[knappy75]

For those of you working on this retrofit, I can help with some information if anyone needs it. Hopefully I am not duplicating information someone has already posted. Feel free to PM me, as I haven't been on a lot lately.

There are essentially 3 parts to the retrofit: 1. surround bezel for the switches (I have the part# and will post later-my dealer had told me there was only one part# for this bezel, and I may have to cut/dremel the hole where the switches go?? Not true.), 2. switch set, and 3. retrofit kit.

For those of you considering purchasing the retrofit kit, let me warn you, it is not designed for a US spec car. (Duh, since you can only get it in Germany huh?) I have had my car at the dealership for nearly 3 weeks. The person or company you purchase from will need to know if you have Nav, sport, and power/memory seats. Very important! I had an issue with the modules, and was shipped modules for non-power seats, and I have power/memory. This took some time to get those parts correct.

You will need a different, larger black module for the driver side ($384 separately). The module for the passenger side looks to be the same. Both wiring harnesses then run to the JBE (?) or fuse box behind the glove box. There are 4 wires on each harness. One on each are ground wires, and connect to bolts. The other 3 are K-Can low, K-Can high, and power.

Here's the catch. The instructions in the PDF show a different fuse box, and different connections than was what was on my car. My Service Director and I sat down for about 45 minutes and figured out where each connection needed to be. This kit is NOT plug n play. It looks that they had to splice into the Can connections, but didn't look to be a problem.

***I had previously read and assumed that the coding could not be done in the states. My dealer did submit a request for the heated seat coding, and I was told today, WAS able to program the kit. I was told that instead of letting BMW know they were doing a retrofit, they simply asked for the coding, without a detailed explanation.

My dealer should be done with the install in the next day, two max. I will put any other pertinent info I can get, on the forum. Yes, I know I have rambled. I have refrained from posting additional information until I knew for sure. Hopefully this information will help someone.

PS-Patrys, if the coding is done correctly and works locally, I will e-mail you and let you know. I really appreciate your promptness and willing to work with me!

Eric

[adam246]

reading this with great interest...

i have sourced the heated switch that connects to climate control, fascia and heated seats... so what else do i need for my E90?

thanks in advance

[adam246]

basic question...

will i need to change the harness that runs under the seats across the engine bay and to the fuse box for the drivers and passengers side???

essentially there is at least 12 variety of seats:
- non zsp manual, non zsp manual heated, non zsp electric, non zsp electric and heated, non zsp electric with memory, non zsp electric and heated with memory
- sport manual, sport manual heated, sports electric, sport electric and heated, sport electric with memory sport, electric and heated with memory

so im VERY surprised BMW would have at least 12 different harnesses fitted to the E9X range.

i would have thought ONE harnesses would have all the functions, .i.e heat, power, etc? and the difference being the seat modules which would determine what feature u can access after coding????

[hdrewh]

Originally Posted by adam246

basic question...

will i need to change the harness that runs under the seats across the engine bay and to the fuse box for the drivers and passengers side???

essentially there is at least 12 variety of seats:
- non zsp manual, non zsp manual heated, non zsp electric, non zsp electric and heated, non zsp electric with memory, non zsp electric and heated with memory
- sport manual, sport manual heated, sports electric, sport electric and heated, sport electric with memory sport, electric and heated with memory

so im VERY surprised BMW would have at least 12 different harnesses fitted to the E9X range.

i would have thought ONE harnesses would have all the functions, .i.e heat, power, etc? and the difference being the seat modules which would determine what feature u can access after coding????

Agree with the variety of harnesses, doubting there would be so many different flavors, especially one that only differs in heated functionality.

In my situation, *everything* works perfectly except the passenger side heat. Module-wise, my new seats came from an '09 E90, same as mine, only difference is my car is a 328, seats I have came from a 335. I can't imagine the modules would differ in any way that would affect the heat function. I'm still hoping it's either a computer-related issue and still willing to pay an experienced BMW electronics guy for his time to diagnose and solve, if I can find one.

[adam246]

Originally Posted by hdrewh

Agree with the variety of harnesses, doubting there would be so many different flavors, especially one that only differs in heated functionality.

In my situation, *everything* works perfectly except the passenger side heat. Module-wise, my new seats came from an '09 E90, same as mine, only difference is my car is a 328, seats I have came from a 335. I can't imagine the modules would differ in any way that would affect the heat function. I'm still hoping it's either a computer-related issue and still willing to pay an experienced BMW electronics guy for his time to diagnose and solve, if I can find one.

any bmw tech out there that can confirm how many harness bmw uses?

[woodpecka]

Have you look at the BMW TIS? The CDs can be downloaded on internet and they contain a lot of precious information on the car harness.

