89 3.2 Electric Seat Not Working

[hcoles]

Hello Pelicans,

I'm putting the original motorized seats back in the car after being stored for 15? years. I've been using a set of Recaros.
I got the passenger seat installed and the connector connected.
It looks like I positioned the seat to max high in back and max low in front when I took the motorized seat out.
When I push the up arrow for the rear movement I hear what sounds like a motor/etc. at the end of travel, sort of clicking. When I push down no noise or movement - on the front control no noise of movement when pushing up or down on the button.

What is the advice at this point? Take the seat back out and spin the mechanisms/motors and try putting 12V to some wires to confirm that the motor works? Maybe after so long the switches on the side of the seat are corroded?

Thanks,
-Henry

[brighton911]

Two thoughts Henry If you hear motor action, I think the switch is OK (although mine will oxidize and give a no contact situation if not used for a while). Perhaps the grease on the mechanism has hardened enough to make it tough for the motor to turn it. Time to lift that heavy seat out and power it up "on the bench" to see what's up. Good luck

[thsupernge]

I repaired my 88's while still in the car-I don't recommend that, however.
In my experience, the motors are pretty sound. It's the switches that are very fiddly. Assembly against the laws of gravity, even harder. Take them out for sure, take apart the switches and clean all the contacts. I used a straight pick with 00 steel wool about the size of the ball bearings inside. Speaking of which, be extremely careful with the disassembly, one lost BB can cause a lot of grief. Finish with electric grease to protect from corrosion.
Take your time and practice your Zen.

[hcoles]

okay guys thanks, pull it out and start fiddling with it on the bench. I don't know why I though some magic would fix it. I'll let you know what happened. I have other projects on the car so stand by for those also. :-|

[GH85Carrera]

One thing to remember, the motors are just simple 12 volt electric motors. Try to reverse the wires to the motor and see if the switch will move it the other way. The solid brown is the ground, the other wires are the motor power.



This is the wiring diagram for the seats.

And yea, remove the seats, and turn them upside down to see the wires. Just hook up a 12 volt power supply of some sort to test the movement.

The switches are not a great robust design. There are threads on this site on how to spray contact cleaner in there. That may work for a while but in my experience once the seat switch goes flaky it is not long for this world. If it is the passenger seat, just get it into a comfortable middle position, and leave it alone. Tell the passengers to leave the switches alone. Or just replace the switches if you are like me, and require all items of a car to work as designed, if not better than designed.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by hcoles

okay guys thanks, pull it out and start fiddling with it on the bench. I don't know why I though some magic would fix it. I'll let you know what happened. I have other projects on the car so stand by for those also. :-|

Sometimes, the magic of DeOxit5 can fix the switches in situ...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/152315-how-fix-power-seat-switches.html

If the switch is two-way power, there's an extremely convenient hole for the DeOxit5 straw that allows you to spray the internal contacts. If it is a 4-way power switch, best to remove the seat and disassemble the switch outside of the car. Then you can clean and service the electrical contacts.

[hcoles]

okay, much thanks for the advice and info. It looks like I have two two-way switches on each seat.
I take it that I will not be able to get the switch apart to clean up the contacts, right? I can attempt get spray in there (DeOxit5) or something similar. Pulling the seat out again today. I'd like to get things all working as they should.

Picture of my switch ....

[hcoles]

I see this on rennlist.... It looks like getting the switch apart is possible...

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/269624-reworking-the-seat-adjustment-switches-no-need-to-replace-them.html

[thsupernge]

Originally Posted by hcoles

I see this on rennlist.... It looks like getting the switch apart is possible...

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-forum/269624-reworking-the-seat-adjustment-switches-no-need-to-replace-them.html

That's exactly it. Some basic electronic surgery and they should be working fine.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by hcoles

okay, much thanks for the advice and info. It looks like I have two two-way switches on each seat.
I take it that I will not be able to get the switch apart to clean up the contacts, right? I can attempt get spray in there (DeOxit5) or something similar. Pulling the seat out again today. I'd like to get things all working as they should.

