HOMEP1

Hey everyone,

I am looking to figure out how to run wiring from the cabin to the trunk in my E60. I have an 04 525i without the ski pass folding seats. I have found that access to the trunk is completely cut off? Has anyone tried to run wires or cables back there?

Any ideas are welcome...

rjcastr

You dont have a ski pass? I have no idea, nevertheless, you will have to drill through there to get your wiring to the front, actually, regardless of if you have a ski pass or not you will need to drill through to get to the trunk.

HOMEP1

You think drilling is the only option? I would be looking to run several think USB-type cables between the cabin and the trunk... there is a tiny (about 1/8 inch think) opening between the back seats and the rear dashboard (hope that's the right term), it's enough to let a USB cable pass through but not big enough of an opening to let any sort of USB connector through... it's so frustrating...

bruce_miranda

Why don't you run your wires with the rest of the wiring loom coming from behind the seats. There is absolutely no need to drill any holes, with or without through load seats. Of course through load makes it very simple because the side two parts of the seat will simply snap out giving you access to the wiring loom.

radioham

there is sufficient gap under the rear seat back at floor level to feed a usb or rca cable type just carefully force it from rear to front direction and fish under rear seat back inside car after removing seat base p.pull up from front and lift out the seat squab.
if this fails some have drilled hole behind arm rest opening near top .but with some perseverence its possible to feed easilly under the rear seat panel.

AlwynMike

I agree with Bruce and RadioHam,

Removing the rear seat base will take less than 5 seconds with no tools required. If you want to remove the rear seat back to get access to the wiring, then it's a simple job - the worst part of the job is trying to feed the seat back through the seat belts, but as you don't need the back out of the car completely, this doesn't apply.

There is loads of room to feed wires with the rest of the wiring looms that go along the top of the front of the rear wheel arch, directly behind the rear seat back. If you take out the seat base, you may be able to unhook the top of the seat back enough to feed your wires through at the side. (The top of the seat base is held by two latches. If you lie on your back in the trunk, and look up towards the metalwork behind the seat, you will see two slots. Slip a screwdriver in each of the slots and slide to one side. This will release the catches holding the top of the seat back. It could be that these latches are the same fitment as in those cars with folding rear seats, but without the operating levers.) My experience with running cables front to rear is that it is an easy job to unclip the plastic threshold covers by the doors, which will expose the carpet edge. You can then feed the cables under the carpet along the sill section. The kick plates in the footwell are easily removed, so your cables can then be concealed behind the dashboard. If you're going into the engine bay, then you are in for a long, frustrating job as it is a bitch to get past the firewall neatly. (No, I haven't done that!)

Have Fun!

Mike

Rudy

The previous posters are correct -- removing the seat is the simplest way to do it.

Here's a link to a post with instructions on removing the seat and seat back:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=139338