[crumblynut]

This is pretty cool. This might be handy to get so I can leave my dog in the car while I get in some ski runs.

 

[evpro23]

That's very interesting, and glad to hear it works! How did you tap into a 12v line? Is there any risk this would drain the battery?

 

[ddx]

Really interested in trying this. Though the pictures of the device on the site now says 1.5h, 15m, 10s, but the product description has the 8h setting.

Is this just plug and play? No splicing needed?

Yes I asked that question to the seller; those settings were for the older version of the device. The ones being sold now are the current versions only which has Original, 8 hours and 10 seconds settings.
Now I somewhat think that the device may be truly plug-n-play. But when I did mine, I had the 12V battery disconnected first. After that its all plug-n-play, no splicing factory wires at all (the fuse tap does need some splicing). For +12V I am using one of the empty fuse slots under the fireman disconnect fuse (they seem to be always-on). The empty fuse slots only have a connection on the right side, so I made sure my fuse tap pigtail is pointing left.
Initially I had a 10A fuse and I thought that was too big. So I drove around and found 2A fuse at a local automotive store. Then I went ahead and switched the fuse immediately, forgetting to disconnect the 12V battery first! It seems like doing so did not cause any issue, no airbag light or anything. So you may get away installing it plug-n-play even without disconnecting the 12V battery first (but YMMV of course!).

So I still haven't fully tested the 8 hours claim yet, not even more than 30 minutes, still looking forward for my next trip where I will be needing a nap or two . I have the device connected for about a week now, the car does not seem to be complaining so far 🤞

Pictures I stole from the internet, with my markups:

 

[ddx]

So I just tested keeping my ID.4 on longer than 30 minutes. I found out that I still need to plug in my trusty belt buckle silencer. Even in "camping mode" setting, if remove the seat belt (release brake pedal) and the infotainment says "Good bye", --even though not immediately-- the car would still turn off after 30 minutes. So this is the way I do it: after a drive (device set on camping mode), keep the brake pedal depressed, remove my seat belt, plug in the seat buckle silencer, then finally release the brake pedal (the infotainment stays on / no "Good bye" message), so far the car is still on after 1 hour!

 

[EcN]

Your pictures and markups are excellent, thank you! I went ahead and ordered mine.

 

[evpro23]

How did you connect the red 12v lead on the unit to the fuse? Also, where did you connect the ground? Thanks!

 

[ddx]

How did you connect the red 12v lead on the unit to the fuse? Also, where did you connect the ground? Thanks!

As described above you could use an ATO or ATM "fuse tap" looks like this picture below. I believe the actual slot that I use is an ATO slot but I have an ATM fuse tap laying around and that one works too. If you never fuse tap before, maybe read up a little bit on how a fuse tap works.

For ground basically any metal point of the car. I happen to find this convenient screw behind this trim panel where I connect ground for this device as well as my hardwired dash cam.
Pry open this trim panel:

The screw that I use is visible facing upwards fastening the dash to the chassis pointed here. It is easy access near the fuse box.

 

[evpro23]

Thanks for this, this is very helpful! I imagine you also needed some cable extensions for the leads to reach?

 

[evpro23]

Another question would be - does the 12v system still provide power if the car has been powered off for some amount of time? Hoping to prevent draining the 12v battery.

 

[EcN]

Thinking more about the 10s mode, could be helpful when you're trying to make a quick parking adjustment and you don't have your seatbelt on. Sometimes if you lift your butt the car will stop. Having a 10s buffer would prevent that.

 

[ddx]

Thanks for this, this is very helpful! I imagine you also needed some cable extensions for the leads to reach?

The red and ground wires (power) are more than long enough; the way I wire it I had to tidy / bundle it up a bit inside the dash. The wire that goes to the seat sensor though is just about one or two feet. If you want to mount the controller somewhere further than under the seat then you may need to do some extensions.

That entire column of the fuse slot that I marked up are always on 12V, so yes it does have the potential of draining 12V battery (I have "Energy Management" setting enabled in VW app). For ACC (turn device on/off with the car) you could fuse tap the trunk cigarette / accessory socket fuse slot (SC52). Since the device is simulating the seat sensor, I believe it should be always on (Not sure how the car/airbag computer would react to a missing seat sensor signal) but if you have the bravery you can try wiring it with ACC power and let us know what happens I have a feeling it may be okay as I did disconnect the fuse and nothing happened. The only thing I can think of is that it would reset to default each time the car is powered on (I believe the default is "Original" setting).

