Jim Banville

Here are two things I've been thinking about and didn't find any info on doing a search:
1 - For those that have done work on your seats, is there a painless way to add the fore/aft motor to a manual driver's seat? I'd be happy w/ a 3-way toggle switch mounted on the side of the seat to control the motor.
2- I'm ASSuming the headlights/foglights work off of relays. Is there a way to connect the relays in such a way that when the headlights come on, the foglights come on w/ them?

thanks!!!
Jim

Capt Nemo o2

For the latter, tap off the trigger wire on the relay for the headlights and make that the trigger wire for the relay of the foglights... When the auto headlights go on, the fogs would too... This is of course assuming that infact they are controlled by relays... Who knows what those crazy Germans did!!! If you can get to the back of the light switch you may be able to make the fog light switch and headlight switch common... There are several ways you can do this, and it all depends on how MB set up the car, and how much you want to be cutting and splicing factory harnesses.

Jim Banville

My wife has our car so I can't look at the fuse diagram stored in the driver's side fuse box. It may have the relay locations.

Jim Banville

Capt, my car has the DRL's set to ON. In that mode, with the headlight switch set to "0", my night-time headlights/taillights still come on automatically when it gets dark enough. For that reason, I'd like to avoid doing anything with the switch itself, since it stays in the "0" position all the time.

Capt Nemo o2

Ok! In that case just use the trigger wire controlled by the light sensor, or use a wire from the parking lights... Any wire that gets around 12 volts when the lights go on and off autmotically can be used to control the relay, it would be just one wire as there is already a ground on the relay.

Jim Banville

I hoping that the relay for both sets of lights is next to one another and I can just wire a jumper betwixt 'em

scorchie

I suspect you might have a long and arduous search to find those relays controlling the headlights and foglights... (hint: why do we need to set xenon to "present" when updating the headlights? This may indicate that your original "assumption" may be incorrect.)

-s-

miroj

There is a really easy way to do it. Just pay for it to be done.

If you are going to spend money on the seat frame with the motors in it ..... then just go the whole hog and get a memory seat upgrade.

miroj

Twist, pull.

CitronC230K_03

Jim Banville

Do they use completely different frames? The standard seats are half-way powered and contain a couple of motors anyway. Seems costly to carry two different designs (1 half-powered, 1 full-powered). You'd think they could design a frame that could receive either the manual or powered linkages. I was HOPING it could be as simple as removing the manual brackets and attaching the motor and associated bracket.

CitronC230K_03

when my seat frame was replaced i was told the first frame sent was a manual seat frame assemble. the power seat frame assembly has the motors built in it essentially, from what i saw. i think it would be easier to install all new frames (or used).

Jim Banville

I can understand them SHIPPING the assembled frame as manual or powered. I was just thinking there may be a single base/standard frame, which the motors or brackets are attached to, making the final product either manual or powered. It's a long shot, but I was hoping someone else may have either tried this or at least directly visually compared the underside of the powered and manual seats sibe-by-side to see if it would be possible.

miroj

You tell me ... im just a novice at this. Image attached.

I think I see a very expensive seat controller on the fully optioned side.

Moviela

It appears that the lights are controlled and monitored by one of the onboard computers. The relay is simply the current workhorse for the computer. If you jump the coils for the realys, fog and headlight, you might do some serious damage to the computer drive circuit.

I am trying to find a way to turn on the headlights if the wipers are on. California just passed a law that you MUST use lights with wiper. It was easy to do in my Dodge Dart, a diode on the wirper motor to the headlight relay turned on the lights. The diode was to prevent the light switch from turning on the wipers. On the Benz, the darn computer complained that there was a malfunction and I should get service.

I am hoping to find some documentation on the computer structure so I can chat with the program and the eerom using a PC. I have a couple of junk yards looking for crashed 05 C's so I can practice on a spare computer.

miroj

When they came out with the saying " there is a sucker born every minute "

Do you ever get the feeling they were making a reference which includes the idea you just presented.

Your life would be so much simpler if you could just learn to use your car. You already know at least 200 road rules. Why is it so hard to learn a new one.

ctC230K

here's an idea: why don't you just enable your DRL's? problem solved.

Jim Banville

Miroj, thanks for the diagrams! Maybe I wan't clear enough in my ealier post. I don't think I would need the expensive controller and all the other parts. ALL I was hoping to do was remove the manual change brackets, install the fore/aft motor and associated brackets and run power/ground to that single motor and control it with a 3 way switch mounted on the hard plastic next to the other seat controls. I only want to add powered fore/aft capabilites.

scorchie

You can't get the brackets separately; the seat bottom frame is a $700 part; and if you could get the brackets separately, it would be from a junkyard and you may as well take the frame they are attached to.

Your 3-way switch is going to need to be able to handle about 10A and preferrably 25A (which means pretty large switch), and if it's not really good quality, you'll end up with something like the W201/W124 where the switch just would die after a while (which is part of the reason the cars went to low current switches on a network with the relays in the seat controller).

-s-

Jim Banville

Too bad

thanks
Jim

miroj

I have a pending order with my supplier for several memory seats. I think it has been about 2 years now and i still cant find a single "cheap" solution.

The factory price when ordering a car is actually quite reasonable.

Moviela

Thanks, that is a good suggestion, but California does not recognize daytime running lights as headlights. Here is the new law:

24400. (a) During darkness and inclement weather, a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, shall be equipped with at least two lighted headlamps, with at least one on each side of the front of the vehicle, and, except as to vehicles registered prior to January 1, 1930, they shall be located directly above or in advance of the front axle of the vehicle. The headlamps and every light source in any headlamp unit shall be located at a height of not more than 54 inches nor less than 22 inches.
(b) As used in subdivision (a), "inclement weather" is a weather condition that is either of the following:
(1) A condition that prevents a driver of a motor vehicle from clearly discerning a person or another motor vehicle on the highway from a distance of 1,000 feet.
(2) A condition requiring the windshield wipers to be in continuous use due to rain, mist, snow, fog, or other precipitation or atmospheric moisture.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2005.

-0-


Scorchie is correct that a pretty beefy switch would be needed to control the seat motor directly. Almost any low current center off, momentary on switch could be used with three inexpensive relays to control the seat motor current. Bosch makes a series of 12v coil, 30 and 40A relays that cost $ 1.79 each. I get mine from:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...Number=330-077

scorchie

I believe this part of the law will get thrown out as it makes new requirements on cars that were previously legal, which also still meet DOT requirements.

Then again, California has a way of making criminals out of people who, at the time of purchase of some items were completely legal, find they are now violating the law.

-s-

ctC230K

You know that the DRL's are actually the low beams at half brightness right? They aren't the fog lights or just parking lights. Only thing i can see from that quote is that having the fog lights on alone wouldn't be legal because they are too low.

Moviela

[QUOTE=ctC230K]You know that the DRL's are actually the low beams at half brightness right?

Yes I am aware, and California specifies headlights as being those described in FMVSS 108 (not an easy read, even for manufacturers.) 108 generally limits DRL's to less than 3000 candelas and sets headlight brightness at greater than 6500 candelas. Other California laws prohibit driving with parking lights, or fog lights only. I understand why they spend so much time annoying motorists, all the other legislative work is completed!

While it is simple to just turn on the lights by hand, making the automatic systems do the job is half the fun of driving.

Has Jim had any luck finding a suitable seat motor?