s3 leather recaro seats in audi a3 1.6 2000

[ity768]

hi

i have an audi 1.6 2000 plate with the s3 recaro leather electric seats however the problem is that in my audi i have been told that the wiring for the electric seats is not there and the plugs under the seats are for the airbags. i have also been told that the wiring loom is missing which connects to the fuse box i was wondering if i need a new wiring kit or can i make the seats work any other way please help as the seats are too up straight and im getting backache i really need them sorted if i need new wiring how much will it cost and how is it done

thank you very much for looking very much appreciated

thanx

 

[A3_Turbo]

Get rid of them and sell them to me you can have my T sport seats

 

[ity768]

not looking to sell lol need to know how to get them to work

 

[FactionOne]

I put S3 Recaros in my A3 when I had it... It's odd if there's absolutely no wiring whatsoever under the seats - if you've not had a good hunt around under there yourself it's probably worth doing. In mine there was a connector which matched fine for the earth lead, I just had to fit my own live.

Anyway, it'll be straightforward enough to achieve...

Firstly, get a roll of wire, doesn't have to be ridiculously heavy-guage, but don't go so small as bell wire - I can't remember the power calculations I did for the motors now, but if you allow 12V x 10A (which should be well comfortable) you're only looking for cable capable of delivering 120W.

Next, get some in-line fuse holders (I used these - http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=418&C=Maplin&U=SearchTop&T=in-line fuse&doy=30m11 ) and some fuses to suit (10A again I guess).

Take off the driver's-side dashboard trim (the bit around the steering-wheel with the headlight switch in it) and you'll see a big power distribution block at the back on the upper-right (trace a line from your right-knee and you can't miss it). Connect the live cables (with the inline fuses installed in them) to a suitably rated point on that (they're well labelled). From memory I think the red-ones are permanent live and the yellow ones are ignition-live but it probably worth checking how it operates with the ignition on and off before you put the trim back on so you can easily move it if you want.

Next, if you can't find a usable earth under the seat, just run some of the same wire to something chunky and metal on the car body - I'm sure there'll be a good bolt somewhere near the seats that you can use - just crimp a ring-connector onto the wire and bolt it on.

...et voila! Working seat electrics!

Airbags is a bit more complicated - if the seats are from a different model year than your originals there's a good chance the connector will be different. I never got around to sorting that one out and left them disconnected. There was a post somewhere on here about poking a resistor in the existing plug to fool the airbag controller that there was something connected, so it wouldn't throw a light, but when I tried it didn't work. I'll see what else I can come up with though...

Regards,

Rob.

 

[ity768]

hi rob

thanks for all that information it is very much appreciated

i do have connectors under the seat some are coonected two in fact and them i have been told are for the airbags i have been told i need to get a positive and a negative from one of the connectors and connect it to the fuse box is that correct?

 

[FactionOne]

I wouldn't mess about with the fusebox... It's all too fiddly around there and picking a decent live isn't worth the hassle. I'd just take that trim off and go for the distribution strip. It's a dirty great bar full of high-current connection-points so is probably a) the best place and b) easiest.

One of those connectors you have will probably have the earth on it as I used (from memory it's a big red block) - the other - either a small black or small yellow/green thing (from memory) is the airbag one. Anyway, if you don't want to worry about which is which it's easy enough to just run an earth to a big bolt under the seat; that'll work fine.

Regards,

Rob.

 

[ity768]

hi
yeah theres a big red block but it has a few wires already init leading to under the carpet do i find the earth wire in this block (is there anyway of finding it) then connect it to the thing under the trim

thank u

 

[A3steve]

from memory the thickest brown cable is earth.

 

[A3steve]

To check the cable is correct - get someone who can read a multimeter and test the resistance against a known earth point or an unpainted area/screw on the body shell. if you have no resistance ie 0 ohms - you are ok