M-Sport Seats Installed

[Aries326]

So I bought a set of M-Sport seats off of a forum member and I have to say they are really comfortable! I love the look too, even though my wife says she can't tell the difference.

My set of original seats are for sale if anyone is interested. They're in mint condition.

[v3.2mc]

very nice!
I want to do this to my e91.

[3002 tii]

Seems like you didn't waste any time putting them in, good job. Looking really good!

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

Seems like you didn't waste any time putting them in, good job. Looking really good!

Not time wasted at all. I think I put them in a day after I got back from my 30 hr trip. Everything works great on them.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by Aries326

Not time wasted at all. I think I put them in a day after I got back from my 30 hr trip. Everything works great on them.

I miss the seats already lol.

[M-Power M3]

I love the Z4 sport seats. Nice upgrade!

[Javizquierdo]

Congrats you have a really nice Z!!

[Aries326]

Thanks. Thing this gets better and better each year with upgrades. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it.

I have a question regarding the passenger side air bag. The passenger air bag light remains on all the time now since I installed the new seats. At first I thought it was because I had turned off the airbag when I would let my son right shotgun. I remember seeing an extra connecter on the passenger seat that had not place to go. Does that have anything to so with why the passenger seat airbag light is still on?

[Huz-Z]

You may have to get it coded by a dealer to get the airbag light to go out. Its a dash light, yes? And not the center console light by the shifter indicating that you have turned off the airbag with the key switch by the passenger door hinge?

I'd get this done pronto - I think any airbag light disables the entire system.

[Aries326]

So, I brought the car to an Indy and he said he can't clear the error out. I remember seeing an extra connector under the passenger seat, is there something else I need to do to get this error to go away? If my airbags don't work because of the seats, I may have to swap them out.

[DerekSelmanRacing]

Not sure what your problem is but fwiw, I had a 2003 with sport seats and bought a 2005 with M-sport seats and had no trouble switching them back and forth as long as I didn't turn on ignition during switch with wiring disconnected---that would trigger instrument cluster dash light.

I recall no addl wire connectors...they were identical and both cars had similar seat options, ie memory, power, heat. This may be your issue. I see you have a 2008, is it possible the seats you bought were from a pre-05 and, if so, could there be a difference?

Don't understand why your indy (assuming they had proper diagnostic equipment) couldn't tell problem/reset?

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by DerekSelmanRacing

Not sure what your problem is but fwiw, I had a 2003 with sport seats and bought a 2005 with M-sport seats and had no trouble switching them back and forth as long as I didn't turn on ignition during switch with wiring disconnected---that would trigger instrument cluster dash light.

I recall no addl wire connectors...they were identical and both cars had similar seat options, ie memory, power, heat. This may be your issue. I see you have a 2008, is it possible the seats you bought were from a pre-05 and, if so, could there be a difference?

Don't understand why your indy (assuming they had proper diagnostic equipment) couldn't tell problem/reset?

I'll have to pull it out again and take some pictures. I was told with the current error, if passenger airbag is on, it'll still deploy, but at full force. The passenger airbag is currently disabled because I just took my son out on it for a spin. The seats were from a 3.0si coupe.

[WestCDA]

If the seats did actually come out of a coupe, you should have the proper occupancy sensor in the passenger seat for your 2008. The earlier roadster years had a different electrical design, and connector.

Sounds like the big problem is that 'extra wire'. There won't be any extras - the passenger side has an additional wire and plug on the back side of the big yellow main connector, for the occupancy sensor - but it shouldn't have been hard to see the matching connector and wiring on the underside of the seat.

I'd double check the seatbelt pre-tensioner, to see if the 'extra' wire is disconnected from that. Ensure the electrical clip is connected to the end of the tensioner, and follow the wire down the side of the seat and underneath to make sure it's plugged into the matching connector on the back side of that yellow main seat harness connection . If that is disconnected, it will definitely trigger the seatbelt warning.

While you are at it, double check to make sure that the seatbelt tensioner(s) are not fired - if they are, the plastic 'accordion' under the buckle socket will be noticeably shorter. Once fired, they have to be replaced or they will also trigger the airbag warning - whether connected or not.

Good luck ...

