james21_oo

My 82 euro has the later S4 seats fitted and have worked fine up until today.

The passenger seat is stuck on one side when trying to move the seat backwards and forwards (it's stuck on the centre console side). All the other functions e.g up, down are fine.

It seems like something is obstructing or caught in the rail. I've had a look and nothing appears to be in it's way.

Any ideas?

all4woody

Is it in the middle position or at the end. I know sometimes at the end of the rail it has a hard time catching a gear and you have to sit in it and slide it hard to get it started, you may try that. If it is in the middle I am not sure this would help. It is most likely in a position where you cannot get to all the bolts either, that just makes matters worse. Hope someone has a better solution. Good luck. Woody

chaadster

James,

Sometimes the screw that drives the rail gets gummed up, and the motor doesn't have sufficient torque to move it through.

There are two cables, one each for the left and right side seat. You can try to disconnect the drive cable for the stuck rail at the motor (under the cover at the front of the seat), and then clamp it into the chuck of a power hand drill. Use the drill to turn the cable and pull the seat forward.

Be aware to move both sides evenly, so you don't get the seat cockeyed in the rails.

I, and many others, have used this method successfully.

Good luck.

Cliff Ruckstuhl

You can take the front plastic cover off and move the seat with an allen wrench. If the motor is not working chances are it is the switch. I just replaced mine on the passenger side becuase the seat would not move

Cliff 87 S4 Auto

ErnestSw

Each side of the seat is moved by a separate shaft rotated by a central motor. It's possible that the shaft on the right hand side has popped out of the connector. If you can get at the end of the shaft you can move the seat with an electric drill by inserting the shaft in the chuck.

dr bob

If the seat itself is stuck, DON'T USE THE ALLEN WRENCH on that puny little nylon gear. If it's moving on one side and not the other, either a cable is broken, bound up, or least likely the seat is stuck. Still, turning the gear with the allen key won't do anything more than running the motor will do -- one side moves until the seat binds up.

james21_oo

Ok , I've checked under the seat. None of the cables are bound up or disconnected. Strange...........

Is there a seperate motor to drive each rail?

SteveG

Bob is right about the plastic gear. But you may need the manual function to bump it off its sticking point. If then you have no obstruction, it is probably the switch. There are threads on either Pirtle or Nichols site about r/r the switch. I have had no luck with those little *****. And I found it easier to remove the seat when installing a new switch. The connector needs to be threaded through the seat wires and zip tied in more than one spot, PIA. I think it can be done in place.

tdelarm

I has this same problem once or twice...both times I was able to work the rocker switch and tapping on the seat to break it loose. Both times the seat had been placed in the rear most position.

dpower$

somewhat OT, my driver side seat-back doesn't want to recline, only tilt forward. I'm afraid to mess with it much more asI will be leaning into the steering wheel. Any suggestions? THX in advance

jpitman2

Clean the switch.
Note that IF you still have height working, AND you can get at the front seat rail bolts - raise seat to max height and the rear bolts are pretty easy to get at, and then you could remove whole seat assembly, if there is a serious mechanical problem with the travel mechanism....
jp 83 Euro S AT 50k

Gary Knox

James,

On the '87+ car seats, there is a THICK rubber washer/bumper on each end of the screw shaft. These frequently get firmly attached to the end of the seat adjusting frame, and to the part attached to the seat that the rotating shaft causes to move the seat. Many of us have used a pair of side cutters and cut these off. IF you can raise the seat to its highest position, you might be able to cut them off. IF the seat is far forward, sit in it and PUSH HARD while using the switch to move it back. If it is at the far back, you may need to use a mechanical means to move it forward slightly to break the bond. I had this happen on an '88 S4. Removed the seat, cut the rubber bumpers off, and never had a problem again.

Gary Knox
West Chester, PA

dpower$

Once out of the car and on a bench, how do you power up the sat switches to start checking them. Anyone know how to run pwr/grnd to the seat plug to troubleshoot? THX

concor

Wanted to say thanks Gary! I just bought two s4 seats and had the exact same problem. Both sides were completely stuck because of the washers. Cut those away and works flawlessly again.
Also, the previous owner already turned the teeth off the manual plastic wheel...
And the whole motor was missing, so I took out the motor that makes the front move up/down and installed it for moving the seat forward/back. Works perfectly now!

Brown is ground, yellow/red the motors, green the seat heating. I just put an old battery charger on it to test the motors, might not be the official way, but worked fine.

Mrmerlin

there is another possibility.
One of the anchor bolts that hold the rail to the seat bottom has fallen out and is jammed in the seat rail. this will make moving the seat difficut as the rail wont have full travel
Try lifting up on the seat bottom while you run the switch