Magnetic switch on driver seat rail

[Tomcat0815]

Hello there,

Question from the workshop, a little urgent cause I need that sorted out by tomorrow:

We just removed the factory drivers seat on my MY2012 Boss 302.
We modified an old seat console to hold a racing bucket seat.
We found a little magnetic sensor then on the right side of the seat rails.

What is it for, what to do with it when fitting bucket seats?

We just zip tied it for now somewhere pointing nowhere metallic.

What’s the way to go here?

Thank you!

Regards

Oliver aka Tomcat0815

 

[Grant 302]

A picture would help! We have FREE uploading and hosting at TMO.

Can't say I'm aware of anything magnetic switched. The only electrical contacts/pigtails near the seats I can think of are:
Seatbelt
Airbag
Warmers
Power seat
Pressure sensor on the passenger side

Didn't notice anything in the seat rails before.

 

[Tomcat0815]

I will post here what I posted in another forum:

I didn’t take pictures while installing the seat because we were in a hurry but it will come out again anyway.

There is three connectors on the harness of original Recaros (I think): Seat belt fastener (white) and this switch (black). A third broad connector connects with the car’s harness (grey).
The switch (black) is mounted to the right outside of the seat’s frame, sliding with the seat when the seat is being laterally adjusted. It points downward onto the right seat rail that is fixed to the car’s floor.
The tip of the switch is blank metal and magnetic, I thus referred to it as a magnetic switch.

I suspect it detects if the seat was moved closer to the steering wheel than a certain position, signaling the airbag not to be fired with full power.

The seat frame I bought to modify was from MY 2009 and had it too.

There must be some people who came across it when changing to bucket seats?
With the sensor now not pointing at any metal, will the driver airbag just fire wiyh the lowest power or will it not fire at all?
Or is the switch for the side airbag which was eliminated anyway by taking out the seat?

 

[Tomcat0815]

Oh I found a picture of the sensor:



It’s called „seat track position sensor“, part no. 8L2Z14B416A according to ebay.

 

[2012Boss302]

You beat me to it. My diagrams call it a "Seat Position Sensor."

 

[Tomcat0815]

My plan is to measure what distance the original seat has to the steering wheel when the sensor just reaches the end of the rails and closes or opens the respectice sensor circuit.

I will then mount the sensor on the self-built seat console in a position similar to the one on the original sear console, only that it will be pointing at the seat rale horizontally from the side, not vertically from the top.

This will have to wait until next time I dismount the seat, though.

I am suprised no one has thought about this sensor before, isn't anyone worried the airbag will deploy to late or not at all?

 

[thehueypilot]

If it deploys you could be hit with lethal shrapnel so we don't think about it.....or so the Ford recall states.

Tim

 

[TMSBOSS]

If you are in a frontal crash with racing seats, harnesses and a bar. Will you even move forward to the point of contacting the air bag?

 

[Tomcat0815]

@thehueypilot True. That’s something I haven’t considered. But after the recall has been carried out, that should not be happening anymore? At least I hope so.

@TMSBOSS You are right. But I installed both, the original belt and the harness. Off the track, I use the normal belt. So a properly deployed airbag would be a nice thing from time to time