Heated seats and Dome light

NewToZ4

Member
Hey all!
I've got quite the question for you all. I've had this z4 (2004) for almost a year, and have never seen the dome lights or heated seats work. My vehicle has no footwell lights, so I have whichever technical package that indicates. Now, this vehicle sat outside for almost a year prior to belonging to me, so there have been animals cleaned out etc. I'm trying to ask a couple things with this post
1) Is there anywhere that these wires are close and/or an animal in the vehicle could have chewed them, and is there a diagram that anybody has that could indicate that path the wires take so that I can check the continuity and test if there is voltage going through them?
2) Is this something that possibly was just programmed out of the vehicles computer? I know that the "lights-on-lock" are something that needs to be programmed (despite my father, who works in everything but foreign since im from the US, who doesn't believe that in the slightest :wink:), and was wondering to what extent that would be possible?

SOME DETAILS
My heated seats are definitely getting power, and when I press the button, the light sort of goes on for half a second and then shuts off. Additionally, I have checked plugs and fuses for both the Heated Seats and Dome light, and all the above seem fine. The bulbs from the dome lights are intact, yet something was recently chewed up in my glove box, and therefore, since the wire for the dome light runs down that A-Pillar, the animal could have just as easily chewed that up as well :headbang:

Any help would GREATLY be appreciated, Thank you!

EDIT: I have figured out the the plug for the done light was faulty, and the lights would work if the wires were pushed at an angle into the light, so I found a replacement. the lights look great!
 
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
 
Do you have the basic courtesy 'dome' light, or the set up with the two map reading lights as well?
If the latter then it's unlikely to be all the bulbs gone, and you should be definitely looking at a wiring issue feeding the unit.
I have a 2.2 which had no footwell lights. As Stuart says, the looms are tucked in behind the panels. Same connections as the boot (trunk) light so you can fit that in to see if they work.
I got a pair of LED units from Ebay and they plugged straight in. The cut-outs should already be in the lower panels to fit them in.
Mine had the single courtesy light and I found the upgraded one is a straight swap, so you may have an option to upgrade if you don't already have this?
 
bigwinn said:
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
Great to know I'm not the only one with the problem. Anyways, I have looked at the connectors on the bottom and have previously taken the battery out, reconnected and made sure everything was secure, and plugged back in the battery, to no avail. Now for the second part of what you said, yes I have the loom for the footwell lights, according to a gentleman in a different post of mine inquiring about the footwell light wire. Yet, I don't have the package that actually has the lights, and furthermore the footwell light plug and the dome light plug are not the same unfortunately, but yes I could technically plug in a light to the footwell plug. I will be checking with a multimeter for both the seat and dome light later today.

Also, which plug under the heat is the specific heated seat plug? I will be going to check on it later, and if I know which one I can see if the pins are alright, and should be down to the bottom of the problem.
 
enuff_zed said:
Do you have the basic courtesy 'dome' light, or the set up with the two map reading lights as well?
If the latter then it's unlikely to be all the bulbs gone, and you should be definitely looking at a wiring issue feeding the unit.
I have a 2.2 which had no footwell lights. As Stuart says, the looms are tucked in behind the panels. Same connections as the boot (trunk) light so you can fit that in to see if they work.
I got a pair of LED units from Ebay and they plugged straight in. The cut-outs should already be in the lower panels to fit them in.
Mine had the single courtesy light and I found the upgraded one is a straight swap, so you may have an option to upgrade if you don't already have this?
I have the basic dome light package. My vehicle has the harness for the additional lights, for example I have a footwell plug but unfortunately, no footwell lights (unless the previous owner snatched 'em :lol:) My question was more on the ceiling light, and how both bulbs are fine, and connections seem good, but the lights aren't working. Is the wiring solely down the A-Pillar and to the fuse box, or what exactly? I will be taking apart the center console and dash to clear the animal excrement out, and I should be able to check the wire when I get the confidence to undergo such a project!
 
NewToZ4 said:
bigwinn said:
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
Great to know I'm not the only one with the problem. Anyways, I have looked at the connectors on the bottom and have previously taken the battery out, reconnected and made sure everything was secure, and plugged back in the battery, to no avail. Now for the second part of what you said, yes I have the loom for the footwell lights, according to a gentleman in a different post of mine inquiring about the footwell light wire. Yet, I don't have the package that actually has the lights, and furthermore the footwell light plug and the dome light plug are not the same unfortunately, but yes I could technically plug in a light to the footwell plug. I will be checking with a multimeter for both the seat and dome light later today.

Also, which plug under the heat is the specific heated seat plug? I will be going to check on it later, and if I know which one I can see if the pins are alright, and should be down to the bottom of the problem.

