How To Add Heated/Ventelated seats and Heated Wheel to Express/Tradesman

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mjf6175

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that answers alot of my questions...
so I can look for a 40/20/40 Laramie seat set that was heated/cooled... that opens up alot more options.

I want to retain my cloth seats so I'll have to look for some like I have
I am not sure that Laramie seats come in cloth, I am pretty sure they do not. There are "Big Horn" seats that do come in cloth but ( as best as I can recall) they are not necessarily heated and cooled. Laramie seats automatically are. In other words Laramie Seats=leather+heat+ventilated. While Big Horn =cloth+?+?. You would have to confirm what those Big Horn seats have and I bet it will be hard to find BH seats that are both heated/ventilated.

If you do find a Laramie seat in a 40/20/40 configuration you should ask the seller if he will do the deal minus the center section, you may get a discount on the price; and the shipping cost of the seats should be lower by not including that center section which is a plus since you maybe the one paying for shipping.

On another note, if you would like to view a video where a 40/20/40 Laramie seat is being removed from a Ram, I pasted below a youtube video that will give you some idea of how the 40/20/40 seat is assembled and that center section is attached to the driver and passenger seats. Start at the 1:35 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZvWXxmXtE
 

blurz28ss

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when I say retain my cloth seats I mean I don't want leather interior... and I meant I need to find some that are the same shape/design as what I have.
I was going to recover the heated/cooled seats with my current cloth covers...

if that's not possible I'm wondering what the chances are I can transplant all of the components to my seats.

idk... I do know I'm not a fan of leather seat covers... they crack and crease and generally don't hold up as well as cloth in my opinion


I am not sure that Laramie seats come in cloth, I am pretty sure they do not. There are "Big Horn" seats that do come in cloth but ( as best as I can recall) they are not necessarily heated and cooled. Laramie seats automatically are. In other words Laramie Seats=leather+heat+ventilated. While Big Horn =cloth+?+?. You would have to confirm what those Big Horn seats have and I bet it will be hard to find BH seats that are both heated/ventilated.

If you do find a Laramie seat in a 40/20/40 configuration you should ask the seller if he will do the deal minus the center section, you may get a discount on the price; and the shipping cost of the seats should be lower by not including that center section which is a plus since you maybe the one paying for shipping.

On another note, if you would like to view a video where a 40/20/40 Laramie seat is being removed from a Ram, I pasted below a youtube video that will give you some idea of how the 40/20/40 seat is assembled and that center section is attached to the driver and passenger seats. Start at the 1:35 mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZvWXxmXtE
 

Mpgrimm2

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these are my underseat connections... I've found some 2011 Laramie mega cab seats with front heat/vent and rear heat. I know I'll need wiring for the rear but I'm wondering if the front will be plug and play
----- Driver Seat Connectors for Reference (Post 2025) ---------------

It looks like you have the wiring for front heated/ vented seats and wheel already (you have power driver seat and 120v inverter already?)

I'd have to see better pictures of all the truck side wires on the i400, i401 but I don't think you have any of the wiring for memory, pedals, or heated rear seats (but it can be added).
.
 
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mjf6175

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It looks like you have the wiring for front heated/ vented seats and wheel already (you have power driver seat and 120v inverter already?)

I'd have to see better pictures of all the truck side wires on the i400, i401 but I don't think you have any of the wiring for memory, pedals, or heated rear seats (but it can be added).
.
Mike....let me preface this by saying "its been awhile", so my memory maybe faulty on this. So.....
blurz states his seats are from a 2011? My question is the HSM used for that year seat, is it going to be compatible with the canbus of his 2016? I think there was a change in the canbus either 2012 or 2013?
 

Mpgrimm2

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Mike....let me preface this by saying "its been awhile", so my memory maybe faulty on this. So.....
blurz states his seats are from a 2011? My question is the HSM used for that year seat, is it going to be compatible with the canbus of his 2016? I think there was a change in the canbus either 2012 or 2013?
Yep you're correct ... He needs 13-18/Classic 4th Gen seats. (He's messaged me on a few things).

I also added some notes to Jared4.7 's thread here with seat element resistance, etc as a reference.

Seems folks are getting used (or cobbled together seats) with either bad CSWM modules or bad elements or both In the last few months.

Recommend check element/sensor resistance before install.
.
 
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blurz28ss

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that's exactly right... I have power driver side, 8.4 radio, the 115v outlet. passenger is manual.

my current seats are bone stock 2016 bighorn cloth...

I have not purchased anything yet... so if I confused anyone thinking I have 2011 seats I'm sorry I do not.

unfortunately I'll ask and research tons before I buy anything... I can't afford to be wrong.

but I understand I need at least 2013 seats

I appreciate all the help and I'm sorry for all the questions.
I'm probably the only lunatic around that wants heated and cooled seats but doesn't want leather... so that complicates the issue

----- Driver Seat Connectors for Reference (Post 2025) ---------------

It looks like you have the wiring for front heated/ vented seats and wheel already (you have power driver seat and 120v inverter already?)

