[czrny]

Hi guys,

I have regular electric seats with memory (LHD) - no heating.
I want to retrofit electric sport seats (RHD)- no heating, no lumbar, bolster only, no memory.

I know I'll need to switch occupancy mat or code it out. Other than that is it plug and play?

- will bolster support adjustment work after retrofit?
- is it possible to just switch memory module from LHD seat to RHD seat - I can live without memory but it would be nice to have it.

[ptpending]

you can move seat cover and backrest with cover and will best of both
during that you also migrate seat cover from left to right

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

you can move seat cover and backrest with cover and will best of both
during that you also migrate seat cover from left to right

You mean I can use my LHD seats as a base and move all the sport bits (leg supports, backrest) from RHD seats?
Thanks but it looks like very complex job. Is there any guide for this i could use?

[ptpending]

Originally Posted by czrny

You mean I can use my LHD seats as a base and move all the sport bits (leg supports, backrest) from RHD seats?
Thanks but it looks like very complex job. Is there any guide for this i could use?

that may be look bit complex for newbie in bmw retrofits, but for experienced bmw mechanic/elecric this is no big deal
there are a lot of threads here about seat rebuilding

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

that may be look bit complex for newbie in bmw retrofits, but for experienced bmw mechanic/elecric this is no big deal
there are a lot of threads here about seat rebuilding

Yeah I'm total newbie in this. Did some digging and maybe it's doable for me - will have to physically compare the seats when i have them.

Moving only memory panel from lhd to rhd seat won't work?

Looks like I'll still need to provide 12v+ for bolsters after swap.

[ptpending]

the move of the panel would work if both seats were with memory
your sport seats are so called half-electric
you may take picture from under side and will see that there is no module at all
bolster can be powered from module wiring or can be run separately to fusebox

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

the move of the panel would work if both seats were with memory
your sport seats are so called half-electric
you may take picture from under side and will see that there is no module at all
bolster can be powered from module wiring or can be run separately to fusebox

Took some comparison pictures - yeah, new seats have no module underneath.
New seats also have different rails and are missing side seat adjustment buttons (back/fwd).

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

the move of the panel would work if both seats were with memory
your sport seats are so called half-electric
you may take picture from under side and will see that there is no module at all
bolster can be powered from module wiring or can be run separately to fusebox

OK, I think I've got you:

- whole LHD frame / rail stays since I have electric tilt in mine which is manual in half-electric RHD seats that I bought

- I transfer seat cushions from RHD to LHD remembering about switching occupancy mat

- I transfer whole thigh support assemblies from RHD to LHD

- I transfer backrests from RHD to LHD, if possible I leave buttons for back-forward adjustment

- I provide 12v for bolster adjustment

Edit:
- I transfer button/panel with bolster adjustment also
Done.

Makes any sense?

[ptpending]

Originally Posted by czrny

OK, I think I've got you:

- whole LHD frame / rail stays since I have electric tilt in mine which is manual in half-electric RHD seats that I bought

- I transfer seat cushions from RHD to LHD remembering about switching occupancy mat

- I transfer whole thigh support assemblies from RHD to LHD

- I transfer backrests from RHD to LHD, if possible I leave buttons for back-forward adjustment

- I provide 12v for bolster adjustment

Done.

Makes any sense?

correct

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

correct

Thanks man, I appreciate it. You can make science degree with this stuff

[ptpending]

Originally Posted by czrny

Thanks man, I appreciate it. You can make science degree with this stuff

this will be though job, get a heat gun and warm rear side plastics
otherwise you break the latches, same with thig support plastics and upper backrest plastics with switches
you lucky that you have 2 kits of them
train on your old seats
for example i have one of mine broken and nobody will sell it separate and bmw already discontiniued(very rare color, gray beige) and even if it was available its price 50-100eur for 1 pcs

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

this will be though job, get a heat gun and warm rear side plastics
otherwise you break the latches, same with thig support plastics and upper backrest plastics with switches
you lucky that you have 2 kits of them
train on your old seats
for example i have one of mine broken and nobody will sell it separate and bmw already discontiniued(very rare color, gray beige) and even if it was available its price 50-100eur for 1 pcs

Oh man, I hope this job is worth it. Spent good 6hr on this - 4,5hrs on first seat, 1,5hrs on second and I did read manuals and watched videos. I'd say I'm 1/3 of job completion ...

Side seat panels were absolute nightmare, but managed to get them off without damage. I had to figure out howto remove thigh supports which took time. Rear panel pins are thrashed - need to order new ones, and unfortunately quarter panel plastic piece did not survive - either it was like this or I broke it while moving first chair.

Didn't have strength for upper backrest plastics, still need to figure that out, thanks for the warning.

Other than that so far so good.

[czrny]

ptpending so it's down to wiring. Took apart old harness and got bolsters wiring.

Is there neater way to do this than just soldering 12v+ and ground to wires in my connector?

I've checked and my car does not have extra 12v+ and ground pins unfortunately.

[ptpending]

you can join them to module supply wires, or run wiring to the fusebox in passenger footwell

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

you can join them to module supply wires, or run wiring to the fusebox in passenger footwell

Joined them in the plug, working good so far.
Build one seat, lots of work but tried the seat and it was 100% worth it.

Thanks for the tip - throwing away seats/frames with memory would be plain stupid. Also they weight like 1/2 of those half-electric.

[ptpending]

you can also sell half-electric frames to the people who want to get basic electric adjustments as well )

[czrny]

Originally Posted by ptpending

you can also sell half-electric frames to the people who want to get basic electric adjustments as well )

Yeah, I'm rebuilding half-electric frames with my leathers, they're still quite nice.

The only issue is I've had to split old harnesses and from what I see they're major pain to find.

With my soldering skills I would rather prefer installing original cabling before selling the seats

[czrny]

ptpending Done. Took 5 days of playing around but everything works and no errors on the dash. 100% worth it.
Once again, many thanks and greetings from PL.