1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Wiring Questions; Replacing OEM Drivers Seat with an Aftermarket Seat

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Keath Bordeaux, Sep 26, 2024.

  1. Keath Bordeaux

    Keath Bordeaux New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2024
    17
    4
    0
    Location:
    30552
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I'm replacing the drivers seat in my 2005 base model with a Recaro seat that I had in another car years ago and kept around... All the sliders, (from Ebay, since the ones on the seat are incorrect) a set of extensions (from extendmyseat.com), and a base plate that bolts to the floor where the OEM seat was, then the seat and sliders bolt to that (from Planted Technologies) are on their way in the mail to me.

    Here's my questions; the electric height adjuster switch on the new seat has a long lead with a red wire (power) and a brown wire (ground). What's the easiest way to correctly hook those up, and to where?

    The seatbelt buckle receiver (I'm assuming) unbolts from the stock OEM seat and the wiring comes with it to the new seat, then that just plugs back into the jack that comes from under the floor. This leaves two other sets of wires with two very different jacks/connectors unplugged. What do I then do with those? Thanks a lot.
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,361
    1,790
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I would think your exceptionally tall hence the seat in the 6 in back that'll be slammed into the seat of the rear non-passenger in this case which may or may not be a thing or whatever. So being so tall how in the world would you want to deal with the height adjuster other than having it all the way down right? You can pick up 12 volts all right there in the side seal or the rocker panel area you got tons of wires going through their pick your poison of course the ground is just a screw into the inner part of the rocker panel on the clean piece of metal so yeah I don't think you'd want anything too heavily switched other than maybe the power's off when the car is off so the ignition switch controlled if you will but it doesn't have to be as long as you're not pushing the button You're not using any juice hopefully. But there's plenty of wires down there get the wiring diagram out and pick one that you can live with but stuff has to have power in the trunk area and at the rear hatch and all that runs down the side of the car right there behind the carpet or you can run two new wires along that area and run them right back to the battery or up to the fuse box and connect to the fuse box directly if you really wanted to I wouldn't.
     
  3. Keath Bordeaux

    Keath Bordeaux New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2024
    17
    4
    0
    Location:
    30552
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Base



    OK; after a lot more internet research and talking with my man who knows EVERYTHING about most all cars, here's the approach I'm going to take-
    1. Remove the negative cable from the tiny 12 volt battery in the back and wait 90 seconds.
    2. Remove the OEM seat from the floor, then unhook the two white electrical connections, and then the yellow one. Take the seat to the basement workbench.
    3. CAREFULLY remove everything that these 3 electrical leads go to, probably an airbag sensor and/or relay, a weight sensing mat or pad (if one is there, my man says usually the passenger seat will have an "occupant sensor" but rarely will the drivers seat have one), and a "fasten seat belt" sensor. He says the YELLOW ONE IS USUALLY ALWAYS FOR THE AIR BAGS.
    4. Cleverly retrofit these items into the aftermarket seat, being careful to secure things up and out of the way of the seat sliders.
    5. Take the new seat and bolt it into the car, using new Recaro sliders that fit the Prius-to-aftermarket specific base from Planted Technologies, atop Prius specific legroom extending brackets from Extendmyseat.com.
    6. Once that's done, connect the two wires for the Recaro seat height fine tuning (the only electric accessory on the seat) using a fuse tap, to a 20 amp switched fuse in the fuse box under the dash, to the left of the mechanical parking brake.
    7. Hook the 3 electrical connectors up under the seat.
    8. Hook the negative battery cable back up.
    9. Cross my fingers and sat a short prayer.
    10. Start the car, make sure evrything works as it should.
    11. Celebrate a huge win with a steep learning curve!

    The sliders, extension rails and the seat bracket cost about a grand altogether, and I already had the seat on hand; I put 190,000 miles on it in another car years ago and just never did get rid of it...

    Feedback Welcome and thanks Community!
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,361
    1,790
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    You don't have to carefully do anything what's going to happen is is you're going to take the seat back off of the seat frame and then the piece of foam houses the airbag so when you undo the upholstery leather or cloth you have to reach up to where the airbag is with a pair of scissors and cut this piece of cloth material that holds the airbag in between the foam and the edge of the outer covering once you do that the outer covering that you sit on will lift up over the seat You must remove the plastic guides that guide the headrest down into the top of the seat the two plastic pieces that are the color of the upholstery You can just beat them with a hammer or pry them up with a fork looking tool You're probably not going to save them so I just ripped and break them now the upholstery whips up and you will have the airbag that you need which will go down to the plug that goes underneath the seat I think I have some pictures of all this but there's really nothing to it you'll be destroying your old seat basically If you don't care about the upholstery you could just run a razor knife down the back of the seat that your back goes against spread open the seat you'll see a blue colored piece of cloth wrapped around the area where the side airbag is in the seat where the little tag is it says airbag You're just trim that pull the airbag down retrieve the plug somehow mounted in your mess You might in your new seats be able to push with a piece of stiff wire or something that airbag up into that area although in your seat that you're putting in the airbag may not explode and blow the seat open I don't know usually this area there that's weakened for this purpose but in any way once you have the plugs plugged up to the airbag no lights will be on that's is the right thing to do The only way to get the SRS light off and to have fully functioning or seemingly fully functioning SRS your side airbag may or may not be able to blow through your new seat material and the new seat oh well and any of the other plugs down there will go to the sensors that tell the computer that someone's sitting in the seat if you're dealing with the passenger side too and all of those things so all that stuff will plug up just like it never left the car If you're really slick you can just cut the back off of the driver seat you're working on withdraw the airbag drop it on the floor never even have it unplugged and then unbolt the seat lift it up and throw it across the parking lot or whatever bring over the new seat see what you're going to do with the airbag and all that business You may have to unplug it to route it and then return the connection either way this is very quick I broke down four seats in 30 minutes doing similar things.
     
  5. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,361
    1,790
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Yellow is for the airbags and the other plugs will be to your seat belt latch assembly so that when you plug in your seat belt latch the beeping and nonsense and the lights go off and then the passenger seat does have a seat sensor and it has white connectors or what have you and should plug right up and go on the nice person part of the seat real easy to move over and all that especially if your other seats can pretty easily come apart to the point where you need to put the passenger seat sensor and push up the bolster airbag and then that just will plug up and everything a play nice I have different seats and a couple of these cars no issue If you're using another Toyota seat with airbag and all that with it the plugs may plug up.
     
  6. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    10,361
    1,790
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I had a racaro seat mounted to an office rolling system so it was my office chair just a few years ago I took that chair out of the office and stuffed it in an old Corolla and pretty much did the same thing there was no place for seat airbags. So they just got stuffed in the area where they would normally go laid them down flat as possible just a little thing everything plugged up no lights on car was sold a few years later still driving around here today
     
  7. Keath Bordeaux

    Keath Bordeaux New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2024
    17
    4
    0
    Location:
    30552
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    VERY useful information, thanks a lot!