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      12-08-2019, 03:39 PM   #1
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Recaro Sportster CS help with heated seat

I'm looking to get some recaro sportster for my e90 m3. I want heat but how does this work? Does it connect to the oem harness from the oem seat?
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      12-25-2019, 01:35 AM   #2
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^ You need the M Performance Seats or the Sportsters and harness from AMX Max to plug right in and retain your oem heated seat button, I believe.

I am not sure how the standard Recaro heaters plug in, but they have a dual stage element with a button on the base/bracket of the seat if you go this route. Bump for confirmation. I don’t have factory heated seats but would like heated Sportsters, so I’m also wondering how the heaters would get juice.

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      12-25-2019, 08:13 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
^ You need the M Performance Seats or the Sportsters and harness from AMX Max to plug right in and retain your oem heated seat button, I believe.

I am not sure how the standard Recaro heaters plug in, but they have a dual stage element with a button on the base/bracket of the seat if you go this route. Bump for confirmation. I don’t have factory heated seats but would like heated Sportsters, so I’m also wondering how the heaters would get juice.

So I ended up figuring it out based on a lot of research. The recaro heated has two wires, one power and one ground. I looked up the seat wiring diagram and found the pins for the heated seat, one power and one ground. I actually found a shop that did this but actually cut the connector off the oem seat which I did not want to do. I ended up finding a mini part that had the connector I needed (52102753025). So if my theory is right I'll solder the two wires to pin 4 and 8 of the connector and it will plug into the oem harness on the car. Still waiting on the connector to come in at my local bmw but I'm confident it will work.
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      12-25-2019, 03:48 PM   #4
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Great research! So will this give the Recaro button power, or will this route to your OEM heater button? Report back when it’s done!
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      12-25-2019, 05:47 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
Great research! So will this give the Recaro button power, or will this route to your OEM heater button? Report back when it’s done!
I'm assuming you would need to turn on the oem switch to give it power then use the seat switch to give it the heat level.
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      12-25-2019, 05:50 PM   #6
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Great research! So will this give the Recaro button power, or will this route to your OEM heater button? Report back when it’s done!
Here's the link I found of a shop doing it.

https://www.gmpperformance.com/galle...-drivers-seat/
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      12-25-2019, 10:30 PM   #7
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
Great research! So will this give the Recaro button power, or will this route to your OEM heater button? Report back when it's done!
I'm assuming you would need to turn on the oem switch to give it power then use the seat switch to give it the heat level.
I hope not, otherwise what's the point. I have heated sportsters, I would love to integrate them into the OEM switches and bypass the cs switch, I haven't looked into too much but pretty sure if you want to do it properly you need to steal the elements out of the stock seats and install them into the sportsters. The sportsters only have two stage heat and stock came with three. Plus I thought the heater relay is built into the sportsters. Not sure if integration with stock controls is worth the hassle.
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      12-25-2019, 11:25 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SAMM3Y View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
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Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
Great research! So will this give the Recaro button power, or will this route to your OEM heater button? Report back when it's done!
I'm assuming you would need to turn on the oem switch to give it power then use the seat switch to give it the heat level.
I hope not, otherwise what's the point. I have heated sportsters, I would love to integrate them into the OEM switches and bypass the cs switch, I haven't looked into too much but pretty sure if you want to do it properly you need to steal the elements out of the stock seats and install them into the sportsters. The sportsters only have two stage heat and stock came with three. Plus I thought the heater relay is built into the sportsters. Not sure if integration with stock controls is worth the hassle.
The point is to use the oem wiring under the seat. Instead of tapping into a 12v source
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      12-26-2019, 12:14 AM   #9
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Samm3y, is your heat hooked up now? If so, how’d you do it? I’d be fine tapping a power source and using the button on the CS since I have no factory heated seat button. Curious what the details are of tapping a power source.
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      12-26-2019, 12:37 AM   #10
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Yah, I ran a relay on the 20amp cig lighter circuit so you can't leave them on when you turn the car off. The added load is just the relay coil, the seats have their own fuses/wiring going to the battery. Running the wiring is pretty painless, sorting the mounts, receptacles and coding out the seat airbags is more of a pita.

