is swapping seats plug and play?

[gershon]

What to give everyone a quick update, please keep in mind I've never done any of the before, and it's tkaing a while to learn and proceed:

- bought part # 61131383776 from fcpeuro, as these are the exact female pins needed for the seat harness; I used a klein wire stripper to secure the wire to the connector; I'm sure there's a better tool, I just couldn't find it

- bought pvc stranded 22awg wire from amazon, as this seems to be the exact size wire the seat harness uses

- I was able to easily run wire from the passenger seat harness to the R2 connector in the back of the vehicle

- I apparently need to run 2 wires from each seat harness to the A11 crash safety module (located directly under the idrive controller); this is evident after researching in newtis, but I cannot find a way to access the A11 crash safety module; I took apart the console a bit, removing the shifter and idrive controller, but then there's another layer of plastic that needs to be removed it seems to get to the A11 module, so.....

- since my current seats do not have active head restraint, I may just unplug the active head restraint from each new seat, by pulling the back part off each seat and unplugging the connector

- I may not do the coding myself, but it seems I need to add VO codes 456 and 453 to the FA, remove 459, then code IHKA (since the seats are ventilated), both SM modules, HU and BDC-BODY

- If I do proceed with coding using esys, I'm hoping that because I haven't coded the ACSM, I won't get any safety warnings, since the current seats do not have active head restraint, and the new seats will have those unplugged, unless adding the other VO codes automatically triggers changes in the ACSM to look for active head restraints

- It seems I can code out the active head restraints by changing AKS_LINKS_1_CD and AKS_RECHTS_1_CD in the ABG module to nicht_aktiv, but I have no idea if this can be done in esys without a token

Any advice, thoughts or clarification on the above is appreciated

[gershon]

ABG module I think is for E series cars; F cars are ACSM module

[gershon]

update: driver and passenger ventilated front seats have been installed. Ran the can cables from the passenger harness to R2 can harness in the rear. Everything fit perfectly. Also installed the proper climate control module in the dash in order to be able to use the ventilated feature....I haven't coded a thing and everything is functioning properly! Well, except I get driver/passenger restraint warnings due to not connecting the active head restraint wires from each seat to the A11 module.

I have esys on my laptop, but I don't have the launcher, so I don't think I can code out the active head restraints in order to suppress the warnings. I'm at the finish line...any help is greatly appreciated!

[gershon]

update: thanks to Shawn, I was able to get the software needed to finish this project. First, I updated the VO to include 453 and 456, and removed 459. I did not make these changes permanent by writing FA FP to VCM master...

Then I coded IHKA2, SM (1) and SM (2), HU-NBT and ACSM. But first, I needed to inject CAFD to IHKA and SM (since the seats and the climate control didn't exist before).

Finally I FDL coded the active headrest, which is called aktive Kopfstütze - change passenger and driver to nicht-acktiv and the warnings disappeared.

[fred9035]

Hi Greg, very good job! do you have pictures of the wiring to the back and the final result of your installation ?
freD

[fred9035]

On my 4yo car they changed the leather of the seat and we agreed that i would pay 20% only. reasonnable deal to my opinion.

[fred9035]

Quick update on my upgrade.
Both seats installed, coding to be finalized (only memory does not work).
running the 2 22AWG cables was a peace of cake, and this was all what was missing to energize the passenger comfort seat.
Result is great, it makes a reel difference from the stock seats.

Thanks to Greg who helped me with the R2 connector I was a bit worried about the wiring but things were easier than i thought

picture will come asap (need a proper cleaning of the car first )

[kanz_min]

Originally Posted by gershon

update: driver and passenger ventilated front seats have been installed.

hi guy
Does the cool air come from the fan inside the seats or from the climate throw the cables???
thanks

[CatalinP]

Fans inside the seats circulating cabin air.

[wiebeBMW]

Guys, is this post still active? I have the same challenge and would like to receive the wiring diagrams / pictures, if available? Thanks in advance.

[wiebeBMW]

[QUOTE=picture will come asap (need a proper cleaning of the car first )[/QUOTE]

Do you have pictures of the wiring, and which cables need to be replaced/go where? I have bought comfort seats as well, currently, the standard ones (no memory on each side) so need to perform the same operation for both seats. It is still unclear to me which additional cables I need to put in, as also I have no power whatsoever when I put in the seats. Thanks a lot for your support!!! It sounds complex, like you said, however hope it is doable.

