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Seat Backrest Motor is Dead. This Does Not Look Fun.(Fixed!)
As per the title, my back rest motor is dead and after attempting first to rehab the switch and then replacing it entirely I'm still getting zero engagement from the motor with verified 12v at the plug end when the new switch is pressed. So somehow I need to get at the motor but the workshop manual procedure only covers motor access for early seats and I see no threads where anyone has tackled this job. I'm already a day and a half into this endeavor and it looks like I still need to do some major surgery to get it fixed. Or I can just button it back up and forget about it since it's in a decent spot right now.
On mine, the wiring was zip tied very tightly to the 's' springs on the bottom of the seat cushion.
Tight enough to break the conductor inside the insulation.
I was able to verify this by pushing a couple of needles through the insulation just before the wires went up into the seatback. Put 12v to the needles and the motor ran.
You need to have the seats out of the car to check this, but it's a lot easier than taking the seatbacks apart.
On mine, the wiring was zip tied very tightly to the 's' springs on the bottom of the seat cushion.
Tight enough to break the conductor inside the insulation.
I was able to verify this by pushing a couple of needles through the insulation just before the wires went up into the seatback. Put 12v to the needles and the motor ran.
You need to have the seats out of the car to check this, but it's a lot easier than taking the seatbacks apart.
OMG I love you so much right now!
Applying 12v past the zip ties worked like a charm, will find the break in continuity later. I vaguely thought it weird that the motor was showing zero signs of trying to engage but it never occurred to me that the zip ties were the issue. Thanks so much for chiming in!
As a postscript it was the 90 degree bend at the circled point that was the culprit. Neither the plastic shielding nor the wire insulation was compromised but the copper was completely severed internally. Wires have been spliced and new heat shrink shielding applied and it's ready to go back in the car. Thanks again to Wisconsin Joe for flagging this before I started ripping things apart.
While it was out decided to finally tackle the bolster which was severely worn but not yet torn. Used a kit from Magic Mender to patch and paint the bolster. Came out decently well and hopefully it will last a bit, but if not it's easy enough to redo.
02-18-2020 | 11:01 PM
Seat Backrest Motor is Dead. This Does Not Look Fun.(Fixed!)