I'm moving from non ZSP, non powered and heated seats to ZSP, powered and heated seats so I'm doing my research. It looks like that each setup are different (i.e. powered vs non powered)

[adam246]

Originally Posted by woodpecka

Have you look at the BMW TIS? The CDs can be downloaded on internet and they contain a lot of precious information on the car harness.

I'm moving from non ZSP, non powered and heated seats to ZSP, powered and heated seats so I'm doing my research. It looks like that each setup are different (i.e. powered vs non powered)

let us know how you get on?

anyone got a link to this bmw tis?

[hdrewh]

Originally Posted by adam246

let u skno how u get on?

anyone got a link to this bmw tis??

http://www.bmwtis.com/

[woodpecka]

Originally Posted by adam246

let u skno how u get on?

anyone got a link to this bmw tis??

You can also download the 2GB file on the torrent web sites.

[govtec]

Originally Posted by hdrewh

Interesting update for my own personal situation. My car does not have the heated seat option but I had replaced my seats with heated sport seats (both old and new seats are premium) a few months back.

Taking this one step at a time, I picked up these Heated Seat Buttons.

I replaced my button panel which at the moment only contained the PDC button, with the one above, including putting my PDC button back in the same spot its in now (2nd from the left). Results...

Drivers side heated seats...WORK! No VO coding, nothing else, they just plain work.

Passenger side heated seats - do not work, not even the little lights above the button.

PDC still works, no problem.

So, my car appears to have the proper wiring for heated seats, at least for the drivers side. I have no idea why drivers side works and passenger side doesn't but my next step will be to contact Patry's who I understand is the man for this stuff, to have him add the heated seat VO (494?), and hope that addresses the passenger side. If that works, I'm good. If it doesn't, I'm not sure what else to try except the whole Euro retrofit kit but that seems like extreme overkill for what I already appear to have installed.

Howard

How can I confirm if I have the same luck as you? My car is 06 325xi with zsp, premium, seat memory. I don't have the cold weather package nor have I ever done a seat swap.

I've read this entire thread. For those of you have ordered the retrofit kit from roveractive. How did you managed to install the heating element in the seats? Did you rip out the leather on your own or have it professionally installed? Thanks

[woodpecka]

If someone is interested, I will have 2 complete seat heating systems to sell in 2-3 weeks (module without memory + elements + wiring)

[hdrewh]

Originally Posted by govtec

How can I confirm if I have the same luck as you? My car is 06 325xi with zsp, premium, seat memory. I don't have the cold weather package nor have I ever done a seat swap.

Wish I could tell you without the obvious suggestion - find someone with heated seats and try it. The swap is easy, 4 bolts and the harness, just make sure to disconnect the battery before disconnecting the harness and after reconnecting the harness, to avoid an error code being thrown (requires reset by the dealer unless you know someone that can do it for you).

[starsfan18]

I wonder if knappy75 has an update. One of the European-spec kits is available on eBay, but the difference in wiring harnesses makes me unsure as to whether it is a viable option or not.

[govtec]

How do you get the heating element installed into the seats? Is this an external application (on the outside of the leather) or do you rip the seats open?

[111R]

Anyone look into this vendor:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...item2a0bd69fd7

[govtec]

Originally Posted by 111R

Anyone look into this vendor:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-E...item2a0bd69fd7

One of the posters in this thread ordered this kit from him but it is made for euro models. You can make it work but I believe you have to splice some wires. So it's not really plug and play. I'm looking into this: http://www.webasto.us/products-and-m...html/8207.html. I read that they make the oem version for bmw cars that are offered as an option in europe.

[Booster4075]

I bought a complete (pieced-together) retrofit kit from a vendor on ebay from the UK. He does retrofit installs himself, so I bought the stuff he uses (less the dash switch, which I already have). He sent me two passenger side modules (the cheap, $40 ones), which he apparently uses in addition to the driver's side module...instead of replacing the $260+ module, he just adds these modules and wires it up. I haven't looked close enough at the wiring or where it goes, but when I tear into it, I will advise. Clearly a much cheaper solution than expensive module replacement that I had not thought of.

One of the guy's ebay ads is here:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E82-Heated...-/260697115316
I opted to go with the OEM stuff, but he has cheaper alternatives too. FYI- I received all OEM parts, his communication was really good, and he shipped as promised.

[adam246]

Originally Posted by Mallard

Part list for the 194 set

01 29 0 017 969 Stick-on label EBA-AUFKL. GELB 1
07 14 7 148 547 Fillister head screw M4X8 4
52 10 7 140 863 Bracket, control unit 2
61 12 0 398 203 Retrofit cable set, heated seat 1
61 13 1 367 599 Cable strap L=200MM/B=3,6MM 20
61 13 1 372 628 Fuse 30A 2
61 13 6 917 401 Fuse Mini, yellow-brown 5A 1
61 13 8 364 566 Connector, double 2
61 35 6 926 435 Seat module 2
64 11 7 140 535 Heating element, basic seat cloth 2
64 11 7 140 536 Heating element, basic backrest 2
01 29 0 405 002 Installation instructions 1
61 13 6 925 555 Stiftgehaeuse 9mqs, 4PQ 1

61 12 0 398 203 Retrofit cable set, heated seat

i take it that this means you get two harnesses, one for drivers and one for passengers with it being a set and only need 1 of it?