I'd love to implement the stock controls to them though and I'm very tempted to chop up my old seats for the elements. I never looked too hard into how BMW did the stock Elements, is it a single element or multiple? Are they using variable dc voltage like 3-12vdc for the various stages? Or are they using a thermistors and controllers for the heat?
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      12-26-2019, 12:25 PM   #11
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That much is beyond me.

I really want to add heat and go with airbag models but this sounds like a ballache. Maybe I should KISS.
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      12-26-2019, 01:03 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
That much is beyond me.

I really want to add heat and go with airbag models but this sounds like a ballache. Maybe I should KISS.
It's a simple relay circuit

the heater circuit's main power is connected to the battery, and the relay switch power source is the 12V switched power source which is the cigarette lighter circuit.

This allows the seat to draw more wattage while allowing the circuit to use a 12V switched source as the trigger. It's a standard textbook relay circuit that should be pretty easy to implement.

Now the OEM heater circuit, since there are 3 modes, I wonder if it is a PWM circuit or just 3 different step voltages to let the heater module do the work. I'll have to look if I can find some information on it on TIS.

Edit:

Quote:
Seat heating (E8x and E9x from 09/2009, E7x) and active seat heating (E7x only)

Seat heating and active seat ventilation in front

If the seat heating/active seat ventilation button is pressed, the IHKA control unit sends the status as a K‐CAN message.

Depending on the equipment specification of the seat, the message is received either by the seat modules or by the Junction Box electronics (JBE).

Message direct to the seat modules:

The seat heating and the active seat ventilation are actuated by the respective seat module according to the operating logic at the IHKA control panel.

Message via Junction Box electronics:

The Junction Box electronics transmits a message to the seat modules in the form of a pulse-width modulated signal (PWM signal). The seat heating is actuated by the respective seat module according to the operating logic at the IHKA control panel.

If the energy management system requires a reduction in output, the heater and blower output may be reduced in 3 stages or switched off completely:

Heating and blower output are reduced from level 3 to level 2
Heating and blower output are reduced to 50 percent of level 2
Seat heating and active seat ventilation are switched off
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      12-26-2019, 02:07 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by wyatth View Post
That much is beyond me.

I really want to add heat and go with airbag models but this sounds like a ballache. Maybe I should KISS.
It's a simple relay circuit

the heater circuit's main power is connected to the battery, and the relay switch power source is the 12V switched power source which is the cigarette lighter circuit.

This allows the seat to draw more wattage while allowing the circuit to use a 12V switched source as the trigger. It's a standard textbook relay circuit that should be pretty easy to implement.

Now the OEM heater circuit, since there are 3 modes, I wonder if it is a PWM circuit or just 3 different step voltages to let the heater module do the work. I'll have to look if I can find some information on it on TIS.

Edit:

Quote:
Seat heating (E8x and E9x from 09/2009, E7x) and active seat heating (E7x only)

Seat heating and active seat ventilation in front

If the seat heating/active seat ventilation button is pressed, the IHKA control unit sends the status as a K‐CAN message.

Depending on the equipment specification of the seat, the message is received either by the seat modules or by the Junction Box electronics (JBE).

Message direct to the seat modules:

The seat heating and the active seat ventilation are actuated by the respective seat module according to the operating logic at the IHKA control panel.

Message via Junction Box electronics:

The Junction Box electronics transmits a message to the seat modules in the form of a pulse-width modulated signal (PWM signal). The seat heating is actuated by the respective seat module according to the operating logic at the IHKA control panel.

If the energy management system requires a reduction in output, the heater and blower output may be reduced in 3 stages or switched off completely:

Heating and blower output are reduced from level 3 to level 2
Heating and blower output are reduced to 50 percent of level 2
Seat heating and active seat ventilation are switched off
So where are you grabbing 12v? In the glove box fuse?
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      12-26-2019, 02:24 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
So where are you grabbing 12v? In the glove box fuse?
The actual 12V? you can either do it from the fusebox or directly from the battery for the power source.

