S197 Aftermarket seat install

robz

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Although I do not take my 2006 GT to the track (I have a dedicated fox for that) I do enjoy taking spirited drives on my local winding back roads each chance I get. With a sticky tire/suspension combo I quickly realized how inadequate the stock seats are in these cars. As my car is my daily driver, I wanted to retain the functionality of a sliding/reclining seat. As such, I decided to install a set of Corbeay A4 wide seats in my car.

Much to my chagrin, there is no simple plug and play swap for these cars due to all of the modern electronic sensors incorporated into the seats from the factory. I wanted to retain the functionality of my factory (non SRS) seats, without worrying about airbag codes constantly flashing on my dash, as well as maintaining the intended degree of passenger safety in case of a wreck. I scoured the web but found little useful information on the subject, so I studied the ford manual and dove right in.

Starting with the drivers seat, I disassembled the side fairing and went about removing the harness from the frame.
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I then went about disassembling the harness, removing the only part I needed to transfer, which consisted of the connector to the chassis harness, seat belt sensor plug, and seat position sensor plug (off screen bottom right. Everything else in the harness is just distribution of power and wiring from the switches controlling power adjustment functions. I clipped the black and green wires and sealed them off with shrink tube.
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Here is the resulting harness I was left with, which I transferred over to the new frame, along with the seat belt buckle.
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I then installed the seat into the car, connecting it to the factory harness. You can see the yellow plug which is for SRS equipped seats. Since mine was optioned without them, it is plugged with a simulator from the factory so that the ECU won't throw any codes.
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I then bolted in the seat and turned the ignition on. The ECU immediately threw an SRS code 49, which is for the seat position sensor. I removed the sensor from the factory seat and plugged it into my modified harness, and the code went away.
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robz

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Next up we have the passenger seat. This is the one I was worried about more because of the OCS occupancy sensor pad between the seat cushion and frame. Here is the bottom of the passenger seat, showing the harness and associated sensors. The OCS is the one in the center going through the layer of jute.
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First order of business was to disconnect the harness and remove the OCS by unclipping the seat cushion and pulling it out.
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Here is what the OCS looks like. It is comprised of the bladder, a sheet of solid plastic on either side, then a layer of jute facing the bottom. The four layers are only connected together by two push pins that hold it to the frame, which I discarded and later substituted zip ties for.
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I also had to remove a small black box which necessitated drilling out three rivets to get to.
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Now came the tricky part, inserting the OCS between the seat frame and cushion. They way my Corbeaus are constructed, the bottom seat fabric does not unclip, as it is secured to the frame by small steel rings. Only the center is accessible through a fabric panel that is velcroed on. Because of this, it was impossible to transfer the OCS as a whole unit. Instead, I pulled the layers apart, allowing the flexibility for me to insert it carefully layer by layer until it was again one unit.
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I was then able to install the bracket and zip tie the harness and black box to the slider frame.
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The only alteration needed to the seat was a small X cut in the fabric cover to allow the OCS harness through.
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After all of this was finished, I installed the seats and plugged in the harness. I received no codes and the OCS registered correctly when I pressed on the seat to simulate light weight as well as when I sat in it.
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I then took the car for a test drive on one of my favorite local winding back roads. The seats felt great and held me firmly in place as opposed to the stock ones. It will take a bit of readjusting to getting in and out of the seat as opposed to just plopping down, due to the supportive bolstering. My sole "complaint with these seats is that the fabric is light grey as opposed to the medium grey of my interior, but I can get used to it
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And of course, a gratuitous pic of the car in question:)
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lostsoul

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nice write up. I and others changed their seats and didnt have some of this stuff. Too bad my fat butt is flattening out the roush foam too =-/
 

scramblr

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Great write up, thanks. I'll give this a shot, although I don't think I have two pieces that go around the bladder anymore.
 

robz

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I'm sure you can go to TAP plastics or somewhere similar and get some thick plastic sheet and cut it to size. You will need to have the protection and load displacement that the outer skins afford the bladder. Also, go with a better quality seat bracket, like the ones Planted makes. My cage builder (a NASA norcal tech inspector) was sketched out by the mounting tab design/welds on the corbeau brackets, and after looking at them I think he's right.
 

YoungPony

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My corbeau seats have the submarine slot for harnesses does anybody know if there is a smaller OCS that would work or if there is a way to modify the current one?
 

NaS197

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Hmm might have to try this when I decide to swap seats

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aussiebj

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Love this write up I want to swap out mY seats in my 08 , where would I get that SRS plug the yellow one # E-3375
Thanks
 

Mach2burnout

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My corbeau seats have the submarine slot for harnesses does anybody know if there is a smaller OCS that would work or if there is a way to modify the current one?


I had the same problem. If you don't have small children riding in the front seat you can do what I did. I made about a 4" slit in the carpet just behind the floor brace that the seat bolts to. I made the slit about center way left to right. I carefully slipped the bladder system through this slit leaving the harness plug sticking out. Installed the seat and plugged it all in. The weight of the carpet is just enough to make the air bag active full time.

The thing I don't understand is why the OP cut any wiring on the driver's side. I didn't cut anything on either side.


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mitch

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Dam Dude!! Nice job.
But not to worry, the Light Grey will be Dark Grey before long :)

Srsly, good job and good write up. I have the Corbeaus in my car as well.
At first the foam was somewhat hard, but, as I drive the car, they get more and more comfy.
 

808muscle

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Robz, thanks for the write up. I have some Corbeau A4s to install this weekend now I know what to do....mahalo my brother.
 

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