[andymatt1]

So after following this thread for a long time I've decided to go for it .. just bought these 2 and going to have a go at replacing my current seats .,

Any advice welcome 🙏

[turboawd]

Did they use armorall on those seats?

[wiebeBMW]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum. In the past 15 years I have driven multiple BMW's, and recently was fortunate to purchase a BMW X5 from the F15 generation. As this car is equipped with the standard Leather seats (2 electric movements inc. heating) and my previous BMW's all had sport seats, I decided to upgrade to comfort seats and purchased a used set. I was hoping this was plug and play, however, it is not, and hope I can seek some support over here. Although the connectors of the seats are the same, it appears that some wires are missing. The new set of comfort seats have memory, however, I am not so bothered if such will eventually not work. If I connect the cables to the new seats, nothing works. Does anybody have experience with such retrofit/swap? Would somebody be able to give me some guidance in which wires need to be added, I just need power on the seats and the airbags to work (memory is not so important if that is the complex part). Here below a picture of the seats which I purchased. I also have the backseat, but this looks to be almost similar to the standard one. Hope somebody can give me some guidance on the electrical portion!

[wiebeBMW]

As I do not have memory at both seats, I suspect I am missing the CANBUS connection. Would this power the seats? As of now, both seats do not operate/move when plugged in with the wiring as is? Here below a picture of the connectors of the driver seat, the one above is from the donor car, the one below is mine. As you will notice, quite some wiring is missing. What I am being told by one of the forum members (great help), is that I only need to add the CANBUS wiring and it should work. What are your thoughts/advice?

[Real steel]

I have this seat that came out of my F15 50i. I installed the X5M seats. Selling both for $800. PM

[tlewis950610]

Real Steel, were you able to get your seats to work and if so did you do it yourself or have it done? I have a set of conmfort seats and I really want to do the swap. I just don't know how to make it happen.

[///d]

Originally Posted by tlewis950610

Real Steel, were you able to get your seats to work and if so did you do it yourself or have it done? I have a set of conmfort seats and I really want to do the swap. I just don't know how to make it happen.

I've seen a few posts about seat swaps. Should be able to find them if you search.

I cant speak much for the X5, but in my E90 when I swapped to sport seats I had to add or swap a wire that provided power to one of the motors (I dont remember which one), and I had to use the seat belt latch from my original seats. There was no coding needed.

[Adstarr]

Hi there

I’m just doing the upgrade of my X5M50D sports seat to the X5M seats.

Thank you sooo much for this write up you have really helped me a lot!! ☺️

As per all the comments my front drivers seat is working perfectly, but the passenger side seat is dead, apart from the lumbar controls.

I have purchased 4 of the can bus wiring connectors from BMW, I will buy the 22awg wire today. I have found the diagram for the passenger seat connector so pins 5 & 6 are easy to locate and install, my big mystery is the R2 canbus connector in the rear??

Do you have a diagram for the R2 plug??

Can you tell me where the wires from 5&6 go to on the R2 box???

Your help greatly appreciated!!!

Cheers legend 🙏🏼

Originally Posted by gershon

What to give everyone a quick update, please keep in mind I've never done any of the before, and it's tkaing a while to learn and proceed:

- bought part # 61131383776 from fcpeuro, as these are the exact female pins needed for the seat harness; I used a klein wire stripper to secure the wire to the connector; I'm sure there's a better tool, I just couldn't find it

- bought pvc stranded 22awg wire from amazon, as this seems to be the exact size wire the seat harness uses

- I was able to easily run wire from the passenger seat harness to the R2 connector in the back of the vehicle

- I apparently need to run 2 wires from each seat harness to the A11 crash safety module (located directly under the idrive controller); this is evident after researching in newtis, but I cannot find a way to access the A11 crash safety module; I took apart the console a bit, removing the shifter and idrive controller, but then there's another layer of plastic that needs to be removed it seems to get to the A11 module, so.....

