The warning light popped out, computer diagnostics showed faulty seat occupancy sensor. A decision was made to buy the emulator.
But… which one to choose as there are several versions?
Emulator for the driver's or passenger's seat?
At the beginning it is worth realizing one thing.
In W203, the seat mat is placed in the passenger side seat only. There is no seat occupancy sensor in the driver side seat, therefore you will not install an emulator there.
In the models produced in 2004 and 2005 (sporadically also 2006) there may be two types of the seat mat. Before buying an emulator, check under the passenger seat which plug type you have to make sure which emulator will fit.
3 pin mat connector
3-pin mat plug is placed in W203 produced in the years 2000-2004/5, rarely also 2006.
It is especially important to check which plug is under the seat in case of W203 produced in 2004-2006.
In the picture above, we showed the seat mat plug – in the car the left and right parts are joined together. Please note if the plug in your car has exactly the same shape.
On the left – seat belt buckle connector and seat mat connector from the side of connecting emulators (female plugs).
On the right – the car installation side – male plugs and other colors of wires.
4 pin mat connector
In models manufactured in 2004/5 – 2007 there is a 4-pin mat plug.
3 wires inside the plug – white, red, brown. One hole in the plug is empty. Pictures below.
Note that the 4-pin plug also has three wires inside. It’s called 4 pin, because there are 4 holes in the plug – one of them is empty, without a wire.
In both versions of the plug the mat wires have the colors: white, red, brown.
2-wired seat occupancy sensor
If the seat mat has 2 wires in your car, we can not offer an emulator for this version. Such mats, however, are very rare, and their fault is difficult to diagnose.
4-wired seat occupancy sensor
The seat occupancy sensor that has 4 wires can occur in W203 manufactured for the US market after 2005. If you need an emulator for this version, please contact us.