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Thread: Seat Heater Switch - Can I change it?

  1. #1
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    Seat Heater Switch - Can I change it?

    I have Corbeau seats with seat heaters. They come with the standard circular switch with two positions and a light, but I was thinking of changing them to the lucas style switches. I'm not sure if this is possible and if so, how to do it. Is it as simple as moving the three wires over in the same orientation? The black wire appears to be for the light which isn't on the lucas style switch so would just get capped. The lucas style switch should be SPDT, right? I should probably make sure the amps are high enough. Anything else to look out for?
    Thanks in advance for the advice.
    -David


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    Senior Member rich grsc's Avatar
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    The black wire is ground for the light. Most likely yellow is power, the others feed to the seat heater, one high the other low.

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    Thanks Rich for the catch on the black wire. I can just ground that one. For the other three, do they just go on the new switch in the same order? Sorry if this seems like an obvious question but electrical doesn’t come easily to me... I’d like to have it all planned out before I cut anything.
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    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    Agree with Rich. That black wire is likely the ground for the indicators. The bare leads are the positive side for the indicators (red = high, green = low) and they're going to the outer terminals. So pretty good chance the center tap is power, and the outer ones are the high and low circuits. So also a good chance that switch is the same ON-OFF-ON as the toggle switch you're showing. Which BTW, isn't an actual Lucas switch. Those look like push-on terminals on the switch. Couldn't you just pull them off and check the continuity of the switch to confirm it's ON-OFF-ON? If all else fails, you could call Corbeau and see if they would provide a schematic. I've talked to them several times, and they were pretty nice and helpful. I've installed seat heaters in all my builds, including the Coupe with Corbeau heaters. I kind of like those switches with the seat heater icon and indicator lights. But to each his own.
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    Senior Member rich grsc's Avatar
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    Everyone should own an electrical tester, just use the ohm meter to check operation of the switches.

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    Thanks again Paul and Rich! I do own an ohm meter and will use to to try and check the operation of the switch. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction and teaching me how to approach the problem!
    MK4 Roadster #9138
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  7. #7
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    If you dont have a light in the switch the black wire is useless. Cap it or remove it or use it for something else. If you ground it, you are grounding ground to ground .

    The wiring should be the same with both switches it is the easiest mechanical way to make the switch. Otherwise they would have to run wires inside the switch, which would be inefficient ! Check them with the ohm meter, then check for 12volts on the center wire ... Hey, use the black wire for ground... See a good use for it
    Ok ok. Always Check ohms with no power. Check 12volts to any ground!
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    Senior Member Avalanche325's Avatar
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    Most multimeters have a continuity mode. Use that if yours has one. If not, use the highest Ohms scale. No need to work on a live circuit.

    Remove the wires from the switch.
    With the switch off. Check for continuity between the center and each of the outside terminals. They should both be open. (High ohms)
    Then turn the switch onto Low. You should get continuity (0 or close ohms) from the center to one side terminal. The other center to side should be open.
    Then turn the switch to High. You should have an open circuit on center to the Low that you just tested and continuity from the center to high.

    If that works out. You can use your Lucas style switch. Just snip the black wire off.

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