Imo000

I have the following odd problem with my passenger side seat. The forward/ rear switch is acting up. I’ve bench tested the electric motor and its fine, the motor spins freely when 12V is connected to it.

When the wires are disconnected and the switched is moved to the forw./aft. position the motor will get 12V. However as soon as the wires are re connected to the motor and the button is pushed the voltage will drop to only 0.2V and the motor will not turn. The same switch works fine for the up/down position. Just for testing purposes I shorted the connectors out at the motor while the mutimeter was still connected and the same thing happened as when the motor was hooked up. The voltage went from +or-12V to +or- 0.2V.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I’m starting to think that the switch is faulty and the contacts are disconnecting as soon as there is a load on the motor wires.

Is there a way I can jump the wires and hook it up to the up/down side of the switch to test this theory?

Imo000

Problem fixed! The forward/aft. Contacts were covered in carbon and some corrosion from arcing.

Here is what worked for me in case anyone runs into the same situation in the future.

First, made a sketch of the wire layout at the back of the switch. Then I’ve used a soldering gun to disconnect the wires. With a small flathead screwdriver carefully pushed the two clips holding the housing together on each side. The switch was upside down for this step (soldered connectors facing up). The housing slid apart fairly easily and the switch part of it was put aside. I’ve used the same small flat head screwdriver to carefully pry the contacts “rockers” (4 in total) out of their holder. Then used some small pieces of steel wool with a screwdriver to clean the contact points. After this I sprayed the inside of the housing with electronic contact cleaner to get rid of any left over steel wool particles. The reassembly was just simply sliding the two parts back together, with the solder points facing up. After re soldering the wires the switch worked flawlessly.

MGW-Fla

You're Hired!!!

I've got to get into mine on both seats of my blue shark. Driver's side just the forward/aft is out, passenger side-nothing works. Sprayed heavily with contact cleaner as suggested here before, drivers worked forward once, passenger no help. Hoping the passenger side is just a disconnected switch as also suggested here. Thanks for the R&R info, sounds like I may have to follow in your footsteps perhaps.

Imo000

I bet your driver side had the exact same problem as what I had. If, on the same switch, the up/down works but the forward/aft doesn’t, then the problem is without a doubt the same. Each switch has only one + and – going into it, so if the up/down works then the forw/aft part of the switch has to have contact problems.

Now on the passenger side, it sure sounds like as if either the fuse is blown or the connector under the seat has slipped apart. If I remember correctly each seat has its own fuse. Check the fuse first. Checking the fuse is easy and so is the connector under the seat. You can manually put the seat forward with an allen key and a ratchet. The manual override is located at the front of the seat. If you look under it, from the front, you’ll see a black plastic cover with a 10mm home slightly off centre (towards the passenger door). You can insert the proper sized allen key and by turning it the seat will slowly more forward or backwards. If you move the seat all the way to the front, you might have enough room to look at the power connector.

I hope this helps.

MGW-Fla

Yes..... & it sounds like a plan to me. I have this slated to look at soon cause my wife says I have to have her seat fixed prior to SITM coming up soon! I appreciate your help, it reiterates & clarifies what I need to do. Just been fearful of those dreaded ball bearings I keep hearing about when you take the switch apart, right?

Imo000

Yup, the ball bearings are there, but if you follow my directions this will not be an issue. Key thing to remember is to keep the switch UPSIDE DOWN (the end where the wires are soldered pointing up and the switch part pointing down) when pulling it apart. Even if the ***** fall apart, they are simple to put back together. They just sit on top of the small springs. If you try to do this right side up, the entire assembly will start to fall apart internally before you even have the two halves apart. If you have any problems, just send me a PM and I’ll walk you through it.

MGW-Fla

Thanks a bunch, I post my results once I "operate" on mine!

Hilton

Thanks Imre - this was the clearest description I found of how to take apart the contacts, although I did it with the switch still attached to the harness.

While the chair was out I also cleaned up the forward/backward rails and applied new white lithium grease to them, as well as to the screw collars for the up/down switches.

I also used a benchtop 12V power supply to test the switches on the bench - just attach to the red and brown wires (for live and ground) on the plug on the harness lead.

The passenger seat in my '87 now works nicely and quietly in all directions - so its now sitting in the kitchen covered in rejuvenating oil.