Adding OEM heated & ventilated front seats

[Jgouldski]

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. THIS IS STILL IN PROCESS SO THERE MAY BE SOME WRONG INFORMATION.

Originally had this as a reply to a different thread (link), but figured it would be useful as its own thread.

Total minimum cost with new parts is approx $400 USD for 1 seat or $700 for both front seats with basic wiring methods, which would be without the harnesses.

This is for achieving heated AND ventilated front seats by replacing/adding each individual part of the seat rather than replacing the entire seat.

Bare minimum parts needed & approx prices (USD)
- 68366262 $50 Cushion blower - 1 per seat
- 68366263 $50 Back blower - 1 per seat
- 68362099 $120 Cushion ventilation bag - 1 per seat
- 68362098 $80 Back ventilation bag - 1 per seat
- 68530206 $90 Comfort Seat and Wheel Module (CSWM) - 1 total
- wire, pins or splice/butt connectors, and CSWM-specific connectors
=$300 total per seat, plus $90 for CSWM

The heating element is part of the "bag" you need for ventilated seats, so you only need the 1 part for both heated & ventilated seats.

Any existing foam/cover combo can have the bags & blowers attached, the cover will just be slightly tighter if the foam wasn't made for the bag. If using a foam that's not made for the bag, it will need a small slit cut through it to allow the bag to pass through to the blower on the back. I can definitely feel the air being pulled through my original cloth covers, although I can't help but think it would be better with covers that were made for it. Still happy overall though.

The "covers" (the leather or cloth skin on the seat) are usually over $500 each, and you need both bottom and back covers, so it definitely racks up quickly.

If you decide to get new foams/covers/wiring harnesses, these are some of the options.
Thanks to @01Time for these part numbers in this thread. These are the ones with the CAJ sales code (Seats - Ventilated Front).

Driver seat:
- 68454359 Cushion foam
- 68454185 Back foam - has "bumps" on the top corners so didn't fit my original cloth cover. I ended up returning this and modifying my original one.
- 7BA61BD3 Cushion cover - leather, black
- 7BA61HL1 Cushion cover - leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- 6XU25BD3 Back cover - leather, black
- 6XU25HL1 Back cover - leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- 68395859 Cushion harness - this one is for a driver seat with memory, so the connectors and routing are different than one with power but no memory
- 68395869 Back harness

Passenger seat:
- 68454358 Cushion foam
- 68454184 Back foam - has "bumps" on the top corners so didn't fit my original cloth cover. I ended up returning this and modifying my original one.
- 6XU26BD3 Cushion cover - leather, black
- 6XU26HL1 Cushion cover - leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- 6XU24BD3 Back cover - leather, black
- 6XU24HL1 Back cover - leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- 68468115 Cushion harness - this one is for a passenger seat with power, so the connectors and routing are different than a manual seat
- 68395885 Back harness

It sounds like the body harnesses on the trucks are pretty much the same across the board, so the connectors sticking out of the carpet under each seat should have wiring for all options but make sure to check yours first.

I have yet to research radio bezels.

Please let me know if any of this is incorrect, as it will help me with my projects as well!

 

[dieselscout80]

Originally had this as a reply to a different thread (link), but figured it would be useful as its own thread. I will be updating it as I go. So far I've only worked on the passenger seat.

This is for replacing/adding each individual part of the seat rather than replacing the entire seat. In the FCA parts world, "cushion" refers to the ass cushion, "back" refers to back cushion.

For ventilated seats (which includes heated seats), you'll need 2 of each of these parts (1 for each seat):
- Cushion blower
-- 68366262
- Back blower
-- 68366263
- Cushion ventilation bag
-- 68362099
- Back ventilation bag
-- 68362098
You do not need the blowers if you do not want ventilated seats and only want heated seats, and you will need the heating elements instead of the bags that are for the seats that are heated AND ventilated. The heating element is part of the "bag" you need for ventilated seats, so you only need the 1 part for both heated & ventilated seats. It is different part numbers for heated seats only.

