not be exact, but would allow me a better understanding if you had the time. Nice work on getting yours all done and figuring out your led lighting issue . First picture is jumpseat, second is driver, third is passenger, 4th is just the oem on the 2003.

Daryl,

My seats were out of a 2012 truck, because yours are out of a 2016 I am not sure photos of my connectors would be helpful. I can tell you that the grey rectangular connectors in your photos are similar to what were included in the 12 seats. If you follow the wiring diagrams for the heated seat system, these connectors will be called out, and you if you click on them, Tech Authority will take you right to the correct connector diagram.

If I were you, I would go online and find a VIN# for a 2016 truck with the options included in your seat package, you can do this by looking at used car adds. Enter that into Tech Authority and download the relevant wiring diagrams. Then, do the same for your truck with and without the options you want to add. With these printed out, you can work to put together a hybrid wiring plan. I would pay attention to the connector details between the two optioned trucks- that will be the quickest way to see how they differ.

From the start I can see a few issues:

• Its possible that the switching mechanism between an 03 and 16 RAM is different. You will have to verify if the 03 even uses a CAN system to actuate the seat controllers. If not, you will have to identify a switching strategy- perhaps purchasing a seat controller for 03 seats to fit into your new seats and a dashboard controller to match.
  
• I believe that yellow connectors are reserved for safety systems- seat belts and airbags. My seats did not have airbags and my truck computer was not programmed for them. Is yours?

Matching up two different generation trucks is going to be complicated, be prepared to spend more time with the wiring diagrams than actually doing the work. That's the best I can do to help you out.

GKrabbe said:

Daryl,

My seats were out of a 2012 truck, because yours are out of a 2016 I am not sure photos of my connectors would be helpful. I can tell you that the grey rectangular connectors in your photos are similar to what were included in the 12 seats. If you follow the wiring diagrams for the heated seat system, these connectors will be called out, and you if you click on them, Tech Authority will take you right to the correct connector diagram.

If I were you, I would go online and find a VIN# for a 2016 truck with the options included in your seat package, you can do this by looking at used car adds. Enter that into Tech Authority and download the relevant wiring diagrams. Then, do the same for your truck with and without the options you want to add. With these printed out, you can work to put together a hybrid wiring plan. I would pay attention to the connector details between the two optioned trucks- that will be the quickest way to see how they differ.

From the start I can see a few issues:

• Its possible that the switching mechanism between an 03 and 16 RAM is different. You will have to verify if the 03 even uses a CAN system to actuate the seat controllers. If not, you will have to identify a switching strategy- perhaps purchasing a seat controller for 03 seats to fit into your new seats and a dashboard controller to match.
  
• I believe that yellow connectors are reserved for safety systems- seat belts and airbags. My seats did not have airbags and my truck computer was not programmed for them. Is yours?

Matching up two different generation trucks is going to be complicated, be prepared to spend more time with the wiring diagrams than actually doing the work. That's the best I can do to help you out.

Click to expand...

Yeah I know it's going to be difficult and a lot of researching. I appreciate the advice and it has given me some direction on what to do. I'll try to get all the diagrams before my membership runs out and start studying and figuring out what I got to do. Thank you for the response. I will definitely post something up when and if I figure it all out haha

This was something I was interested in doing to mine. I also have a 2012 but I can only find seats from 13’ and up. From what I understand, they’re not compatible without doing some serious wiring work. I guess I’ll have to settle for seat covers. I’m not a stranger to automotive wiring, I just have very little interest in taking that kind of job on. I wish someone made a wiring harness adapter & whatever other parts needed to make this install easier. I’d go that route all day, every day.

Great work, man. You have way more patience than I.


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GKrabbe said:

Excellent! That solves the last item on this project list. Thanks!

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Good deal - let us know how it works for you.

Found something else that has me pleasantly surprised, the "Remote Start Comfort System" is now an option in my EVIC, apparently it will automatically turn on the drivers heated seat and wheel below 40, or turn on the vented seat above 80 when the truck is remote started - can't wait for the temp to drop to test it out

Question - although I have a 2017, I was curious how you got power to the heated seats.

Reasoning - I already have the wiring for *front* heated seats in my truck, I have a line on a set of heated front seats as well so thats good. But I want to add heat to the REAR seats as well. I dont feel the need to have it stock-like, aftermarket pads and switches are fine back there. But I was wondering where I would tap into for power. Looking at the wiring diagrams, it looks like there are 2 power (during run-only) leads going to the heated seat module. 1 is from a 10A circuit, the other is from a 25A circuit.

Are those the actual power for the seat heaters? I believe the 10A one is for illumination (i.e. switch LEDs), and the 25A one is actually for the seat heaters (diagram shows it gets split off "with rear heated seats"). Some have said those wires are too thin to carry that current, but I cant see them being only for switching relays if they are run off a 25A circuit.

If anyone has an idea, please let me know!

Thanks.

-Chris

Kiltedcelt: given the varied combinations of model years and components people are coming up with just on this post, it would be difficult (impossible?) to produce a wiring set up that works for everyone.

chrisbh17: per the wiring diagram & connector pin locations, I brought three circuits in from the fuse box: One 40 amp for the power seat motors, one 20 amp for the heated/cooled seats, one 20 amp for the heated steering wheel. There is supposed to be a 25 amp fuse mounted in line on the power seat circuit just inside of the firewall, but I did not install this. My new rear seats did not have the heating option.


jawzs; will let you know as soon as bluetooth ODB reader arrives in mail

Jawzs,

I got the OBDLink MX today, but so far unable to connect to many of the control units. I assume that I am looking to connect to the Body Computer to make the changes you note above. Any hints would be appreciated.

Thanks.