Tump43

Guys --

I've searched this forum and Goggle and have not found a DIY guide or any kind of a detailed discussion on how to retrofit a dynamic active multi-contour driver's seat to a 2014 E350 besides call Steve at MBenzNL. I hope you guys can chime in and help, specifically Steve, Chris the Swede and Nuru who seem to know how to do these things.

I have a dynamic active multi-contour driver's seat and split-folding rear seats from a 2010 W212 E63 that I'd like to install in my 2014 W212 E350 that did not come with these available options.

I also purchased the airpump and compressed air reservoir that fit behind the driver's side rear quarter panel in the trunk which I believe are necessary to operate the dynamic side air bolsters on the multi-contour driver's seat. I also purchased the switch bank (which fits under the the command button and above the climatronic switches) that has, besides the hazard button, buttons to turn the seat heating and cooling on and off.

Physically, I'm pretty sure I can install these seats and the new switch bank without much trouble but, what I do not understand how to do is hook up the air pump, air reservoir and switch panel to make the front dynamic active multi-contour driver's seat work properly and to hookup the sensors in the split-folding rear seat that tell the car when the rear seat is up or down (there was a brief post on this, but it is not complete).

Does anyone here know or have the WIS or EPC sheets with pictures that show how these parts are supposed to fit together and what is necessary to make them work?

I'd really appreciate any help. I've attached pictures of the seat, pump and switches. I can photograph the reservoir later if necessary.

Tump43

Ok, I had the front multi-contour, dynamic seat and new switch bank (w/ buttons to heat and cool the seats) installed today.

The new switches work just like the old ones and operate all functions that the old switch bank did. Seat heating, rear blind, eco, hazard, rear head rests, but the seat cooling button does not work even though the new seat has a cooling fan.

The multi-contour, dynamic seat, fits perfectly, all motors, seat-head rest adjustment and memory work; the seat heater works but the dynamic bladders and seat massage/pulse functions do not work.

The dynamic control switches on the right of the seat light up and probably work, but not having yet installed the air-pump and air reservoir I don't think I can expect them to work.

Anyone have any ideas? Do I need to have the car "coded" by the dealer or a mechanic with a Star Computer to get the seat cooling and dynamic features to work?

Any help would be appreciated.

mleskovar

I've been thinking of doing this as well. Please keep us posted on what you find out.

Chris The Swede

This is no problem...Just needs alot of programing of SAM units. Also in comand for the settings.

My E-class project:

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-c...550-cab-6.html

jonUF02

Definitely will require all the air pumps and lines to make the seats inflate. I'm sure there is quite a bit of STAR coding work to be done on the computers to let the car know you have this system, especially the dynamic driving part.

I would love to have this option, but I think the costs will be pretty large.

Tump43

Some progress has been made. Through this forum at https://mbworld.org/forums/glk-class...gineering+mode I was able to enter "engineering mode" on the comand and turn on what I believe to be the dynamic seat features. In my car all of these where off, and I changed the entries to turn them on (I attached a PDF to this post listing the Comand entries and changes I made). This assumes that the "DS" in the "DS Dynamic Seat" comand entry stands for Driver's Side and the "PS" in the same entry stands for "Passenger Side". Also, does anyone know what "MCMS" or "Seat" stands for when given the choice between the two in the "DS/PS Lumbar Pad ECU" comand entry?

Since the air pump and air reservoir have not yet been installed, I was not able to confirm that the dynamic functions worked. But, w/ the dynamic seat features on, the seating heating elements worked properly (heating up the rear of my butt as well as everything else, whereas before changing these entries it would only heat up my back and the sides of my butt). Sadly, the seat cooling button does not light up blue, but when I press the button (how many times varies because I can't tell what setting it was on originally), I can feel the center back of my butt cool off and seemingly, by pressing the button a variable number of times again, the cooling feature disappears.

Does this mean that once I get the air pump and reservoir installed, the seat should work properly, or is further, dealer only or star only, coding still necessary?

Also could someone please post the WIS instructions to install/replace the air pump and air reservoir that fill the air bladders in the dynamic seats. Here are the vin's for a couple of W212 E's with these parts installed: for a 2014 E63, WDDHH7GB0EA977335; for a 2014 E550, WDDKK7DF8EF244564. The WIS instructions to install/replace the split-folding rear seats for these vehicles would also be appreciated.

Chris The Swede

They should have lit up....Sounds strange. But try programing...With star.

mleskovar

Maybe the light just doesn't work.

Chris The Swede

It s 6 LED lights on 2 different buttons so dont think that is the fault.

Tump43

Bump.

Haven't yet found a NYC area tech with Star. Is there anyway to turn SA codes on or off from engineering mode?

Anybody check my above pdf to see if I set the seat functions correctly to get the active dynamic multicontour sea to work?

Chris -- do all W212's come prewired for the air pump that operates the seats and fits in the trunk area behind the left quarter panel? Or will I have to figure out how to wire the air pump?

I did a quick check behind the access panel but didn't see anything. I have yet to remove the trunk lining to see what's really back there.

Tump43

Still looking for a tech with Star in the NYC area. Any leads? Any answers to any of my questions?