For the below, I'm honestly not sure if these are the same part numbers for heated seats only, as most of my research has been for heated & ventilated seats. The "covers" (the leather or cloth skin on the seat) are the most expensive part of this, and I'm trying to avoid replacing them if I can. I spent about $1200 CAD on all 4 foams, blowers, and bags. The covers themselves are about $800 CAD each, and you need 4 of them. If you do choose to get new covers, looks like leather is the only option for ventilated seats, but there may be other ones for heated seats only. I'm still in the process of seeing if I can get heated & ventilated seats to work in my existing cloth seats. Thanks to @01Time for the help with these and all the part numbers. Here is that post, as well as post # 305 two below. In reference to his providing the parts lists, these are the ones with the CAJ sales code (Seats - Ventilated Front).

Driver seat:
- Cushion foam 68454359
- Back foam 68454185
- Cushion cover
-- 7BA61BD3 leather, black
-- 7BA61HL1 leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- Back cover
-- 6XU25BD3 leather, black
-- 6XU25HL1 leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- Wiring (working on part numbers)
-- Comfort Seat and Wheel Module (CSWM) - located under the drivers seat, and only the 1 module is required for both front seats and the heated steering wheel.
--

Passenger seat:
- Cushion foam 68454358
- Back foam 68454184
-- Slightly different shape than my original foam (can't find a part number on my original one, but it's a manual adjust, no heat/vent seat). Original cover won't fit on, but can potentially modify the original foam to fit the ventilation bag. Requires a slit cut out just below the hog ring holes that hold the cover tight about two thirds of the way up the seat back. Also requires shaving down the foam about 1/2" from the slit down to the bottom of the seat back to sit about flush with the velcro strips on the sides to allow for the approx 1/2" thick ventilation bag.
- Cushion cover
-- 6XU26BD3 leather, black
-- 6XU26HL1 leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- Back cover
-- 6XU24BD3 leather, black
-- 6XU24HL1 leather, mountain brown light frost beige
- Wiring
-- My 2019 2500 big horn has a fully populated wiring harness (all the wires that would be there if it was fully loaded, meaning there are also some blanks) under the passenger seat for supply to the seat (truck side), which tells me all trucks are fitted with the wiring up to the seat
-- On the seat side, my original wiring harness is PN 68395871. There's 6 wires coming out of the big main yellow connector, and 4 connectors after that: seat belt sensor, seat occupancy sensor, air bag, and one connected to a dummy connector. I'm trying to figure out how there are 6 wires attached to the big yellow connector, but 8 between the other 4 connectors...
--


I have yet to research radio bezels.

And since I'm only working on seats first, these numbers are just pulled from one of the other threads:
Parts required for heated steering wheel:
Clock spring: 68425689
Center stack (ICS): 68370125 (this is for manual climate controls with an 8.4 screen) Not sure if this has heated/ventilated seat controls.


Please let me know if any of this is incorrect, as it will help me with my projects as well!

Do you have the blower part numbers?

Based on your information, I wonder if my 2020 Bighorn with heated seats could just have the blower added to my current heated seat cushion(s)?

 

[Jgouldski]

Do you have the blower part numbers?

Based on your information, I wonder if my 2020 Bighorn with heated seats could just have the blower added to my current heated seat cushion(s)?

Yeah it would be the blower motors and ventilation bags, and the part numbers are in the list near the top of my post. Definitely possible, but you would need to replace the heating pads with the ventilation bags as well - 2 per seat (bottom cushion and back cushion), which means getting right down to the foam of the seat because it sticks right to the foam. I just took the foam and cover off my front passenger seat back last night and it really isn't that hard, just a handful of different things holding it on.

I could be wrong, but I believe it is a different harness for heating & ventilation compared to heating only, so you'll have to look at what you have and look up the part numbers. Or just splice in some new wires.