I'd have to see better pictures of all the truck side wires on the i400, i401 but I don't think you have any of the wiring for memory, pedals, or heated rear seats (but it can be added).
.
 

mjf6175

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that's exactly right... I have power driver side, 8.4 radio, the 115v outlet. passenger is manual.

my current seats are bone stock 2016 bighorn cloth...

I have not purchased anything yet... so if I confused anyone thinking I have 2011 seats I'm sorry I do not.

unfortunately I'll ask and research tons before I buy anything... I can't afford to be wrong.

but I understand I need at least 2013 seats

I appreciate all the help and I'm sorry for all the questions.
I'm probably the only lunatic around that wants heated and cooled seats but doesn't want leather... so that complicates the issue
blurz......you have only a couple of options:
1) Find Laramie seats with heat/cool and getting custom cloth seat covers for them. Keep in mind that the seat covers on the standard seats like you have in your Big Horn do not fit on a Laramie seat. The seat frames are different as well as the cushions and how the covers fit on the frame.

2) Standard seats did not come in leather, they came in cloth or "leatherette" (vinyl). In either version they only had the availability to have heat from the factory, not ventilation. Adding the ventilation parts from a Laramie seat is probably not going to work with the seat frames being different. If you check this thread I would be surprised if you find anyone who tried such a feat. It will not be easy or cheap and not guaranteed it will work. There are numerous differences between Laramie seats and the standard seats. Ask me how I know.......

3) I went through something very similar to you. Wanted heated/cooled Laramie buckets but could not find a really nice set. So I tried upgrading my standard seats that were just like yours. I first added aftermarket heating and then bought a Laramie seat for cheap since it had ruined seat covers. I bought it for the frame and its internals. After taking it apart I realized I could not "get here from there" as far as adding the ventilation components from it to my standard seat. So I junked the Laramie seat and initially ended up with standard seats with aftermarket heat and covered them with a custom leather seat cover set. As luck would have it some months later I found pristine Laramie seats that came out of a 2017 Ram (same year as mine). They came out of a Ram test vehicle. Since test vehicles cannot be sold they are dismantled and parts sold by the salvage yards. I was lucky enough to get those seats. Then I bought another new set of leather seat covers since the standard set I initially had bought and installed on the standard seats did not fit the Laramie seats.

In the pics below the top one is the standard seat with leather, the bottom pic is the Laramie buckets with the custom leather seat covers:
https%3A//i.imgur.com/yKthTlW.jpg[/img]']yKthTlW.jpg

https%3A//i.imgur.com/sIzqyPa.jpg[/img]']sIzqyPa.jpg
 

fros10987

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Its been awhile since I last posted here. Thought I add a little info with the hope it is somewhat helpful.

I have a 2017 SLT 2500 regular cab which has the snow plow pkg. From the factory it had NO heated/cooled seats or heated steering wheel since those options were not available in a R/C truck. I added all of that. Since I had the snow plow pkg I too had the aux buttons, but I did NOT need to add the hard buttons. The heat/cool function work through the soft buttons on the 8.4 just fine without the hard buttons

I guess you used the AlfaOBD program to turn on the seats?

I checked my notes (like I said its been awhile and I am getting OLD....lol) and have the following settings:
1) Front Heated Seats Present
2) Front Ventilated Seats Present
3) Auto on Driver Comfort Seat CSM
4) Front Ventilated Seat Present
5) Heated Seating Material: Perf. Leather

Hope it helps.................good luck!
Thanks for the info! I did turn on with alfaobd, i checked the seats and my hvac control module in another truck so ik they are both good. I have one more thing to check in the alfa after doing some more reading. The truck i was useing to test my parts had heated seats from the factory. I noticed the test truck had 2 sets of ihs can wires one to the yellow and one to the gray plug under the driver seat. My understanding from the the beginning of this post is only need one set that is on the gray plug can anyone confirm this?
 

fros10987

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I think I figured it out. I had to put the hard keys in my truck and turn everything on once then the soft keys work now. Even after I unplugged the hard keys soft keys are working on their own.
 

Luisp22

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Hi guys! I just installed my Limited seats on my 15 single cab. I put a new clock spring for the heated and ventilated functions to work but now I have the air bag service light ON. Aby ideas what could be ? They came off from a 2017 .
 

Ashton

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Hi guys! I just installed my Limited seats on my 15 single cab. I put a new clock spring for the heated and ventilated functions to work but now I have the air bag service light ON. Aby ideas what could be ? They came off from a 2017 .
I have read guys on other threads with the same sort of issue if you removed the buddy seat and replaced it with a console. The truck is not locating the 3rd buckle/passenger buckle is not the same as stock bench. You can try swapping in the original buckle on the pass seat and it should fix it
 

Luisp22

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I have read guys on other threads with the same sort of issue if you removed the buddy seat and replaced it with a console. The truck is not locating the 3rd buckle/passenger buckle is not the same as stock bench. You can try swapping in the original buckle on the pass seat and it should fix it
Crap I got rid of the seat the same day . I sold it to someone else .
 

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