- since my current seats do not have active head restraint, I may just unplug the active head restraint from each new seat, by pulling the back part off each seat and unplugging the connector

- I may not do the coding myself, but it seems I need to add VO codes 456 and 453 to the FA, remove 459, then code IHKA (since the seats are ventilated), both SM modules, HU and BDC-BODY

- If I do proceed with coding using esys, I'm hoping that because I haven't coded the ACSM, I won't get any safety warnings, since the current seats do not have active head restraint, and the new seats will have those unplugged, unless adding the other VO codes automatically triggers changes in the ACSM to look for active head restraints

- It seems I can code out the active head restraints by changing AKS_LINKS_1_CD and AKS_RECHTS_1_CD in the ABG module to nicht_aktiv, but I have no idea if this can be done in esys without a token

Any advice, thoughts or clarification on the above is appreciated

[Adstarr]

Hi there

I’m just doing the upgrade of my X5M50D sports seat to the X5M seats.

Thank you sooo much for this write up you have really helped me a lot!! ☺️

As per all the comments my front drivers seat is working perfectly, but the passenger side seat is dead, apart from the lumbar controls.

I have purchased 4 of the can bus wiring connectors from BMW, I will buy the 22awg wire today. I have found the diagram for the passenger seat connector so pins 5 & 6 are easy to locate and install, my big mystery is the R2 canbus connector in the rear??

Do you have a diagram for the R2 plug??

Can you tell me where the wires from 5&6 go to on the R2 box???

Your help greatly appreciated!!!

Cheers legend 🙏🏼

Originally Posted by fred9035

Quick update on my upgrade.
Both seats installed, coding to be finalized (only memory does not work).
running the 2 22AWG cables was a peace of cake, and this was all what was missing to energize the passenger comfort seat.
Result is great, it makes a reel difference from the stock seats.

Thanks to Greg who helped me with the R2 connector I was a bit worried about the wiring but things were easier than i thought

picture will come asap (need a proper cleaning of the car first )

[Adstarr]

Originally Posted by gershon

Many thanks to Fred for getting this far. I am upgrading from my standard seats as well. It seems as the cars age, the prices for used seats have gone down significantly from the auto salvage yards, and this will be a more popular retrofit in the near future.

I wanted to clarify a few things in case it helps others. I’m not finished with the upgrade yet, but I’m getting close. (I am not responsible for any damage you may incur - the point of my post here is to get clarity around some details in order to make more progress)

Yes, the upgraded seats only require 4 bolts, and the seat wire plug is the same. Doing just these steps, the drivers seat will function but without the memory, and the passenger seat will not function at all. And, if you code in the correct upgraded seats, the memory will start working, the passenger seat will still not function, and you will throw airbag errors because the new seats have active head restraint headrests and the standard seats do not.

So, the first step is getting the passenger seat to function. After studying newtis, if you want to do it from the factory, you have to run 2 canbus cables from the R2 canbus connector (pins 6 & 19) in the rear behind the fuse box to the passenger seat plug (pins 6 & 5). This will get the passenger seat to function. However, people I’ve talked to say running back to the R2 connector isn’t necessary, as you can just tap in locally, like from the driver seat canbus cables. I don’t really want to splice into existing cables, so if anyone has any input on how to find canbus near the passenger seat, this would be preferred. Maybe splicing is more common that I am aware of.

In order to add the 2 canbus cables to the passenger seat plug connector, you need to first find the proper pins, maybe from fcpeuro, or a local auto parts store. This is where I’m stuck. Some of these details may be obvious to veterans, but that’s why the forum is beneficial, and I’m hoping someone can shed some light.

From what I know to this point, if you want to get the active head restraints in the headrests to work, driver and passenger seats need cables run to the airbag module. I haven’t studied this part yet, but I will post details if I make it this far.

If you have ventilated seats, you’ll need to purchase the correct hvac climate control panel.

Finally, coding is all that’s left to get the memory function to work on both seats.

I hope I’m not leaving anything out. More to come....thanks for reading and any input you can share.

G

Hi there

Sorry to be more clear,

Just need to know which location the 5&6 pins from passenger harness go to R2 connector 6&19 in the rear, I really just need a diagram showing me the location of pins 6 & 19 in the R2 connector.

I have googled the R2 connector to death and have come up with nothing 😔

Help greatly appreciated!!!
Adam

[stocktree]

Originally Posted by Adstarr

Hi there

Sorry to be more clear,

Just need to know which location the 5&6 pins from passenger harness go to R2 connector 6&19 in the rear, I really just need a diagram showing me the location of pins 6 & 19 in the R2 connector.

I have googled the R2 connector to death and have come up with nothing 😔

Help greatly appreciated!!!
Adam

You could try downloading ista? It has TIS.
I just installed it, but can't figure out where wiring diagram are. Otherwise I'd help.