divemaster5734
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2014
- Posts
- 7
- Reaction score
- 0
- Ram Year
- 2014
- Engine
- EcoDiesel
2014 Laramie Longhorn 4x4 Ecodiesel. Purchased new. Around 131k miles on it.
The cruise control switch pack quit working over the summer, so I replaced it myself.
Everything seemed to work and life went on.
Fast forward to this weekend, the temps are starting to drop and I hit the wheel warmer switch when taking off.
The red LED above the dash switch turned on, then went off after about two seconds.
I immediately assumed I screwed something up when swapping the cc, so I pulled the air bag and took a look around inside the wheel.
Everything looked okay, I pushed the wires into their connectors, made sure nothing was pinched and routed correctly, reassembled, and still no warm wheel.
I took it apart again and grabbed a DVM.
This time I pulled the left and right side wheel switches to locate the wheel heater cable at the white two wire connector located about the 5:00 position with the tires straight.
It's showing at 10:00 here as I removed the side retaining screw before pulling the two side switch banks.
This is the wheel side of the connector, the controls side is pulled out and meter inserted.
With the switch off it's showing .3 milivolts, which is probably just cheap meter error. I have no issues with the charging system.
With the switch on I'm showing 3.5 VDC.
Here is where I hit a wall.
I'm a sparky by trade, know a bunch about building systems, but until now haven't had a need to troubleshoot a modern vehicle 12V common ground system.
I am doing a resto-mod on a OBS C350 idi with engine, tranny, and axles swap, have rebuilt a C6, and raced different motorcycles for decades. The only reason for the digress is to briefly express that while I am nowhere near a pro mechanic, I'm a "not-so-bad" weekend warrior.
Now that I got all puffy chest, let me expose the depth of my ignorance.
This is a screw that the wheel heat connector is held in place with.
I used a borescope for the picture, as this is on the back of the wheel.
I have no freaking clue how to remove it in order to gain full access to the connector.
I want to do a resistance check on the coil element in the wheel to verify continuity and check for possible connection issues.
I have purchased two different repair manuals for this truck and neither one gets very detailed about the operation.
I'm hesitant to list all the questions in one post, but I'd rather that than make several identical ones, so here goes.
1) How the heck do I remove that fastener to inspect the connector? I've tried SAE and metric sockets, nothing gets a grip.
2) I've read that on a heated wheel replacement the new one needs to be programmed into the ECU. I disconnected the NEG battery terminal to remove the airbag. When I get into the settings on the dash display it does show a wheel warmer control, and using that option gets the same 2 second LED then off, without any difference in the wheel.
Do I still need to take this into a dealer for a reflash?
3) While the LED turns on, I don't hear a relay click. I'm pretty sure they don't use control power for an accessory current load, even if it isnt CANBUS, plus, I'm pretty sure I could hear a click when the warmer was energized in the past.
Where is the relay located?
I also read the same controller operates the seat heat/cool, when I hit that switch there's a relay click just under the dash, I'm thinking it's a plug in relay, and the seat cool/heat function work perfectly.
4) Where can I buy a decent factory or dealer service manual? As mentioned, I'm strictly a weekend warrior grease monkey, so I'm not in a position where I'll pay hundreds or thousands for a monthly subscription service to access data that I can't even save for later reference.
I apologize for the long winded post, but seeing as I haven't been very active here I'm a unknown, and just wanted to give as clear a picture as possible.
Any advise, suggestions, or reference links will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Have a great day.
The cruise control switch pack quit working over the summer, so I replaced it myself.
Everything seemed to work and life went on.
Fast forward to this weekend, the temps are starting to drop and I hit the wheel warmer switch when taking off.
The red LED above the dash switch turned on, then went off after about two seconds.
I immediately assumed I screwed something up when swapping the cc, so I pulled the air bag and took a look around inside the wheel.
Everything looked okay, I pushed the wires into their connectors, made sure nothing was pinched and routed correctly, reassembled, and still no warm wheel.
I took it apart again and grabbed a DVM.
This time I pulled the left and right side wheel switches to locate the wheel heater cable at the white two wire connector located about the 5:00 position with the tires straight.
It's showing at 10:00 here as I removed the side retaining screw before pulling the two side switch banks.
This is the wheel side of the connector, the controls side is pulled out and meter inserted.
With the switch off it's showing .3 milivolts, which is probably just cheap meter error. I have no issues with the charging system.
With the switch on I'm showing 3.5 VDC.
Here is where I hit a wall.
I'm a sparky by trade, know a bunch about building systems, but until now haven't had a need to troubleshoot a modern vehicle 12V common ground system.
I am doing a resto-mod on a OBS C350 idi with engine, tranny, and axles swap, have rebuilt a C6, and raced different motorcycles for decades. The only reason for the digress is to briefly express that while I am nowhere near a pro mechanic, I'm a "not-so-bad" weekend warrior.
Now that I got all puffy chest, let me expose the depth of my ignorance.
This is a screw that the wheel heat connector is held in place with.
I used a borescope for the picture, as this is on the back of the wheel.
I have no freaking clue how to remove it in order to gain full access to the connector.
I want to do a resistance check on the coil element in the wheel to verify continuity and check for possible connection issues.
I have purchased two different repair manuals for this truck and neither one gets very detailed about the operation.
I'm hesitant to list all the questions in one post, but I'd rather that than make several identical ones, so here goes.
1) How the heck do I remove that fastener to inspect the connector? I've tried SAE and metric sockets, nothing gets a grip.
2) I've read that on a heated wheel replacement the new one needs to be programmed into the ECU. I disconnected the NEG battery terminal to remove the airbag. When I get into the settings on the dash display it does show a wheel warmer control, and using that option gets the same 2 second LED then off, without any difference in the wheel.
Do I still need to take this into a dealer for a reflash?
3) While the LED turns on, I don't hear a relay click. I'm pretty sure they don't use control power for an accessory current load, even if it isnt CANBUS, plus, I'm pretty sure I could hear a click when the warmer was energized in the past.
Where is the relay located?
I also read the same controller operates the seat heat/cool, when I hit that switch there's a relay click just under the dash, I'm thinking it's a plug in relay, and the seat cool/heat function work perfectly.
4) Where can I buy a decent factory or dealer service manual? As mentioned, I'm strictly a weekend warrior grease monkey, so I'm not in a position where I'll pay hundreds or thousands for a monthly subscription service to access data that I can't even save for later reference.
I apologize for the long winded post, but seeing as I haven't been very active here I'm a unknown, and just wanted to give as clear a picture as possible.
Any advise, suggestions, or reference links will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Have a great day.