[Placey]

I had the pleasure of doing the seat heating retrofit for Hdrew (him not knowing), I was able to utilize all of the fuse locations and create my own harness using the proper guage wire and using the schematic for the vehicle. some vehicles may have different options, therefore the schematics would be different for the vehicle.

One note is that if you have the electric seats, the drivers seat heater will work without the retrofit, the retrofit and wiring have to be added to get the passenger side seat heating to work. the wiring from fuse 3 and 10 are not present from factory, along with the wiring from the JBE and the ground wire. in all, there are 4 wires which need to be run, 3 from behind the glovebox to the seat connector, 1 from the seat connector to the vehicle ground connection. 2 wires are of 2.5mm diameter, 2 wires are of .5mm diameter, make sure you use the proper guage as they will burn up if you dont.

This was a challenge from the beginning, but getting the vehicle without OEM heated seats and installing them to OEM standards is far better than going aftermarket. they also look better as you utilize all the OEM switches and controls

[mech888]

Hmmm, all I want to do is the drivers seat anyway. This gets me thinking..

[govtec]

Originally Posted by Placey

I had the pleasure of doing the seat heating retrofit for Hdrew (him not knowing), I was able to utilize all of the fuse locations and create my own harness using the proper guage wire and using the schematic for the vehicle. some vehicles may have different options, therefore the schematics would be different for the vehicle.

One note is that if you have the electric seats, the drivers seat heater will work without the retrofit, the retrofit and wiring have to be added to get the passenger side seat heating to work. the wiring from fuse 3 and 10 are not present from factory, along with the wiring from the JBE and the ground wire. in all, there are 4 wires which need to be run, 3 from behind the glovebox to the seat connector, 1 from the seat connector to the vehicle ground connection. 2 wires are of 2.5mm diameter, 2 wires are of .5mm diameter, make sure you use the proper guage as they will burn up if you dont.

This was a challenge from the beginning, but getting the vehicle without OEM heated seats and installing them to OEM standards is far better than going aftermarket. they also look better as you utilize all the OEM switches and controls

Which kit did you use? Did you have to take the seat cover off to install the heater or was this a seat swap job?

From what you are saying, if I can source an electric sport heat seat from a junk yard or somebody then I can just do a swap of the driver seat without having to deal with any of the wiring.

[hdrewh]

Originally Posted by govtec

Which kit did you use? Did you have to take the seat cover off to install the heater or was this a seat swap job?

No Kit.

Placey's satisfied customer here, let me recap a few things for those playing along at home, for my particular situation....

'09 E90 328i, premium, non-ZSP, without heated seat option. I replaced my seats with premium, ZSP, *heated* seats from another '09 E90 - since the new seats are heated, I wanted to see about getting them working in mine.

I purchased and installed the console switch kit p/n 61110405003, and had the seats coded for heat by patrys. Driver's side heated seat worked (even before the coding), but passenger heat did not, green indicator lights did not go on, and no heat. Everything else about both seats worked fine from the start (power/lumbar/side bolsters/memory).

So obviously the car is pre-wired for heated seats to work, at least on the driver side. Passenger side, I didn't know. Brought it in to the dealer where I purchased, Wide World of Cars in Spring Valley, NY, explained the situation and was willing to pay for the time, analysis and solution if one could be found. My dealership does excellent, professional work, but they are pricey.

Anyway, picked the car up today after a handful of days, and had asked my service adviser to have the tech (Paul - placey here on e90post, go figure) to write up a full description of the work for the potential benefit of others here. Impressive s**t, I must say.

So here I list the parts he ordered, and then his summary of work, taken directly from my invoice (first column is quantity):


10 61-13-1-383-776 SOCKET TERMINAL
4 61-13-8-364-844 SOCKET CONTACT ELO-POWER
2 61-12-6-908-725 CABLE GREY-GREEN
2 61-12-1-391-699 CABLE BLACK-RED
10 61-13-0-007-438 DOUBLE LEAF SPRING
4 61-13-1-378-906 DOUBLE LEAF SPRING
2 61-12-6-902-614 CABLE RED-YELLOW


And the work
(image from a scan because OCR didn't quite cut it)



Total charge was about $1,200, which was definitely some sticker shock to me, but ultimately I'm glad this 'project' is complete and I'm extremely impressed with the work - thorough, professional, detailed, all-OEM. Double bow to Placey

And now I have OEM heated seats, for now and for resale, but lesson learned - next time that option gets selected AT PURCHASE TIME

Hope this helps...

Howard