linderpat

So I've had my 85 in many pieces over the past several weeks - this year it was electrics and the interior. The driver's seat goes forward and backwards, and tilts up and down, but the back rest does not work. So I have to tilt the seat to get the back rest in the position I want. The passenger seat goes forward but not backward.

I removed both seats - here are the issues:

1. I replaced the switch in the driver's seat, no joy -problem still there
2. PLUS the rails do not line up from side to side on driver's seat. The inner seat rail is farther out by about a half inch, and as a result, I cannot get all the screws back in in the rear on one of the rails. How do you align these rails manually?
3. Passenger seat - rebuilt switch, no joy; got new switch, no joy.
4. CE panel was pulled, all relays and fuses cleaned and D100. All connections under both seats cleaned and D100
5. The seats were an absolute B**** to get back in, especially without being able to use the switches. Seat jobs suck!

Positives - after doing all interior and CE panel grounds and the refurb, my ghost "I" light is gone. My fog lights now work, as do all of the other driving lights as they should (I had replaced relays, combo switch, pod light switches, etc without success). So fixing these is big. I now have a dash warning telling me I have a tail light issue, but my tail lights are all fine, as is my plate lights.

So experts, what do you think with any/all of the above? What am I missing?
Thanks in advance. (The car will be at Carlisle this coming weekend, and maybe for sale)

gazfish

Did you buy and install the tail light bulbs at the same time, it’s sensitive to small resistance differences so a new pair of bulbs might be all you need.

linderpat

no new bulbs. Never touched them. I did unsnap and DeOxit the harness in the well where the spare is, but I don't think those wires are for the tail lights?

Shawn Stanford

As I'm sure Otto would note:

Kevin in Atlanta

PLUS the rails do not line up from side to side on driver's seat. The inner seat rail is farther out by about a half inch, and as a result, I cannot get all the screws back in in the rear on one of the rails. How do you align these rails manually?

If you are referring to the inner rail being farther back, This is normal.

linderpat

I am referring to that Kevin. Good to know. But why then just the driver's side? And because of this weird alignment issue, I am having a b!cth of a time aligning the holes to get the screws in, on one of the rails in the rear. I lined up the easy holes first, because I was losing my mind and swearing so profusely my wife came to the garage to check my sanity and heart health when I couldn't get the hard to manuever screws in first.

Mrmerlin

I think the rails should be even, they were on the 88 that I just serviced,
but as always posting a picture will help everyone .

Kevin in Atlanta

I would agree, however on the 89 seat I pulled to get to the AC o-rings would not comply.

I looked at my 90 GT and 90S4 and sure enough the inner rail was farther back.



Driver Side inner rail is farther back.

Petza914

You can pull the motion cable out of the coupler and turn it manually to move one side of the seat and not the other, then put the square cable end back into the coupler.

I don't know whether they should be even or offset, as both my 928s now have 997 sport seats in them. BTW, they fit a lot better in the convertible than in the sunroof coupe.

Mrmerlin

The accurate measurement would be to make sure the threaded collars on the jack screws are equally positioned .
then the rails will seat as they want. a tape is your friend.
Thanks for the picture

Shark2626

I vaguely remember going through this once. To remove the seat it needs to be fully forward or fully back to access the bolts. And as long as one set of bolts is fully seated and tightened the glides stay in track with one another on the rails. Reinstalling is the opposite.

I think what caused this (and it’s been years so I don’t fully remember) is putting one set of bolts or just one bolt on each side back in and not all of them and not fully tightening them down before moving the seat in the opposite direction to reinstall the opposite set. Hopefully that makes sense.

Walt Simpson

Didn’t catch how you diagnosed the switches. If you haven’t already, perhaps bypass them and power probe the motors/assemblies. Then, attack the switches by checking continuity, swapping wherever possible, etc. Sometimes, these can be finicky.

On my ‘82, I’ve had my seats in and out several times and actually have the passenger’s seat out now while I work on the interior. They can be cumbersome to remove/install and require patience. For mine, there are ideal seat rail positions that facilitate easier access. I’ll have my driver’s seat out again this weekend and will examine the rail alignment. I’d suspect that the rail alignment is fine - with the fronts attached, are you getting any binding whatsoever as you exercise the rails thru their full range of motion?

chart928s4

The seats are heavier than the engine when you're trying to maneuver them into position. For that reason, I can't imagine the rails got messed up somehow. Taking out/putting back sucks for sure.

I am a little surprised a veteran like you hasn't been there and done that. I'm only a few years in and I've had my seats out probably 6 times, including for one of this year's spring projects: seat recovering.

I haven't done this, but I thought you could bench test the motors and switches with a 12 volt power supply. Maybe someone has the protocol on that so you don't have to follow all the wires and pins?

sendarius

I've had mine out a couple of times, and you are right about how heavy they are.

I found it easier to lift the car a couple of feet, so that I wasn't bent over while I was struggling to hold the seat out in front of me.

When I first had them out it was because I was adding some sound deadener, replacing a switch after I broke the mushroom head off one, and doing a deep clean of the interior so my wife would ride in the car on a holiday road trip.

Besides that I found 700 yen in coins, a Lego brick, and four hair elastics under the driver's seat, and two pens, a Japanese parking voucher, and a road flare under the passenger seat! Win!

As to the issue of one rail being further back, doesn't the 928 have a couple of options for seat position?
Maybe one rail is on the "further back because I'm taller" position.
I can clearly remember seeing more holes in the seat mounting area of the floor than I expected, but the rails on my '88 were in line with each other.
Adjusting the jack screws as Mrmerlin suggested should allow you to align them evenly.

C531XHO

Horrible job. On of the first I did on my 80S as someone had swapped the seats and not connected the cut looms. The rails were offset relative to each other but I recall having the right tools being vital for the work - magnet when you drop the threaded plates etc., ball end hex driver for the bolts, preferably both to fit a ratchet handle and T bar