Power Seat Not Working

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Matt Man

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Hey guys, working on getting the LS back in running condition after sitting for half a year. My driver's seat isn't working properly. The lumbar support still works, but the slide and recline will not work. The car is a 2001 V8

I checked the fuse and it was fine, but seeing as the lumbar still works it shouldn't be the fuse. I stuck my hand under the seat and tugged on the wires a little and the connector feels to be hooked up. Major problem there is I'm 6' 2" so the seat is all the way back and I cant get in there from the back to look really.

Has anyone else had this problem? The seatback is too far upright for the car to be comfortable to drive for much more than 20 minutes so I'm hoping to fix it quick lol. Thanks!

-Matt
 
On mine the recline stopped working. Took apart the switch and saw the contacts were all corroded. Cleaned em up and it worked good as new. Hopefully you have the same issue... I'd take the switch off and try shorting wires manually to see if the motors work.
 
Thanks for the quick reply owlman! So you just popped off the switch on the side of the seat right? I'll give it a shot now
 
Forgive me if this is a newb question, but how do I get the switch panel off the seat? I got my hook pick under the cover and when I pull it doesn't budge. I really don't want to break it. Thanks again!
 
Start at the bottom. The top half has hooks molded into the cover and the bottom has plastic push pins. Pull on those and it sorta slides down.

On mine was just a few loose wires on the harness. Forget which ones.
 
I'm not sure if my switches are different or its a different year car, but this cover had hooks all around. I broke one getting the cover off and had to pull off the" buttons" that slide the seat and recline it. This revealed a rubber thing over the casing for the switches. I pulled that but I still can't pull the switches because they looked to be screwed in from the inside..

It looks like I have to pull the effing seat, but I can't pull it because it needs to slide to reveal the seat frame bolts. Helpppp meeeee lol
 
bump..

I hope to mess with the car more tomorrow night after work.
 
That sucks. I could unplug and remove my whole switch block/unit with screws or snaps (I forget which) but that's on an '06 so maybe yours is different?
 
My car is an 01 so it must be different.. 03 and up got heated and cooled seats too right? So they prob changed the switches then.

When I pulled the rubber cover off the switches is revealed the cap for the switches. So I started pulling off the cap then realized the sliding switches were all about to fall out of their tracks!
 
Yeah that sounds right, when I pulled the cap off I could access all the switches/contacts which were loosely sitting in there. One set was obviously corroded/gummed up. Of course, I was doing this on a table top, I guess when it's mounted sideways still it would be hard to keep all the little parts from falling out! :D
 
How many little parts are there? If its just the sliding pin things i'll give it a shot. I can't get the whole thing off because its screwed from the inside of the seat. Stupid stupid stupid

And to clarify, the corrosion on yours was where the actual sliding pieces made contact inside the switch?
 
Yeah as I recall on mine each switch is like one pole that the knob attaches to, and two loose ---\_/--- shaped copper pieces that, as you slide the pole side to side, pivot and press down and make contact to some little terminals underneath. Either the terminals or the little copper pieces were corroded, I don't remember.

But first, can you remove the wire harness plug from the switch block? Then you can easily short wires together manually to make sure it's not the motors or wiring.
 
Thanks for the description owlman, I will have to check and see.

To answer your other question, I don't think I can disconnect the wiring harness to try short circuiting it. I might have to buy a couple funky wrenches to fit under the back of the seat to get out the two rear seat frame bolts. I can reach the front two fine because the seat is slid back. If I cant get the seat loose, I can do a lot more testng

Another question, does one motor control the seat sliding up and also reclining the seat? If so, then maybe it went. But if there are two motors, it seems unlikely that both would go at once
 
Man thay switch sucks @ss! I took it apart because I was aggravated and bored, then got more aggravated when all the switch parts fell out lol. Those toggle contact are a pain in the d!ck!! But they were all in good condition so that must not be the issue.

I'm going to try to get the seat removed this weekend. Going to look for a ratcheting offset box end wrench....
 
Ok I got some offset box end wrenches and got the seat out. There are no blatant melted wires hanging open, but most of the damn things are in those plastic covers!

I used my multimeter to test for power going to the seat. I tested the thick red wire and a brown wire (bc I ASSumed these were power and ground) and got 12 volts. All fuses and relays look good. So it has to be something under the seat.

Does anyone have a parts fiche of the driver seat? There is a little box under the seat (has an aluminum cover and is roughly 2"x3") that plugs into the wiring harness and I'm wondering if it's the "brain" for the seat. Maybe it fried? If someone has a fiche I can point to the exact part so you guys know what i'm talking about. Any and all help is appreciated!

-Matt
 
Ok, I yanked the part and found a part number on it. Some searching tells me it's a "front seat module". Some of the descriptions specify that its a heated seat module. Could this be my issue? If it only controls the seat heater then that's not the problem, because my seat heater works. However, if it's the "brain" for the power functions then i think it's toast.

Anyone got one for sale? twenty bucks!

-Matt
 
More research tells me that the module might be the larger black box towards the front underside of the seat with 3 harness plugs going into it.

Would this thing blow and let the lumbar and seat heater work, but not the slide or tilt? Sorry for the rapid fire questions, just trying to add more information as I find it. At this point I'm trying to get the car fixed so it can go on craigslist. I don't drive it because I have my work truck so its just costing me insurance and one part after another.
 
Thoughts anyone?

The car threw a check engine light this weekend with a code P1663 (Manufacturer control, auxiliary inputs, auxiliary outputs). I don't think it's related though, because the seat hasn't worked for months.
 
Matt Man said:
Thoughts anyone?

The car threw a check engine light this weekend with a code P1663 (Manufacturer control, auxiliary inputs, auxiliary outputs). I don't think it's related though, because the seat hasn't worked for months.
Click to expand...

P1663 is "Fuel Demand Command Signal Output Circuit"
 
Joe, do you know what that could mean? I had read on the interweb that it could mean my computer needs to be flashed or my battery could be getting weak.

I did just replace my fuel pump, but its been working great (knock on wood)
 
Is there a way for me to test if my seat control module is indeed bad? Or would i need the advanced scanner tool or have to take it to the dealer and have them scan it? I am trying to avoid taking it to the dealer, paying $100 to find out its bad, just to have to put in a new one and have to take it to the dealer anyway to have them "code" it to the car or whatever they have to do. I'm hoping to dig into the car more this week and get things working again.

Thanks for any and all help!
 
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