 

[Jgouldski]

Seat back foam modification:

The new front seat back foams are a different shape than my original foams (can't find part numbers on my originals, but it's power driver seat, manual passenger, no heat/vent or memory seat). The new ones have "bumps" on the top corners that my originals do not. Original covers won't fit on, but I was able to modify the original foam slightly to fit the ventilation bag. Another option would be to modify the new foam to fit the old cover. I modified my original foam so I could simply return the new one, but for the new one I believe all that would have to be modified is cutting off the top corner bumps.

If modifying the original, it will require a slit cut out just below the hog ring holes (I believe it was almost exactly 2-1/2" from the velcro strips on the sides and 3/4" below the hog ring holes) that hold the cover tight about two thirds of the way up the seat back.

Also, you may* want to shave down the foam for the bottom two thirds of the seat back. If you do this, you need to shave about 1/2" total, from the slit you made right down to the bottom of the seat back to sit about flush with the velcro strips on the sides to allow for the approx 1/2" thick ventilation bag.
*I did not do this, and time will tell if the slightly extra tight seat cover and peoples backs against it will cause any issues with air flow or anything else.

My bottom seat cover fit the new foam so I changed it, but you could just modify the original foam similarly to above with the back foam.

 

[dieselscout80]

Thanks

Got any pictures of your work?

 

[Jgouldski]

Thanks

Got any pictures of your work?

Wanted to finish the passenger seat to get my head wrapped around it then take pictures of the driver's seat. Waiting on some parts for the driver's seat then I'll tackle it

 

[Jgouldski]

Seat removal and part of disassembly.

 

[Jgouldski]

Seat disassembly continued.
Of note:
- seat belt latch T50 bolt needed to be loosened in order to access the side bolt for the inner side cover. BE SURE TO RE-TIGHTEN BEFORE REINSTALLING THE SEAT BACK IN THE TRUCK.
- the side cover bolts are 2 different sizes - make note of which goes where
- the Xmas tree push pin for the cushion cover will likely be mangled. I got lucky on one and was able to reuse it, but not the other.
- ensure battery negative is disconnected and the truck is left to discharge for at least a few mins before disconnecting any of the wiring harnesses. All yellow harnesses contain wiring for the side airbag, and that is not something you want to go off while working on it.
- the connector for the airbag at the airbag itself is slightly tricky. The red locking tab pulls straight away from the connection, and then the connector can be pulled off in the same direction.
- If you reuse your existing airbag, you shouldn't run into any issues that others have experienced when installing seats sourced from another truck.
- the airbag is integral to the seat cover and will need to be unbolted and disconnected, but doesn't need to be removed from it's pouch.

 

[Jgouldski]

More disassembly and start of ventilation bag install with seat back foam modification

- it is not worth trying to reuse the hog rings. Cut them and replace. I got a bag of 50 from the hardware store for pennies. You'll need 13 for each seat bottom cushion and 3 for each seat back.
- the headrest sleeves are a bit of a pain to get out. The metal holes they slide through are bent in a way that make them slightly barbed, so the plastic sleeves don't come out easily. Just take your time with it. Use pliers to hold the locking tabs disengaged while you put upward pressure on the sleeve and it'll come out.
- you can see the slit I cut in the seat back foam. This needs to be cut all the way through to the back as the bag goes through and attaches to the blower at the back.

 

[Jgouldski]

Last pictures I took before I realized I had to focus to get it done before dark. After this, it was just blower install, wire harness install, and put it all back together and in the truck.

- you need to be careful which opening in the seat frame webbing you feed the bag through so that it doesn't get pinched and still reaches the blower.
- hog rings are relatively easy to install, but the 5 on each side of the bottom cushions can be a bear with how close they are to the side raised portions. Just take your time.
- ensure the bag will not be overlapping the edges too far and interfering with the hog rings or making it uncomfortable to sit on
- the passenger seat occupancy sensor goes under the bag. If you are replacing the bottom cushion, it will need to be moved to the new one. The 2 sticky pads can be reused if removed carefully with heat. I used just a blow dryer and found that they came off nicer when pulled faster, but YMMV.