Torfab BMW bracket issue...any advice?

[Zack1978]

Ahh this thread is a deal breaker for me. I had been dreaming of new BMW seats in my 60, but I am not willing to remove the rear heater. I didn't realize that the rear heater must be removed, and I am not willing to do that.

Oh well.....

Zack

 

[Stoshu]

Zack,

When I was going through my install, the guys at Torfab called me to help out with a few questions I had. They mentioned that they have used FJ62 heaters to replace the 60 rear heaters for customers that absolutely needed the rear heater in conjunction with the BMW seat mod. The 62 heaters mount under the center console. Unfortunately, I can't offer more information than that as I did not go this route. I'm sure the guys at Torfab would be happy to share their wealth of information on the topic if you were to utilize their brackets.

Just figured I'd mention it to you as these seats are the BOMB! A massive improvement in comfort for the 60. Spent 4 hours in them today and had no fatigue whatsoever. They are a drastic improvement over the stock seats.

On a separate note, I recently installed a "heat-roller" (designed for controlling heated clothing on motorcycles) to control the heated elements in the BMW seats and it works like a charm. This allows for 0-100% application of heat control, not just hi or low. I'll post up a few pictures this week if anyone's interested.

Stosh

 

[drillduty]

Found these at Bimmer motor world in winder ga just north of Atlanta ga. They also have an eBay store. Majority of there seats were in great shape and they are ready to wheel and deal. I am co located can't quote shipping costs. Torfab brackets installed easily and used 10.9 bolts and lock washers. Easy mod!

 

[Stoshu]

Nice find @drillduty! Do you know what model they came out of? I'm trying to keep tabs on this modification for a buddy and he wants seats like yours with the more pronounced back bolsters rather than the flatter style like I have.

On a different subject, can you provide more info on that center console and lid?

Thanks.

 

[DFXR]

Ahh this thread is a deal breaker for me. I had been dreaming of new BMW seats in my 60, but I am not willing to remove the rear heater. I didn't realize that the rear heater must be removed, and I am not willing to do that.

Oh well.....

Zack

Zack, what year/build date is your 60? If it's an early '85 or older, you'll have to make your own brackets anyhow, but you can keep the rear heater. That's what i did.

 

[drillduty]

Nice find @drillduty! Do you know what model they came out of? I'm trying to keep tabs on this modification for a buddy and he wants seats like yours with the more pronounced back bolsters rather than the flatter style like I have.

On a different subject, can you provide more info on that center console and lid?

Thanks.

They are procured from a 2012 BMW 3 series. The additional bolstering are compliments of being a sport seat. They are nearly new and no wear spots. Wicked happy with the transaction and the vast amount of inventory on hand. The center console is from 4wheelparts made by vdp ultimate locking console $94.99 plus free shipping.

 

[Stoshu]

Thanks! They're great looking seats.

I'm going to look into that console. My stock one is getting tired and ugly.

Any installation issues with it? Not to hijack this thread....

 

[TLC Norway]

I'm currently waiting for an aftermarket seat heater kit to hook up the BMW seat heaters. Really only need the harness, relay and switches from the kit. I don't plan on utilizing the heating elements in the kit. Will post up some install pictures of that when it comes in too.

Just figured I'd mention it to you as these seats are the BOMB! A massive improvement in comfort for the 60. Spent 4 hours in them today and had no fatigue whatsoever. They are a drastic improvement over the stock seats.

On a separate note, I recently installed a "heat-roller" (designed for controlling heated clothing on motorcycles) to control the heated elements in the BMW seats and it works like a charm. This allows for 0-100% application of heat control, not just hi or low. I'll post up a few pictures this week if anyone's interested.

Stosh

I have to agree, i love the seat upgrade! For others interested, i made my own brackets, as i wanted to keep the under seat heater on pass side.
If my GF was taller, i'd have to remove it, because the pass seat is about 1.5in higher than drivers. I might get the 62 heater and lower it...

But HEY @Stoshu I'm SO glad i found your posts about the seat heat, i'm trying to hook mine up, but i have no clue how they work.
I was preparing to trace down the original bmw seat switch (big black box that rests in bmw's console with 3-level switches)
but it seems you have found a better solution with the "heat-roller" ?!?!?

What pins on the seat connector did you hook up to, and what harness/switch/heater kit did you end up with?

This is how mine looks like under the seat.
P14 i use for ground
P13 i have 12v hooked up to use the seat motors and movement.
is P25 for seat heat power?
there is a small to the right of P24, maybe for the temp reader.
The two in the middle, no pin marking in the yellow area, maybe they are for the seat belt tensioner (which i removed)

 

[TLC Norway]

@red66toy , let's follow this lead

Sorry for the hijack everyone, but a search about bmw seats and heating them up lead me here, and therefore i see it as relevant.

 

[red66toy]

Thanks for the heads up! @Pacer had mentioned using a heat controller for motorcycle seat heaters to control the BMW seat heaters. I noticed that new land cruisers have adjustable seat heater dials (not just hard settings). I wonder if those would work.