Thinking more about the 10s mode, could be helpful when you're trying to make a quick parking adjustment and you don't have your seatbelt on. Sometimes if you lift your butt the car will stop. Having a 10s buffer would prevent that.

Yes thats true. The device has a relay which triggers with seat sensor detections, so during quiet moments I hear a "click" when I adjust my butt (in original mode). This does not happen in 10s or camping mode. If you want this setting as default you may need to wire the device to 12V always on.

 

[ddx]

Update. I have taken a nap in my ID.4 twice now, 5-6 hours each. The second time I forgot to put my belt silencer on but it still stayed on longer than 30 minutes so maybe it is not necessary in some cases. It works well both times. I have not actually reached 8 hours yet so I'm not sure if it would turn off after 8 hours.

It was a relatively cold nights (50F); it is colder on the back and I like it warm so I set climate to 75F. Battery went down 5-6%. The fan ran all night on fresh air, but I am not sure if its wise if I use recirculation mode I'm wondering if I do this too often it might kill the heater soon, what do you think?

 

[evpro23]

Did you get a warning when you removed and replaced the in-seat occupancy sensor cable - such as "Error: Airbag"? Did you have to take it to the dealer for them to reset it / what did they say?

 

[ddx]

Did you get a warning when you removed and replaced the in-seat occupancy sensor cable - such as "Error: Airbag"? Did you have to take it to the dealer for them to reset it / what did they say?

I did not get any airbag error at all, but before unplugging the factory sensor cable I had my 12V battery disconnected first (so the car was completely dead during install).

I did accidentally unplug the fuse, which means the sensor emulator device was de-energized (with all cables still connected), while my 12V battery was still connected. This also did not produce any error.

I have not had the sensor completely disconnected with 12V battery still connected, so I can't tell you what will happen in that case. I'd say disconnect your 12V battery first before installing.

 

[GenerationGav]

I'm considering one of these - but not sure how much I'll use it, maybe once or twice a year at the most.
As I'm in the UK my car is RHD, but the fuse box is still on the left, therefore I'd either have to find a different 12v source or pull it all the way across, which will be difficult.

 

[Atlant]

I'm considering one of these - but not sure how much I'll use it, maybe once or twice a year at the most.
As I'm in the UK my car is RHD, but the fuse box is still on the left, therefore I'd either have to find a different 12v source or pull it all the way across, which will be difficult.

I'd use this device every time I get out of the car to do a brief shopping errand while my wife remains in the passenger seat. Yes, the car can keep her heated or cooled for 30 minutes, but sometimes she even likes to continue listening to the radio! Didn't think of that one, did you VW?

Our current solution is to use a “seat belt extender”.

 

[ddx]

I'm considering one of these - but not sure how much I'll use it, maybe once or twice a year at the most.
As I'm in the UK my car is RHD, but the fuse box is still on the left, therefore I'd either have to find a different 12v source or pull it all the way across, which will be difficult.

Yah I don't use it that often myself, but when I do need it its a big pain to not have it. I see it could be more challenging on RHD, probably need to run extensions. I'd run it across under the dash, there are a lot of empty spaces in there. It is easy to drop the glove box you have access to the area inside the dash. Or you could just pay someone to do it it should be a quick job for a pro.

Haha right I wish VW just put a camping / dog mode button on the infotainment......

 

[javi_ID4]

Did you get a warning when you removed and replaced the in-seat occupancy sensor cable - such as "Error: Airbag"? Did you have to take it to the dealer for them to reset it / what did they say?

I had the same error. I was able to clear it out with my OBDeleven.

 

[javi_ID4]

I got the device and installed it. In my case, because I do Amazon Flex deliveries, I want the radio to keep on playing when I get out of the car, leave a package and then come back to it. For a moment, I was a little concerned that someone may jump in the car and drive away. However this is not the case. I got out of the car in my driveway, went inside the house and left the key on the kitchen counter. I came back to the car without the key, tried to move the car but the car gave me the message that the key was not near and I was not able to drive away. I'm glad I got the device.

 

[ddx]

I had the same error. I was able to clear it out with my OBDeleven.

So was that because you did not disconnect the 12V battery first?