For the 12V switched, in this example, it would be the Cigarette lighter circuit.
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      12-26-2019, 02:57 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
So where are you grabbing 12v? In the glove box fuse?
The actual 12V? you can either do it from the fusebox or directly from the battery for the power source.

For the 12V switched, in this example, it would be the Cigarette lighter circuit.
How do you run the wires cleanly? Isn't it easier the way I explained since there is already 12v under the seat
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      12-27-2019, 09:24 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
How do you run the wires cleanly? Isn't it easier the way I explained since there is already 12v under the seat
Following the seat harness through the door sills to the dash would be the cleanest way to do it. I rather do it cleanly, than the easiest method. If you tap a 12V switched source for the relay trigger wire, you still to solve where to get wires capable of delivering enough wattage to the seats without burning them. FWIW, the factory heated seats use a 30A circuit.

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Last edited by derbo; 12-27-2019 at 09:29 PM..
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      12-27-2019, 09:43 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
How do you run the wires cleanly? Isn't it easier the way I explained since there is already 12v under the seat
Following the seat harness through the door sills to the dash would be the cleanest way to do it. I rather do it cleanly, than the easiest method. If you tap a 12V switched source for the relay trigger wire, you still to solve where to get wires capable of delivering enough wattage to the seats without burning them. FWIW, the factory heated seats use a 30A circuit.

The wires on the recaro are the same gauge as the factory wires delivering the 12v. So I think tapping into the power under the seat is fine. You can see here this shop did what I'm planning to do.


https://www.gmpperformance.com/galle...-drivers-seat/
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      12-27-2019, 10:02 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
The wires on the recaro are the same gauge as the factory wires delivering the 12v. So I think tapping into the power under the seat is fine. You can see here this shop did what I'm planning to do.


https://www.gmpperformance.com/galle...-drivers-seat/
Does your car already have heat? I might be mixing you and wyatt up as he doesn't have heat.


AMX performance has video on how they connect their harness for Recaros.


You know I wonder if in the video, you just leave the switch on the recaro at the hottest, and you just use the OEM PWM signal to adjust it with the seat module.
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      12-27-2019, 10:13 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
The wires on the recaro are the same gauge as the factory wires delivering the 12v. So I think tapping into the power under the seat is fine. You can see here this shop did what I'm planning to do.


https://www.gmpperformance.com/galle...-drivers-seat/
Does your car already have heat? I might be mixing you and wyatt up as he doesn't have heat.


AMX performance has video on how they connect their harness for Recaros.


You know I wonder if in the video, you just leave the switch on the recaro at the hottest, and you just use the OEM PWM signal to adjust it with the seat module.
Yeh I do have heated on my oem seats. That is exactly what I'm going to do. Leave the recaro switch on II and use the oem switch.

I message Amx and he uses a custom heat pad for his seats.
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      12-28-2019, 12:00 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
Yeh I do have heated on my oem seats. That is exactly what I'm going to do. Leave the recaro switch on II and use the oem switch.

I message Amx and he uses a custom heat pad for his seats.
That makes way more sense now! Intersting about his custom heat pad. I mean..in reality, the heat pad is just a resistor circuit and is as hot as the amperage going through it allows.
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      01-04-2020, 03:19 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derbo View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by m3_tristan View Post
Yeh I do have heated on my oem seats. That is exactly what I'm going to do. Leave the recaro switch on II and use the oem switch.

I message Amx and he uses a custom heat pad for his seats.
That makes way more sense now! Intersting about his custom heat pad. I mean..in reality, the heat pad is just a resistor circuit and is as hot as the amperage going through it allows.
Exactly! Hoping to try it out once I get my floor brackets in
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      01-07-2020, 07:37 PM   #22
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So the harnesses from bmw I ordered came in and decided to test my theory on my X1. Just set it up like I said before and it actually worked!!! So excited install them in my M3 with oem intergration!

I'll be making a full post about this once I get to install them.
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Last edited by m3_tristan; 01-07-2020 at 07:43 PM..
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