How to wire newer BMW seats into non BMW cars so the power functions work
Posted by Squidking1000@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 77 comments
Posted by Squidking1000@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 77 comments
liqwood1@reddit
I know this thread is a bit old now but has anyone had success with this method for any newer BMW seats or even a different manufacturer?
Any luck?
xkronnox@reddit
In the next few days, I'll be wiring this up with some 2019 bmw f30 seats in my 4runner. I'll let you know if it works out!
liqwood1@reddit
For sure I'm hopeful that this method might work. I really want to put some Volvo XC40 seats in an old 84 Toyota Pickup I have but I'm sceptical of this working.
I think you should have better luck. Let me know what happens.
DiegoStorm@reddit
Can’t figure out how to post the video though wanted to thank you. Have E90 M3 seat wired up and working in my 69 Super Bee. Thanks for the tips!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Nice! Love those old super bees.
DiegoStorm@reddit
Thanks! The cost of recovering the original buckets made no sense to me for what I picked the pair of M3 buckets for- can take turns without slamming into a door now once have it going.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Exactly. I sold my old ratty buckets for twice what I paid for new seats! More comfortable, supportive and seat belts, it’s the way to go. I was at a car show yesterday and some guys were asking how to do it so I pointed them to this post.
whatswithhumans@reddit
335i seats memory
Conscious_Annual7253@reddit
What is the yellow line on last pic? Its missing description
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
The yellow and green wires are canbus wires from seat.
hunter-griffin@reddit
I’m trying to do basically the same thing but out of a car. Using a seat from a BMW X3. Not sure on year but seat has 3 memory settings. I’m trying to figure out what the second board is pictured above the square frequency generator. Thanks
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
It’s a 5vdc power supply for the frequency board.
hunter-griffin@reddit
Would you happen to have a link to the one picture above or what you used? Thanks!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Just like this https://www.ebay.ca/itm/403714437758?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110025%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPOSITELISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20220405142716%26meid%3D09bf9761e11743e5aab9120302b48e7f%26pid%3D101506%26rk%3D9%26rkt%3D25%26sd%3D174079454786%26itm%3D403714437758%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4247815%26algv%3DAlgoIndex5SimRanker%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p4247815.c101506.m1851
hunter-griffin@reddit
Thanks!!!
hunter-griffin@reddit
Can anyone explain what the top board is?
pkugrsq@reddit
Possible to get a closer look at the rear seats? I'm about to pick up a set of e90 rear seats for mine 69 goat, but there are so many questions
Great job making it look natural though!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Sure, I just made a post with a description of what I did and some pics. Hope it helps! Love 69 goats!
https://www.reddit.com/r/projectcar/comments/1akti60/e90_rear_seats_in_the_back_of_my_1972_gto/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
pkugrsq@reddit
Sick, appreciate it. Super helpful!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
No problem! Glad to help another Goat!
rensole@reddit
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing dude!! Any chance you have anything similar for ford seats?
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
No sorry! If they do the same thing and have canbus I’d give this a try. Literally can’t hurt!
rensole@reddit
Thanks! And hell if I can fit modern mustang seats in an old mustang… hell it’s worth a shot!
Mobile-Ground-2226@reddit
Does the floor bracing need reinforcement to be able to handle the added load of having the integrated seat belt?
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
In my opinion no, the seat bolts bolted to the same brace the seats did just next to the rear bolts.
Mobile-Ground-2226@reddit
Makes sense. I suppose since mine is a coupe I should try to figure out if the brace is any different for A body convertibles or cars without B pillars.
Obnoxious_Gamer@reddit
I imagine this pisses off certain parts of the BMW crowd quite a lot.
Naturally, I'm all for it.
6inarowmakesitgo@reddit
Actually, no, I thinks it’s awesome. Plus the seats in my E90 are supremely comfortable.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Actually pisses off the muscle car crowd. Apparently your not a real car guy unless everything is exactly as the day it left the factory which is funny as I’m old enough to remember when these cars were new and they were all modified back then.
