Has anyone ever made repairs to their power seats? I have a 4 way power seat on the drivers side. The mechanics of the seat still work but it is weak and slow. If I am not sitting on the seat it will move backward, forward or tilt, but if I am sitting on it it doesn't have the power to move on its own but does not blow the fuse. Does anyone have any sugestions on what may need to be cleaned, repaired, or replaced to refurbish this seat?

Thanks,
Doug

 

The first thing to do is to ensure the seat tracks and drive screws are clean and properly lubricated. Assuming that is done, the next most likely problem would be the brushes in the drive motors. Finally, verify that all the connectors in the wiring harness from the switches to the motors are clean and making good contact. The connectors can corrode, increasing resistance.

 

The first thing to do is to ensure the seat tracks and drive screws are clean and properly lubricated. Assuming that is done, the next most likely problem would be the brushes in the drive motors. Finally, verify that all the connectors in the wiring harness from the switches to the motors are clean and making good contact. The connectors can corrode, increasing resistance.

 

Doug
You might want to check that the drive belt is not slipping. Does the motor bog down with weight on the seat, or does the unit just not move? It the motor doesn't seam to be having a hard time, it may just be a bad drive belt or something on the belt or one of the pulleys. Joe is right on with the cleaning and lubing. There's a lot of crap that gets deposited in the lube on the tracks and gears. If you can remove the seat from the car (if you haven't already) you'll be able to get a better look at things. First thing you could try would be some compressed air to blow things out. If it looks pretty clean try using some motorcycle chain spray lube. Hope you get it fixed!

 

Thanks, these tips will give me a good start. No I haven't removed the seat yet becasue I was working on many of the other needed repairs last year like weather strip replacement, coolant leaks, and such, but I am going to go after the seat repair this spring as soon as the temperature gets a little warmer out side. It was -2 F. this morning. I will try cleaning off all old grease, relubing with light grease, and cleaning up all the old connectors and wipers first and see where that gets me.

Thanks,
Doug

 

If cleaning and lubing the power seat track and motor doesn't fix your problem you might consider having the motor rebuilt locally. Most shops that repair electric motors in vacuum cleaners and starters can rewind and repair the small electric motor which powers your seat.

 

I will keep the motor repair in mind also. If I am lucky I won't have to go that far with the repair.

Thanks,

 

I have a 4 way also that moves fast when I hook it up to the battery,but moves very slowly when in the car,not sitting on it.I thought about going to a 40 amp fuse,instead of a 30 amp inline,maybe going up from the 12g wire.Can it be as simple as a motor rebuild to fix this?

 

Please do not up the fuse rating, or the wire gauge. The former is very dangerous and the later is not needed. It ran good from the factory but just not now.

If the mechanicals are free moving, then a motor rebuild should fix it.

I would always try to disassemble as much of the seat mechanism as possible and clean off the old factory grease from everything, as the stuff hardens a lot after this much time. I had to actually chisel dried lube from my window rollers. WD40 or other degreasers will dissolve what you cannot scrape off. Use fresh lithium grease on reassembly and you should be up and moving!