Driver's Side Power Seat Stopped Working
 

Well, just like the title says, my power seat just stopped working. None of the power controls (seat, seat back, lumbar, etc) on the driver's side work. The passenger side works fine. As an aside, I just installed SmartTop on my car. I don't think that should have anything to do with it, but I thought I should mention it, just in case.

Any ideas of what to look for....?

Check the fuses. Then maybe make sure the harness find detach under the seat?

Fuse is the obvious first step. The motor is unlikely since there is more than 1 motor per seat and none are working on your passenger side seat.

I am not sure what a Smart Top is but were there any electrical connections you had to make for this installation that might have interfered with others?

Just curious, does the seat heater work on the passenger side?

Thanks guys. I'll check the fuse and the harness (assume under the seat?) tomorrow. Agree that it can't be the motor(s), so hopefully it's something simple like one of those two.

The SmartTop is an electronic device that provides additional functionality - operation of the cab top with the remote, door lock/unlock chirps, all windows open/close with one button, etc. Details here:

http://www.mods4cars.com/sms/shop/in...de=view&id=120

Finally got a chance to check it out, and it turned out to be just the harness. It didn't look loose, and when I pressed it in, it still didn't work, but when I disconnected and reconnected it, the motors started working. I wish every problem was that simple!

Happy New Year gentlemen!

Harness plug fix for driver's seat
 

[QUOTE=fastm3;10109168]Finally got a chance to check it out, and it turned out to be just the harness. It didn't look loose, and when I pressed it in, it still didn't work, but when I disconnected and reconnected it, the motors started working. I wish every problem was that simple!]

I just had the identical problem and was by my local dealer so I drove in and they said there was no quick fix and they would need to keep it overnight. As the seat was in a decent position, I decided to research it, thinking it might be a fuse-which can be bad news as that might indicate a much bigger problem.

I Googled the problem, nothing-or way too many hits. I next I searched the 997 site On Rennlist and, finding this suggestion, first tried pushing in the harness plug-it felt tight-but the seat did not work, so I pulled it out and pushed it back in and the seat motors work.

Some days you just love computers!

Many thanks to you and the member who suggested the harness plug fix. Who knows who much the dealer would have charged?

Mine gives me an intermitent problem at times. Where is this harness plug located pls - many thanks!

Location of harness power plug
 

I think that the location is a big part of the problem.

It is a small black rectangular connector about an inch off of the carpet and
a few inches back of the middle of the seat front. There are no fancy clips to hold it in place and if you vacuum the interior. mats, as most of us do, you may bump the connector when you pull them out.

There is a large yellow connector a few inches up, which I presume are for my seat heaters. They worked when the motors did not.

It's hard to blame Porsche here, as I doubt they figured in the replacement of carpets. Or, not.

Patrick

[QUOTE=Tsilnner;11704852]You're very welcome brother! Glad it was the same super simple fix as mine.

Enjoy your 911...

Hi, sorry to necro this post but my 997 with manual sports seats just had this problem.

The power seat (front and back) suddenly stopped working. Initially, I could not adjust the seat backwards only but after a bit of fiddling with the switch, now both front and backwards does not work.

Is it the motor? Or does that sound like a blown fuse? Or is it something else?

Until its fixed, I'm going to be sitting really, really straight. Should be great for my posture!

Unplug and plug it back in worked for me.

On my 06 C2S, the plug was close to the center console vs. being in the middle. My connector also had a squeeze clip retaining it. My clip was still engaged before I unplugged it.

My guess is a computer or sensor glitch vs a faulty connector in my case.

I have been upgrading the sound system and moving the seat fore and back without starting/stopping the car. I doubt my usage pattern was part of Porsche's QA tests for that system.

Thanks a ton for posting this fix!!!!

Having the Identical Issue with 996
 

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I'm having a similar issue with my 03 996 C2.
context: Valet (on the shorter side) at a restaurant moved the seat all the way forward - when he brought it back, the seat electronics were not working.

After doing a bit of research/troubleshooting:
- Neither seat up-down, back-forward, or backrest (back-forward) are functioning.

I ended up flat bedding the car back to my house being that the seat placement is undrivable.

Next step:
After reading this thread, I do believe that its possible the wiring harness for the driver seat is loose and would like to troubleshoot - possible to shed some light (or link) to remove the seat cushion to access the wiring harness?
The first logical place to start is the front-bottom of the seat which has a plastic cover but difficult to access due to being all the way forward and can't seem to remove without force.

TIA,
Happy Thanksgiving!

I had the same problem with the passenger seat several years back on my 997.2. Fuses were OK, and the seat power plug was attached. Seat heater worked.
I posted the problem and a member said to unplug then reattach the power plug and that worked. At that time I was taking my car to a hand wash and I would guess they they hit the
plug with a vacuum attachment.

That one reply was worth the price of my Rennlist membership- and that was just one of several great tips I have picked up on this site. Many thanks to all, especially the many highly skilled home mechanics who contribute literally hundreds of times.

Happy Thanksgiving and please stay safe this holiday.

Frustrating 2 days with broken seat ends well
 

After moving my seat back to remove the floor mats for cleaning, the drivers seat would not function. After 2 days reading this forum and other sources, checking fuses and trying to figure out the wiring harness which was tied up with zip ties and hard to access I had a thought. If the fix was to unplug and re-plug the power cable then maybe disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it would accomplish the same thing. Hard to believe, but it worked. So before you put your car on a flat bed the next time, at least you can try disconnecting the battery for a few minutes and see if it re-boots the seat. Thank you to all for the info here. Great help to get me thinking. Obviously not a mechanic.

@Tsilnner i have the same issue on my 996. But when I look underneath the front of the seat, there’s a large piece of plastic that prevents me from getting under the seat. Is the idea to pull this off to get to the harness, or go from behind the seat? Thanks so much!