If you have a two-way switch then there is a hole that you can spray the contact cleaner into. Try that first before R&Ring the seats again.

[hcoles]

Update:
- seat back out
- disassemble switches, clean contacts, reassemble, watch your balls for sure, the housings are polarized
- take out motors and lube screw drive unit threads (note to self, set seat position to near high for storage)
- someone has been in there before me - a flex cable housing was missing, fortunately it was the shortest one and not really needed
- set front and back to mid travel - seemed like one or both were bound at the end of travel, measured distance off the the bottom stop at the 4 places to reset the cables to the motors
- reinstalled everything and it is all working and I feel like I should go buy a lottery ticket
- I used grease to hold the springs and balls then test with an ohm meter and feel of the switch
- installed a tie wrap to keep the cable from snagging the radio amp.
- I'm not touching it and will not let anyone else touch the passenger side
- I don't like those switches, it is a wonder they work as long as they do

On to the driver seat now. I hope I have the same experience or better.

[GH85Carrera]

For the passenger side, just unplug the switches at the seat connection once you get the seat into a good average position. That way the passenger can play with the buttons all they want and not do anything. It is easy enough to plug back in the seat if you want to.

[hcoles]

All was going great.... then it happened. I got done testing the motors (no drive cables attached) and took the seat out - then turned it over and broke a switch on the bench. This is after I got the switches all working again. I hate myself right now.

[hcoles]

Here are a few pictures that might help someone.
I couldn't get my iphone well focused on the contacts.

Picture 1 - Overall Parts
Balls sit in the valley between the two small tabs. Held in place by the end of the springs.



Picture 2 - Close Up of Switch Base
Bending the base to get the contacts out - be careful to bend things as little as possible. Getting the contact back in without bending things too much is not easy.



Picture 3 - Moving part contact location - out of focus



Picture 4 - Base Contact Location - out of focus
I "cleaned" the contacts by burnishing with the tip of a small screwdriver.

[bweiss1]

Hey hcoles, I just went through this with my 87. Replaced the seat switches and all worked great. I did end up buying a few motors and the connecting rods from someone and didn't end up needing them so feel free to reach out if your motor is in fact the issue.

Also, had a horrible cross threading incident on re-install that I'm still having PTSD from. Beware!

Best,

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

For the passenger side, just unplug the switches at the seat connection once you get the seat into a good average position. That way the passenger can play with the buttons all they want and not do anything. It is easy enough to plug back in the seat if you want to.

Good tip. Thanks.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by bweiss1

Hey hcoles, I just went through this with my 87. Replaced the seat switches and all worked great. I did end up buying a few motors and the connecting rods from someone and didn't end up needing them so feel free to reach out if your motor is in fact the issue.

Also, had a horrible cross threading incident on re-install that I'm still having PTSD from. Beware!

Best,

Thank you. So far it looks like all the motors are good.
Question: I ordered one switch. How does this get put back in the harness? Do I need to cut and solder to get the old switch out and new one in? Thanks.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by hcoles

Thank you. So far it looks like all the motors are good.
Question: I ordered one switch. How does this get put back in the harness? Do I need to cut and solder to get the old switch out and new one in? Thanks.

The new switch comes with the wire harness. Just open the connector, and put the pins in the large connector. It is very easy. Just open the 6 pin connector carefully and make not of the pin positions.

[hcoles]

Thank you, I'll probably dig into this tomorrow. I got the part today I think.
Other lame questions but might be better in another post....
1 - where and what orientation do the seat track stops go? I can't remember. I guess they would go at the back on one of the base slides under one of the mounting bolts.
2- what is the correct or good enough washer setup on the bolt that holds the seat belt buckle?
I have Belview washers, but I don't have 4 Belview washers. I think the point is to not "bind" the shoulder on the shoulder bolt with any material and at at the some time provide enough friction to hold the buckle in place. On the 89 maybe 88? the buckle moves with the seat.
Thanks.

[bweiss1]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/885223-power-seat-switch-replacement.html

This was really helpful when i did mine.