 

[red66toy]

I found this on a forum:
"To Passenger seat Side:

B1 - Seat Heating On (GN/YE) - Plug X279 Pin 25 (**larger wire**)
B2 - Ground (BR) - Plug X279 Pin 24
B3 - Temperature (WT/BL) - Plug X279 Pin 23 (**smaller gauge wire**)
B4 - Ground (BR) - Under Pass Side Skirt (B2 <---> B4)

To Driver seat Side:

A1 - Seat Heating On (GN/VI) - Plug X275 Pin 25 (**larger gauge wire**)
A2 - Ground (BR) - Plug X275 Pin 24
A3 - Temperature (WT/GN) - Plug X275 Pin 23 (**smaller gauge wire**)
A4 - Ground (BR) - Under Driver Side Skirt (A2 <---> A4)

To Console Switch:

Passenger Side:

B1.1 - Seat Heating On (GN/YE) - X1869 Pin 1 (B1 <---> B1.1) (**connect to larger gauge wire**)
B3.1 - Temperature (WT/BL) - X1869 Pin 20 (B3 <---> B3.1) (**connect to smaller gauge wire**)

Driver Side:

A1.1 - Seat Heating On (GN/VI) - X1869 Pin 13 (A1 <---> A1.1) (**connect to larger gauge wire**)
A3.1 - Temperature (WT/GN) - X1869 Pin 21 (A3 <---> A3.1) (**connect to smaller gauge wire**)


To Fuse Panel:

C - K-bus (WT/RD/YE) Fuse Box Joint Connector X10116 (Trigger/Accessory Wire) Pin 23 - Console Switch (**connect to acc 12 volts**)
D - Terminal 30 (RD/VI) Fuse Holder A46 slot No. F42 (30 amp) Pin 7 - Console Switch (**connect to battery**)
E - Terminal R (VI/BL) Fuse Holder A47 slot No. F12 (7.5 amp) Pin 22 - on Console Switch (**connect to acc 12 volts**)

 

[TLC Norway]

good, i've seen that thread (DIY: Non-Heated to Heated Seat Retrofit!! Lots of Pics!!! - E46Fanatics) before, but didnt notice he had the same connector as me.

As you can see, my pin 24 (ground) is missing, but these seats came from a car with heat, so i guess the heat also uses ground point 14.
The small one on the right of 24 is probably pin 23 then, for temperature sensor.
That would mean i could use a potentiometer to light up pin 25 with variable voltage, if i'm right in my mind. (?)
@dkyuss i would call this a break-through.

 

[Pacer]

The seat heaters are the brown and green wires on the BMW seat harness, pins 24 and 25 pictured above.
I do power mine with a dual heat-troller used for motorcycle heated gear and a 15a fuse feeds it.
Gyde by Gerbing Portable Dual Temp Controller

This set up will cook you out of the seats, will probably melt them if you are not careful.
It gets hot quick then I turn'em down to the lowest setting and am good for the ride.
This device pulses the power, OEM car seats have a sense wire (gray wire in this case) and control voltage supplied accordingly, they need a chip, or a brain if you will. Much more complex to adapt to our old trucks.

As far as these seats go, even though they are height adjustable, they sit slightly higher overall than the LC seats ever did.
I have some back issues, but I can drive in these longer than my other vehicles. This fact was true with the stock LC seats too.

 

[Stoshu]

@TLC Norway My apologies for the delayed reply. I was fortunate enough to obtain the chassis side of the BMW seat harness plugs when I acquired my seats and was able to decipher which wires were which through process of elimination. I remember that the largest diameter red and brown wires were for the seat motors and that the medium gauge green and brown wires were for the heating elements.

I simply spliced in the Heat-roller wiring direct to the element leads and mounted the Heat-roller knobs in the center console next to the coin slots. I placed all the associated wiring and hardware under the center console. I would be happy to take some pictures and verify my statements about wire colors if it is of any help to you.

 

[Elbert]

why can you not use the controls on the side of the seat? Are the heat controls in the OEM BMW on the door arm rest or console...sorry I've not looked into the details?

 

[red66toy]

The heated seat controls are normally located on the dash (some on the center console near the gear shift) on BMWs. Unfortunately the BMW dash switches are part of this giant plastic dash piece that makes integration into the cruiser hard and funky :/

 

[red66toy]

I have noticed that 5 & 7-series (e38 and e39) BMW rear heated seats have separated control switches and a control units which might make integration into the cruiser cleaner but I am not 100% sure at this point.

 

[bluehawk]

Do any of you guys that have done the BMW seat conversion know if they will work with this type of seat mounting surface? The area where my seat brackets mount are raised

 

[Elbert]

The heated seat controls are normally located on the dash (some on the center console near the gear shift) on BMWs. Unfortunately the BMW dash switches are part of this giant plastic dash piece that makes integration into the cruiser hard and funky :/

thanks...I figured that about the time I asked... I've got part of the harness from the car side...the salvage yard guy just cut them from one of the cars...its the yellow plug with about 3 feet of the OEM wiring harness on it. I would like to get my seats fully functional too. Right now I have the power portion working on the passenger side but for some reason its not working on the driver side..which I think is a ground issue. I've not had time to look into that just yet.

The salvage yard guy told me that the seats have some type of control module, so I don't know if they will be looking for certain voltage values or if that even matters. Yes I would make very sure to stay clear of the air bags....

 

[Elbert]

Do any of you guys that have done the BMW seat conversion know if they will work with this type of seat mounting surface? The area where my seat brackets mount are raised
View attachment 1150109

the torfab brackets bolt to the floor of the 60 and then the seat bolts to the bracket...no issues on my 86.... am I missing something? You do have to remove the rear heater on the passenger side. Not sure if there were only certain year models of the 60 or not...you'll have to check torfabs web site. there is another thread that is older that has some additional info about the seats and brackets...