DIY on the Notorious Seat Switch

[big mike 84]

nice

[Mike321]

I took out my non-working seat switch to get ready for the new one coming and tried to drive somewhere but now my car wouldn't start. I tried plugging it back in, still won't start. Disconnected the negative terminal for a few minutes, still won't start. What did I DO!? Does anyone have any ideas? I hope someone is awake because I have to go somewhere haha.

[arifkhan]

I am following up on this old thread. I did what this DYI told how to remove the lower seat switch cover.

How do I know what/where is the problem, if:
1. Steering and driver seat adjustment switches are NOT working
2. Fuse F15 and F16 are fine - the fuse from passenger side (works) swapped also did not make driver side work (passgr' side seat works.)
3. driver seat lower switch cover is broken near seat belt/hanging but all three harnesses and their switches seem to be unharmed visually
How do I check what is broken? Why would the entire system be not working? Does the (large black brick) switch control both steering and seat adjustment?
Thanks.

[gmak]

Resurrect this thread to say that I just replaced the plastic pieces. Pretty straight forward if you listen to what Q has to say at the beginning of this thread. I would just add that

1. Get the back plastic rivet out by bringing the seat back forward; looking underneath from the back seat, on your back or side; pulling the seat leather to expose the rivet; and popping it out by going under the plastic moulding - not just the rivet.

2. To re-install- Hook up the seat controls and put the levers / buttons back on to protect all those posts. Move the seat as far forward as possible and raise the seat back so that it is actually inclined forward in order to expose the lower rear of the seat. Tilt the seat forward as far as possible to make access in the rear easier.
2.1 Put the middle plastic rivet in place on the the plastic moulding (seat cover). Don't pop it in the seat just yet.
2.2 Put the plastic cover more or less in place; go to the back seat on your side or back, pull the leather out of the way and line up the rivet hole with the hole in the seat and pop it in.
2.3 Reach under the seat and pop the middle rivet in place. Move the seat back to reclining; raise the front of the seat and move the seat as far back as possible.
2.4 Line up the front rivet hole and push it in.
2.5 Do the rear screw by pulling on the leather to expose the hole in the plastic cover and line it up with the hole in the seat;
2.6 With the seat in its current position you should be able to easily see where the front screw hole lines up - you will need to push the plastic cover a bit to make sure it stays in place; and put the score in.

Done. and done. When the plastic cover is off, you might want to take the opportunity to clean the plastic cover on the seat rail, which is now accessible.

[dwo215]

Looks like I'm only two days late to the resurrection of this thread, so that's encouraging. Question for y'all. I've got a '98 e39. I found this part on eBay. It came off a 2000 740i. Do any of you know if it will work? It looks like the part number is a little different. The part that's underlined on mine is "4910 01" and in the post it looks like "4910 02."

[Raincitydj]

