Installing a power driver seat base (Ford)

[boywonder]

I picked up a power driver seat from Jsweezy last year, and I'd like to install it in my 2008 XLT trim level window van.....if that's what the velour seat trim level is still called....

Will I need to buy a harness that goes between the dash somewhere and under the seat? Is there any chance there is a factory unused connector hiding under my existing driver seat carpet (unlikely!! ).

If I need to home brew something is there a source to get the mating connector shell and terminals?

[mgmetalworks]

The connector should already be there in the same harness as the pre-tensioner and have a power and ground in it.

A lot of Ford connectors are made by Yazaki and part of the YES/KAIZEN line of product. http://www.yazaki-na.com/user_area/u...sc_catalog.pdf

Sometimes the housings are Ford only and difficult to source but the terminals are shared across different products. I've been looking more at the terminals and sourcing a connector housing that is commonly available.

Nexus Electronics is a good source for Yazaki connectors. I try to use Mouser for anything Tyco/AMP or Molex.

[boywonder]

Thanks MG! Finally getting a little time to dig into this......

[boywonder]

...so I removed the driver's seat and looked under the carpet....

As MG mentioned above, I have a two pin connector on the same harness that goes to the seat belt retractor/pyro....a round black one terminated with a dummy cover. It has a dark green wire and a black wire; according to the wiring diagram for 2008, it's always on 12V power for the seat.


Here is the connector with the dummy cover removed...



...and here is the connector on the power seat....



...so they are different.....will not mate....

I looked up the van harness P/N for the 2011 (which the seats are supposed to be out of) and it's the same P/N as the one I have, so there is information that I'm still lacking...

[boywonder]

I threw together a small pigtail to get these connectors connected...seat works great.....now need to figure out a more robust solution without molesting the stock harnesses.

The dummy shell that was plugged into the van wire is an actual connector shell with a silicone rubber cork in the end of it to keep out moisture. So if I can find a couple of crimp terminals I'll be half way there.

[ScotFree]

Boy Wonder,
Thanks for this thread and pics. I am in same situation with my 08 SD, except I have not bought my power chair yet. I want to make sure I can make it work first.

Thanks to your pics, I found the unused plug under my manual seat. I have the E350 shop book on DVD, but find the wiring diagrams very confusing. Anyway, that plug may be connected to fuse slot F16 for the power seat, which amazingly already has a 30A fuse in it, even tho not is use.

So how did you finally connect that plug to you power chair? Any problems?

Did you just transfer your existing seat belt and pretensioner to the power seat? Any issues?

The shop manual has several warnings about not probing the wiring or unplugging any connectors before disconnecting the battery, lest one accidentally deploy the air bag. Did you have any problems? How did you proceed?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[arctictraveller]

Why not just splice the two wires together? It's not like you will be removing and replacing the seat very often. Even if you need to remove it, there's plenty of wire available for more than one splice. Two butt splices, five minutes and your done.