Correct: Bolt in but not plug in

Anyone know if a set of manual standard heated seats from an '07 Cayman are a direct bolt/plug in for an '01 Boxster w/ standard manual heated seats?

Thanks.

They are not. Here's an article that describes how to modify them to make them work:

The author used seats from a 997, but I expect the Cayman seats to be similar.

Thanks for the reply Kevin, but I'm not seeing the link. I'll try a search.

Thanks Kevin. I was reading it while you posted the link.

So it seems the 987 seats are a bolt in, but not a plug in. The article author is swapping full power seats. He and others have made them work.

My seat swap would be switching manual (recline power only) heated for manual (recline power only) heated so there's only 2 things to get working. I think it can be done w/o too much trouble, but I still may need help w/ the connections. A PCA friend of mine here can probably sort it.

If you do this, please post about your experience. I had considered doing the same modification, but decided to go in another direction. I started with basic powered backrest/unheated seats in my 2000 Boxster and upgraded to heated, full-power memory seats. You can read about it here: Seat Upgrade When I have some time, I may install the memory mirror function, but that may be a project for next winter.

It looks like the 987 to 986 swap will be considerably more complicated. I think I saw a post somewhere stating that the seat heaters on the 997/987 seats are operated through the MOST bus. So, there may not be much information available on how to make the 986 seat heater controls operate the 987 seats.

Good luck with your project.

I did the swap for my 2004.

They bolt in nicely and are an improvement.

I was able to use a multi-meter to figure out the power connections.

The seat belt is best swapped over - use the latch from your old car and that will be good.

I had issues with the heated seats - in my car at least some of the controller moved from the seat to the console or was it vice-versa.

I did not complete that part.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

I don't know diddly about a MOST bus (is that the city blue line?) so now I'm not so sure about attempting the swap.

Anyone else got any experience/knowledge on this?

It appears that Grant and the folks on the Pelican website were able to get everything working except the seat heaters. So, if you want to have operational seat heaters, you will need to innovate. I was able to figure out some of the intricacies of the 986/996 seats, but I think that was a much less complex task than the one you face. There was a substantial amount of information already available about the 996/986 seats and I just needed to pull it all together.

If you want to complete this project I think you will need some skills with a multi meter, a basic understanding of electrical components such as relays and some time to puzzle this all out. You will also need to figure out how much money you want to spend. In my case, I think I invested a about $300 to upgrade my seats. (I was able to re-sell some of the parts I replaced.) I had a seat base sitting on my work table for about two months while I puzzled out the wiring. I found it to be an enjoyable challenge, but not everyone likes that kind of experience.

Good luck

Thanks for your help Kevin. I'm OK w/ nuts and bolts but electrical troubleshooting is not something I'm good at.

Not being able to get the seat heat to work would negate one of the main reasons for the switch as my current drivers side is not working. That, and a bit of wear on that seat are the only thing wrong w/ the seats in the car. So I did not buy the Cayman seats.