I 2ND THAT..
BUT FIRST, I NEED TO GET THE ??? WHATEVER U CALL THEM? Sorry, IN ADVANCE GUYS! BUT THE AERO-DYNAMIC PLASTIC BRA THINGS? OR PASSAGE WAYS, FOR THE AIR FROM THE GRILL, & UP INTO THE AIR BOX & COLD AIR INTAKE? IT'S POSITIONED INSIDE THE WHEEL WELL? WELL I NEED TO PUT THEM BACK TOGETHER, IN THE CORRECT FASHION.. & THEN, RE-CONFIGURE, OR RE=CONNECT, ALL THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS I TOOK OFF DOING MY 1997 BMW 528 VALVE COVER, AND COOLING SYSTEM, & SERPENTINE, PLUS AC BELTS, OIL FILTER HOUSING GASKET REPLACEMENT, THERMOSTAT & THERMOSTAT HOUSING REPLACEMENT! NEW SPARK PLUGS INSTALLED, AS WELL AS 6NEW BOSCH COILS, & A BELT TENSIONER REPLACEMENT, I BROKE IN THE LEARNING PROCESS! HA, AS WELL AS A BEHR FAN CLUTCH, & RADIATOR EXPANSION NEW REPLACEMENT... TWO DIFFERENT POWER STEERING PRESSURE HOSES, & NEW FUEL, & OIL FILTER REPLACEMENT! IT PRETTY MUCH STARTED OFF AS SOME WHAT OF A COOLING SYSTEM, OR OVER HEATING AGAIN PREVENTATIVE OVER HAUL? BUT IT SOON ENDED UP AS A ENGINE++ALL AROUND PROJECT... THAT I STARTED OFF VERY FRUSTRATED ABOUT? AND AFTER JUST BUYING TH DAMN CAR, & BREAKING DOWN!!! WITH THIS ASSHOLE MECHANIC SAYING IT WAS THROWING TO MANY CODES & IT'S GONNA BE NEAR THE 4000$ MARK TO FIX,,, THAT I HAD JUST PAID FOR THE CAR!? & FINDING NO NEW PARTS REALLY ANYWHERE, JUST NEW PROBLEMS.. WHILE NOT KNOWING HOW TO REALLY WORK ON CARS AT ALL.. BUT THANKS TO THESE COUPLE FORUMS, & YOU GUYS, ++ MY BENTLEY PUBLISHERS BOOK, & STARTING WITH THE CADILLAC CONVERTER, & 2 PRE O2 SENSORS ALONG WITH THE VALVE COVER & VALVE COVER GASKET HELL I WENT THRU! NOT TO MENTION THE $ I HAD SPENT ON ALL OF THIS! I WAS PISSED OFF TO SAY THE LEAST.. BUT I HAD TO LEARN HOW TO WORK ON MY FAVORITE CAR SOME DAY, & SOMEHOW? PLUS, I'VE NEVER BEEN A QUITTER, OR THE TYPE TO SAY, NO THAT'S TO MUCH WORK.. OR TO MUCH OF A HASSLE TO GO THRU! I TAUGHT MYSELF HOW TO BECOME KINDA A TRUE BMW 5 SERIES DIYER MECHANIC AFTER ALL.. & I DON'T REGRET A THING! BUT I WOULD LIKE TO TURN THE KEY, & GET THESE LAST THINGS FIXED/or PUT BACK TOGETHER SO I CAN FINALLY PULL HER OUT OF THIS DAMN GARAGE & SAY ALL THAT WORK WAS WORTH SOMETHING TO MY GIRL & FAMILY! NOT SAYING I'M BURNT OUT BUT I JUST CAN'T REMEMBER THE ORDER OF THESE PLASTIC PIECES & ALL THOSE ELECTRICAL PLUGS OR CONNECTORS, & SENSORS I HAD UNPLUGGED ALL OVER, & AROUND THIS M52 L6 ENGINE? I DON'T WANT TO CONNECT THEM TO THE WRONG PLACES? & HOPEFULLY EVERYTHING ELSE IS OK! I KNOW, I WAS A LITTLE OVER MY HEAD.. BUT I AM DETERMINED TO GET IT ALL FINISHED & TOGETHER! BUT I JUST WISHED IT WAS ALL DONE NOW! OR MAYBE A LITTLE SOONER, THEN IT HAS ALREADY BEEN.. & I WAS FRIGHTENED, AS WELL AS EMBARRASSED... TO ASK FOR HELP, OR ANYONE ON THESE FORUMS.. FOR ANYTHING REALLY? OR MAYBE SOME IDEAS, DIAGRAMS, & OR PICS OR SOMETHING? THANKS ANYTHING OR HELP IS APPRECIATED MINUS THE LAUGHING OR SHIT TALKING PLEASE...

[FiveOneFive]

I know this is resurrecting an old thread but I wondered if anyone could help me out.

Basically I have the same problem as listed, however doing the fixes hasn't helped.

I took off the outside black plastic piece and just had the "White skeleton" housing connected to the seat control, even that only worked intermittently, it seems a though the crimps are so worn they no longer "clamp" properly onto the header pins.

I tried all sorts of glue etc.. the only way I could get the seat control to work was by having both thumbs on either end of the white skeleton and really clamping down onto it.

I have decided to recrimp all the wires, the problem is that I took all the wires out before taking a photo.

.Does anyone have an E39 wiring diagram for the wires - seat control OR two good photos front and back of the skelton housing? I will let you know how I get on and post some photos

[FiveOneFive]

Well I found the wiring guide here:
http://iho-bmw.s3-website-us-west-2....ws.com/e39new/

Search:
Driver's Active Seat

I notice on a few of the pins more than one wire connects to it, do you just "piggyback" the second wire off the header pin?

Any help would be really appreciated.