Z4 2011 E89 seats swap

[[email protected]]

Hi,
I purchased used memory seats to replace my "sport" manual seats. After removing the original seats, I installed the seatbelt sensor into the yellow connector and plugged the connector. The lumbar support is activated, but the forward-backward, tights, and tilt are not working. Where do I start to troubleshoot?

1) How to establish that the used seat I purchased is working? Is there a wire diagram available to allow me plugging 12v to test the seat outside the car?
2) Any issues with the "sport" harness? I read in another post that the harness should be a plug and play.

This is a good start for the post. I returned the manual original seats, so I can drive the car, but I would love to enable memory seats replacement.

Thank you,

 

[Zed Baron]

If you were replacing manual SE seats to manual Sport seats (they need to be like for like - heated SE to heated Sports) it wouldn't be a problem, they are just a straight swap and the powered lumbar support will work without further adaptation. Yes, you can fit power seats but they are not a straight swap and some electrical wizardry is required, I'm sure Anubis Zed (he is one of those wizards) will be along at some point soon to point you in the right direction.

 

[[email protected]]

Hey Zed,

Thanks for your comments! I’ve got some more info about the swap.

The original seats are from 2011 and they’ve got heated seats. The controls are manual, though.

The modified “new” seats are from 2014 and they’re heated too. They’ve got electric controls (forward/back, height up/down, tilt, and lumbar support) as well.

I tried swapping the driver’s seat with the “new” seat. The “new” seat has the same yellow plug that’s connected to a control white box. But my “new” seat didn’t come with a seatbelt, so I swapped the seatbelt and added the connector (it looks like an L shape) into the yellow plug. I then connected the yellow plug. (BTW, all the connections are done while the battery is disconnected.)

Here’s what happened:

- Forward/backward control - Nope, not working.
- Seat tilt control - Nope, not working.
- Seat height control - Nope, not working.
- Lumbar support - Yes, it’s working!

I hope these extra details help you understand the swap and the issue. I’ll upload pictures tomorrow when I have a chance to work on the car.

Thanks!

 

[TriggerFish]

Welcome!

This was about 6 threads down from yours - should have all the answers

https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=152019

 

[B21]

Hey Zed,

Thanks for your comments! I’ve got some more info about the swap.

The original seats are from 2011 and they’ve got heated seats. The controls are manual, though.

The modified “new” seats are from 2014 and they’re heated too. They’ve got electric controls (forward/back, height up/down, tilt, and lumbar support) as well.

I tried swapping the driver’s seat with the “new” seat. The “new” seat has the same yellow plug that’s connected to a control white box. But my “new” seat didn’t come with a seatbelt, so I swapped the seatbelt and added the connector (it looks like an L shape) into the yellow plug. I then connected the yellow plug. (BTW, all the connections are done while the battery is disconnected.)

Here’s what happened:

- Forward/backward control - Nope, not working.
- Seat tilt control - Nope, not working.
- Seat height control - Nope, not working.
- Lumbar support - Yes, it’s working!

I hope these extra details help you understand the swap and the issue. I’ll upload pictures tomorrow when I have a chance to work on the car.

Thanks!

Needs a few pins and quite a bit of work to get these babies working ..good luck..

 

[Zed Baron]

Yep, look through the thread that TriggerFish mentions, clarker63, I think he was the first to successfully do this (think Argyll Andy had this car next?): https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=92671

I changed my heated manual SE seats to the manual heated Sports seats without any issue in my old E89, the seats never really get adjusted enough to justify full electric ones IMO. I have electric seats in my G29 and I hardly adjust them at all.