[3002 tii]

Haven't read the entire thread in detail but my first question would be did your indy shop disconnect the battery prior to swapping the seat? If not that would for sure cause the airbag light.

[Aries326]

Sounds like WestCDA hit it right. For some reason, the passenger side connections were different and I had that "extra connector" unconnected. I'll take the seat out again and give it another look. I'm sure this is fixable.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by WestCDA

If the seats did actually come out of a coupe, you should have the proper occupancy sensor in the passenger seat for your 2008. The earlier roadster years had a different electrical design, and connector.

Sounds like the big problem is that 'extra wire'. There won't be any extras - the passenger side has an additional wire and plug on the back side of the big yellow main connector, for the occupancy sensor - but it shouldn't have been hard to see the matching connector and wiring on the underside of the seat.

I'd double check the seatbelt pre-tensioner, to see if the 'extra' wire is disconnected from that. Ensure the electrical clip is connected to the end of the tensioner, and follow the wire down the side of the seat and underneath to make sure it's plugged into the matching connector on the back side of that yellow main seat harness connection . If that is disconnected, it will definitely trigger the seatbelt warning.

While you are at it, double check to make sure that the seatbelt tensioner(s) are not fired - if they are, the plastic 'accordion' under the buckle socket will be noticeably shorter. Once fired, they have to be replaced or they will also trigger the airbag warning - whether connected or not.

Good luck ...

Definitely not fired because 1) they're my seats and 2) I kept the pretensioners lol

[Aries326]

Ok, so I tried fixing the seat. Unfortunately, the extra connector, I still can't find anything to connect it to. There's one slot left on the bottom of the yellow connector but that's about 6 pins. I inspected the original seat and definitely, it did not have this extra connector. All the connectors are accounted for in the rear of the yellow connector. Here are pics of the extra connector and the back of the yellow connector.

I hope you guys can make sense of it. Thanks for the help.

[3002 tii]

Let's be a little clear, is the problem you suspect that you have an extra slot being unused or an extra connector/wire? If the latter post a picture of the extra wire.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

Let's be a little clear, is the problem you suspect that you have an extra slot being unused or an extra connector/wire? If the latter post a picture of the extra wire.

The extra wire is the one pointed to by son's finger. It's a black female connector for four pins.

The only slot open on the back of the yellow connector is much bigger.

I'll have to check the pre-tensioner but from what I can see the four pin female connector and the larger slot on the yellow connector are the only ones not connected to anything.

[WestCDA]

Difficult to tell from how the photos are lit - it looks like the extra connector might be coming out of the floor wiring harness, but I take it from your description that the extra connector is coming from the seat wiring, and not from the car side harness that emerges from the carpet?

How many wires are on that 4 pin connector, and what color are they? From your photo it ooks like there might be red and brown - is that correct? Are there other wires on it, and if so what color and order are they connected in? Can you trace where the wires go to from that connector - e.g. seat back, seat base, control panel, etc?

I have an M-Sport passenger seat out of the car right now, and it has a 4 pin connector coming from the seat base which is likely the occupancy sensor. There are three wires in it, white, red and brown, the fourth pin is empty. Is that the same as your connector? On my seat, it is connected to a matching four pin connector, the wiring from which then goes into the back of the yellow connector - I'd have to take the cover off the yellow block connector to confirm which pins it is connected to. If you have the same wiring on your 'extra' four pin connector, it sounds like you are missing that intermediate harness wiring from the four pin connector into the yellow block connector.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by WestCDA

Difficult to tell from how the photos are lit - it looks like the extra connector might be coming out of the floor wiring harness, but I take it from your description that the extra connector is coming from the seat wiring, and not from the car side harness that emerges from the carpet?

If so, perhaps the passenger seat has the 'old style' occupancy sensor and wiring. The earlier cars used some type of intermediate electrical box under the seat, which was wired in line with the old style occupancy sensor mat - that might explain the extra connector. Is there a small black electrical box somewhere under that seat, that is not present on the driver side?

Seats were taken from facelift 07 model, same style as OP.

[WestCDA]

Yes, I changed the post after I took a look at a 2006 seat wiring - there is a four pin connector there with 3 pins used, with very light gauge wiring, which I believe might be the occupancy sensor. The wiring isn't heavy enough to be for a seat heater.