I’ll pop out to the garage and take a pic I’ve got one out at the moment

Think it’s green/brown
 
It’s one of these I can’t recall which

I think it’s the blue plug but someone will confirm
1A08E60E-D26C-4087-B55B-8F3B231412B6.jpeg
 
bigwinn said:
It’s one of these I can’t recall which

I think it’s the blue plug but someone will confirm
1A08E60E-D26C-4087-B55B-8F3B231412B6.jpeg
Thank you mate! Big help and hopefully this will help solve the problem :thumbsup:
 
NewToZ4 said:
I have the basic dome light package.

Well I doubt it'll be a fault in the actual unit, but if you could find a cheap one of the upgraded versions you could slot it in to check.
When you do, more than likely, find the chewed wires though, you'll still have the fancier lights up there. :thumbsup:
 
enuff_zed said:
NewToZ4 said:
I have the basic dome light package.

Well I doubt it'll be a fault in the actual unit, but if you could find a cheap one of the upgraded versions you could slot it in to check.
When you do, more than likely, find the chewed wires though, you'll still have the fancier lights up there. :thumbsup:
Well, I looked at the wires, and based on how they route downwards and away from the spot of the mouse nest (car smells so much better with the lack of mouse houses) and that all the wires are untouched, I don't think its a chewed wire. Additionally, If he bit the wire, wouldn't it blow the fuse? There was no blown fuse, and if he bit the wire that would be for one seat or the other, theres no way they would both be gone from a single bitten wire yet they are. Are they any other suggestions you can offer? (Kinda wish it was as easy as a wire though, its cold out :thumbsdown: )
 
bigwinn said:
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
HEY! I know its late, but i do have a question about the clip you mentioned. I have checked the two pin clip and that was nice and snug, but are there other plugs I should be checking? I think that theres usually extra wires that come off of that and I figured I would try and ask and recheck. Thanks!
 
NewToZ4 said:
bigwinn said:
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
HEY! I know its late, but i do have a question about the clip you mentioned. I have checked the two pin clip and that was nice and snug, but are there other plugs I should be checking? I think that theres usually extra wires that come off of that and I figured I would try and ask and recheck. Thanks!

Nope- doubtful

The rest of the clips are in the yellow main seat connector and it’s unlikely they will come loose-
 
bigwinn said:
NewToZ4 said:
bigwinn said:
Hi mate

The flash you describe on the heated seat switch is saying there is power to the switch but there is a drop in circuit elsewhere

Have you looked under the seat at the connectors first- don’t take the seats out just raise them up for a look see? I just had a seat doing the same as yours and the plug had come out because of the seat movement

Your lights one- the loom is present for footwell lights and all the lights are the same, so you could pop the passenger footwell tray out, plug a light in and see if it works?

Then I’d be prising the dome lights out to get a multimeter into the loom to see if there is an issue there

Make sense?
HEY! I know its late, but i do have a question about the clip you mentioned. I have checked the two pin clip and that was nice and snug, but are there other plugs I should be checking? I think that theres usually extra wires that come off of that and I figured I would try and ask and recheck. Thanks!

Nope- doubtful

The rest of the clips are in the yellow main seat connector and it’s unlikely they will come loose-
hmm. Thats unfortunate, the two pin connector seems all good. Anyways thanks for the response! I am quite lost on what to do next :headbang:
 
Is this just one seat with the issue or both?

There is another thread going with the same issue on here
 
bigwinn said:
Is this just one seat with the issue or both?

There is another thread going with the same issue on here
Both, Which I had figured was pretty odd. Do you have the name or title of the person/post? That would be immensely appreciated (I tried to use the keyword search, and only found my own posts :fuelfire: )
EDIT: And with that super helpful picture you sent, I noticed that you have two clips, and ones blue, however in my vehicle they only have the black plug from the picture. Am i missing something or was it the Black clip that controls the heat? (2004)
 
I’m so sorry mate- it’s your thread

Ignore me!

I don’t think you are missing any clips-
 
bigwinn said:
I’m so sorry mate- it’s your thread

Ignore me!

I don’t think you are missing any clips-
No problems at all! And thank you much, hopefully I can get to the bottom of this eventually
 
As I'm never afraid to ask the stoopid questions, here goes!

Are they the original seats? Not been swapped out at some point for non-heated ones?
 
enuff_zed said:
As I'm never afraid to ask the stoopid questions, here goes!

Are they the original seats? Not been swapped out at some point for non-heated ones?
Honestly, I don't think thats a stupid question at all and I'm super glad you asked. Unfortunately, i don't have a good answer for you. To be honest, I don't know. I believe they are, but is there any way I could check that, i.e. comparing SN's or different codes?
 
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