Doip@reddit
Boomers have gone soft. As a fan of 70s and 80s customs, why does every show look like a used car lot in 1974?
Or maybe the crowds my base model Mustang II and 350 Monza have pulled compared to the other stuff are an anomaly
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Had someone bad mouthing my 18” wheels and modern rubber (as well as seats, fuel injection, modern transmission). I’m like well good thing it’s not your car. Not everyone wants to wallow around on bfg’s at 40mph. I like to drive.
Doip@reddit
Bfgs are rocks which is a shame cause there really isn’t any good 15 tire other than ETSS
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Yeah hence swapping to 18”. I was debating 17” retro wheels from year one (they make a mean honeycomb) but they only have 17x9 and I wanted 10” wide. 18x10 fit the back real well. You can run 295/35/18 with no rubbing.
Obnoxious_Gamer@reddit
Having driven a 1975 Duster, powered by a slant six that made about sixty horse on a good day, I was still sliding all over the damn thing in every turn. Part of the reason my current project came with buckets.
Hey_Allen@reddit
I got slightly luckier in adapting a Porsche seat from a Cayman into an older car without the various databus modules.
A jumper on one databus pair, and a 12v pull-up wire to another terminal, and it works under local control without the car modules talking to it.
That said, good hacking to get the seats working in your project!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Neat! I’ll bug you if that is an option for the next project car!
Possible_Essay_268@reddit
Looks awesome. What bmw are those front seats from?
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
3 series convertible from 2013 (e93). The built in belts of the convertible was what I needed due to lack of “b” pillar for three point belts.
Possible_Essay_268@reddit
Nice! Thanks for responding, they look at home there. That is my situation as well, no b pillar.
ObscureObelisk@reddit
E93. M3 convertible.
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
On your seats, there should be a socket that would accept a plug from the donor car.
Get yourself a wiring diagram and work out which wires are power and earth. Make yourself a fused (I would recommend a relay as well) circuit using the right sized wire for the length it needs to be. That should be all you need.
Just to clarify, I would use a relay so that power isn't supplied all the time, say, only when the key is in the "run" position.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Nope. You can power these and they’ll run for 10s and shut down hence the instructions for canbus emulator.
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
My bad, didnt even see that page. Having a built in ECU does complicate things a bit.
Another way around the ECU, in my opinion, is have a power bus supply each switch individually. The ECU acts as a gate keeper for the power, so we need to bypass the ECU and send power directly to the switches instead. These will then power the motors whenever you use the switches, without the canbus.
I'm assuming you don't intend to use any of the SRS functions?
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
A buck converter will reduce your power down to 5v as per your diagram as it appears the motors use 5v.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
No the motors are 12v. The power supply board is simply because the 555timer board (and canbus) is 5v. If you get or build a timer board for 12v the supply is unnecessary but I wanted to show how I did it. I belated making a board but for $8 from Amazon vs hours of my time, yeah I’m taking $8.
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
Fair enough, I would too. I obviously read the diagram wrong and I did originally think it was odd that the motors needed 5v lol
therezin@reddit
You sure? Looks to me like the seats need 12v for the motors (red and brown) and the 555 is on 5v because it's sitting on the CAN bus.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Nope, this has been working great for 2 years now (this upcoming summer will be 3 years) so no need to change. I posted as someone asked me how I did it, thought I’d share.
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
In any case, thanks for the share. It's always great to see someone retrofitting stuff and making it work.
Puzzleheaded-Big-975@reddit
Ahh ok, fair enough.
FloridaHeat2023@reddit
Those seats look great in your GTO! Been looking for a set for my GTO as well (a 66), as the factory ones are simply dangerous, specially in a crash.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Can’t speak for a 66 but the 72 the front bolt holes for bmw are inline with the stock seats when in the middle of travel just maybe 3” wider so I made a simple flat bar that has factory holes on the inside and studs for the bmw seats on the outside. In the back the bmw seats have two sets of holes one at the end of the rail and one maybe 3” in, you can cut the extra 3” off and make very short little brackets from factory holes to the bmw seats so end of the day they bolt to factory holes. Since all A bodies take the same floor should work for all of them, hopefully first gen a bodies are the same!