The Nappa leather is great. The bladders in both the passenger and drivers seat seem to be inflated. Right now they fit me just fine (without the active part or ability to adjust their inflation). Having the split folding option in the rear is very handy -- the left hand rear seat back is the larger of two, which allows me to increase storage enough for most things without having to move the car seat on the passenger side. I simply left the rear head rest electrical connection disconnected -- I never need to drop the rear head rests anyway.

ghlkal

Tump43, thanks for investigating this. I'm interesting in doing something similar. I'd be interested in knowing if you've made any progress on the programming.

Tump43

Haven't made any progress yet. Found the Star Tech guy, but between my and his schedule have not yet hooked up. The next steps for me are to have the car star coded for the seats, then have the air pump, air reservoir and air lines installed -- which I hear, requires the removal of much of the interior.

One wrinkle, for some reason the WSS (weight sensing system) on the front passenger seat (the sensor that turns the passenger airbag on and off depending on the weight of the passenger) does not communicate with the car, which causes an error message and turns off the passenger air bag -- or the sensor is broken. The after market WSS bypass I installed (three wire) didn't work, so I returned it. Possibly a four wire aftermarket WSS bypass will work, but since its too cold outside I haven't bought it yet. When I was at Benz and they ran a diagnostic and found that the passenger seat did not communicate with the car at all (I'll post the codes later when I find them); they didn't re-code the car, but nonetheless all other control functions work: heat, position memory, adjustment.

I'll keep you posted as I progress very slowly with this project. However, I find the AMG seats to be much more comfortable and supportive than the the stock E350 mbtex seats, as is, without the active dynamic automatic side bolster inflation, massage and cooling functions working. They look much better as well. I still want to get them working though.

nickba

BeachBunny

Are the multi-contour seats from a 2010 compatible with a 2014? I ask because my '15's active seats are controlled via COMAND, whereas the 2009-2013 are controlled via physical switch attached to the seat.

Tump43

Tump43

In my case, you make a great point. The 2010 seats may be compatible, but will require some rewiring work (i.e. moving the pins around in the connectors) and some serious MB computer programing by a tech who has the computer and knows what he or she is doing. I do not know, but suspect, if one did a 2014 to 2014 retrofit, only the coding would be required -- if some wiring did not have to be added.

So, with my project, I found a shop that said they think they can do it, want at least $2k cash up front, and said that they can't be sure that they can get the 2014 car to 'see' (ie register in its computer) the 2010 seats. Since I like the AMG seats as they are and everything works just like the OE seats (adjustments, memory) except the massage, cooling and dynamic bolsters, I've not been overly eager to give my car to that shop for a week or two with no guarantee, or at least a strong expression of confidence that they could get the new seats working 100%. I've collected all the parts, the seats, the air compressor mounted in the trunk for the side bolsters, the air reserve tank and even bought a lesser scan/programing tool that allowed me to turn on the the dynamic seat code (SA 232) in my car. While my command now displays the seat massage and bolster functions and controls, it can't control my seats because the air pump and related hardware has not been installed yet and the my 2010 seats are controlled by panel mounted to the side of the seat, not the comand.

This is a far as I've gone. I may do more later, but since I'm building a new house now, money for my car projects has disappeared.

nickba

machinemanjr

How did the house project go? Any updates to this?

I suppose at the very least, you can enjoy the Napa leather AMG seats even if they aren’t dynamic.

Tump43

Hey, thanks for asking. The new house is fantastic. Still landscaping and trying to stay calm with varying degrees of success while different rooms are being 'planned' & 'decorated'.

As for the seats, I have not hooked up the various components (which I have) to enable the dynamic bladders. To do so would involve too much effort, computer/startech expertise and interior running of air hoses for it to be worth while -- I don't have the startech skills or the machine and don't have a close enough friend with one to make this cost effective. The seats though, are just fine the way they are. I believe the bladders are fully or mostly inflated because they are extremely comfortable and very supportive through the turns. A couple of junior techs at the local MB dealer even thought they were hooked up! I like them much better than the OE MBtech seats, and for deal I got, well worth it. The project initially started only to get folding rear seats but, given the parts available, expanded a bit.

I'll update this if I ever complete the project but it doesn't look like it will happen.

Cheers,

ml3504matic____

Photos?!

ml3504matic____

Looks like you can activate it through engineering mode

machinemanjr

OP, did you get the cooling feature to work?

Tump43

Here's one I have. Not great. I'll post more when I get them.

Tips of the AMG E63 Seats

Tump43

To ml3504matic and machinemanjr,

Thanks for the info, I found those settings in the engineering menu but to get the dynamic seats to work, the air pump, air reservoir and air lines have to be installed (not to mention the coding and wiring). I haven't done that yet.

As to the cooling feature, good call, I did install the updated dashboard buttons with the seat cooling option button and expected it to work. However, to get the cooling feature to work, I will have to hire someone who knows which pins to switch under the seat to the hook up to OE cable or whether a separate wire has to be installed. Haven't done that yet either. Just resetting the engineering menu won't get the seat fans to go on.

Just goes to say, it is usually cheaper to buy the model with features you want on it already than to try to add them after the fact.