FloridaHeat2023@reddit
Fantastic - thank you! Sounds like they'll go right in without much issue with, and a bit of fabrication, which was expected. Looking forward to the upgrade.
Really love the integrated shoulder harness as well those BMW seats have, especially on a convertible. That alone is a huge safety upgrade.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Yep, that’s why I did it. Three point belts without straps hanging from the roof. Good luck! Wish I had your weather, just got back from Tampa last night to 3c here (like 40f).
Moynia@reddit
Classic BMW making the damn seat controls CANBUS....
FesteringNeonDistrac@reddit
Sort of makes sense for memory seating positions. CANBUS is nice for control and auto.ation for OEMs, it just sucks for us project car peeps.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Yeah, the memory positions is the one thing that doesn’t work (along with heat). Pretty sure I could get the heat to work if I really wanted to.
FesteringNeonDistrac@reddit
My wife has heated seats in her car, and they're pretty nice. If nothing else I use it as a carryout food warmer on the ride home.
KidWithA260z@reddit
Based as hell ty
Good_With_Tools@reddit
When I first started to WFH, I built my office chair out of a BMW 745i seat and an old gaming chair base. I traced all the motor and fan wires, and hooked it all up to a drill battery. It was fully functional. I just got too fat to sit in it all day. Too much bolster support for an office chair.
cuntyminx@reddit
Get just get e46 or older seats, much easier just 12v and ground for all adjustments and lumbar/heat
siresword@reddit
That works too, but those cars are getting up there in age and arnt showing up in wrecking yards as much anymore, so its kinda a take what you can get situation.
cuntyminx@reddit
True, but plenty of nice ones out there. BMW made a shit load of E83/E46/E53 seats in cars that are getting axed every day
grilledstuffed@reddit
This is such a great post. I'm saving it for the future. Thanks so much!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
No problem!
devilpants@reddit
That's cool and interesting that all the CANBUS needs is a 1KHz signal to trick it to work. Kind of like how you can trick the VATS when doing an LS1 swap using a 50Hz signal.
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Yeah someone on protouring site said “1 kHz signal should fool it” and I’m like, yeah I can do that. The option of just having a switch and only powering when you want to move (and having to move before the 10s was up) didn’t sound good to me.
penguinsgestapo@reddit
How did you handle the seat rails?
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
the front bolt holes for bmw are inline with the stock seat holes when in the middle of travel just maybe 3” wider so I made a simple flat bar that has factory holes on the inside and studs for the bmw seats on the outside. In the back the bmw seats have two sets of holes one at the end of the rail and one maybe 3” in, you can cut the extra 3” off and make very short little brackets from factory holes to the bmw seats so end of the day they bolt to factory holes. Since all A bodies take the same floor should work for all of them, hopefully first gen a bodies are the same!
Dasbymas1@reddit
This exactly the info I needed for my project. Thanks for posting, OP!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
No problem good luck!
Elk_Man@reddit
Bucket seats were one of the best things I did to my El Camino so far. The bench has a great classic vibe, but for actually driving the car buckets that actually hold you in place make it feel like it handles so much better. Really cool that those have the built in shoulder strap, bust be a boon for postless cars!
Squidking1000@reddit (OP)
Yeah, they are awesome in my GTO and my buddies putting a set of the baseball mitt color ones in his 69 firebird. You can get them cheap and with the mod you get power, the air lumbar and everything! Makes cruising so nice! I actually put E90 rear seats in too and that was also pretty easy. The buckles bolt to the factory holes and line up perfect!
foolingnobody321@reddit
Thank you for posting!
IronGigant@reddit
Nice, this will help me with my Land Cruiser/X5 project.
Mobile-Ground-2226@reddit
Thank you, trying to pick seats for my '69 GTO and this is a big help!
mickwil@reddit
Awesome. Thanks for this. I have no project except my daily driver, but it's still sweet to see such a cool solution.