front seats...help!!!

**nick** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 19:45

hello all,

my electric drivers seat in the 855R started to tip forwards on its own on the drive home tonight. now the damm thing won't recline - the up/down and forwards/backwards work fine as do the memory buttons. i can hear the motor/relay clicking but there is no motion.

is there a way to recline the seat as i am driving in a rather upright position at the moment ?

the only thing that i can think of that has caused it is that the car has been in the bodyshop for a week and they've had the doors open and flattened the battery (numptys).

any help would be really appreciated

cheers

nick

**t5 stealth** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:14

is it a memory seat.....& its going to the female setting lol....
does the switch feel normal...maybe if you can get behind it & blow out any muck from it......maybe just full of fluff

**nick** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:25

no not the female setting lol !!

the switch feels ok, relays are clicking in the ECU under the seat but no reclining movement (the other controls work fine). it was working this morning then the seat back started tilting forwards of its own accord - pretty disconcerting when driving !

the seat back now feels like its locked rigid - no movement at all when before there was a small amount of play in the seat back

i've had a right crap day today with the car and this is just kicking me while i'm down...not happy

**t5 stealth** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:27

you might be able to reach under the seat & turn the threaded screw manualy,
might be easier if you unbolt the seat,4 bolts,really easy...then lay the seat on its back to inspect it better

**nick** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:38

any idea where the threaded screw is located ?

**t5 stealth** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:40

its what the motor is attached to,
i think its just a corkscrew

**nick** · Tuesday 16th March 2010, 20:48

i've just read that the motor is located in the seat back and i'd need to remove part of the seat cover to get to it. might be a job for a sunny day and not at night !!

**Ed.** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 21:21

Hi Nick,

The motor is located on the right hand side of the seat about half way up the seat back. You have to unhook the metal clips at the bottom of the seat to get your hand up there. If the motor is making noise but not moving the seat it is likely the cable part that inserts in the top of the motor is not in properly.

I had a similar problem with my driver seat when i first got my car. I changed the spindle in the motor and it has been fine 99% of the time, just one or two occasions where i had to venture up the seat back again, but that was because the cable had become loose. Twice in two and half years isn't too bad.

One other thing i have read is that the seat ecu has set limits of movement. If the motor is working but the seat not moving then there is a possibility that you may have reached one of these limits in your attempts to move the seat.

Let me know if you need a hand.

Ed

**t5_monkey** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 21:43

This is no help to you at all... but I like the winding of a handle to adjust my seats - it's just more manual somehow, and I can feel good about all the weight saved from those heavy motors!

**Goodwood** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 21:48

Its not the weight of the front seats that you should worry about. Having swapped interiors over in my last 855 T5 its the top of the back seat that weighs a ton!

**nick** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 21:56

Originally Posted by Ed.

Hi Nick,

The motor is located on the right hand side of the seat about half way up the seat back. You have to unhook the metal clips at the bottom of the seat to get your hand up there. If the motor is making noise but not moving the seat it is likely the cable part that inserts in the top of the motor is not in properly.

I had a similar problem with my driver seat when i first got my car. I changed the spindle in the motor and it has been fine 99% of the time, just one or two occasions where i had to venture up the seat back again, but that was because the cable had become loose. Twice in two and half years isn't too bad.

One other thing i have read is that the seat ecu has set limits of movement. If the motor is working but the seat not moving then there is a possibility that you may have reached one of these limits in your attempts to move the seat.

Let me know if you need a hand.

Ed

Ed - thanks very much - i definately could do with some help from someone who's done this repair before. i'm driving what feels like a BTCC car at the moment - bolt upright and damm uncomfortable !.

**nick** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 21:59

Originally Posted by t5_monkey

This is no help to you at all... but I like the winding of a handle to adjust my seats - it's just more manual somehow, and I can feel good about all the weight saved from those heavy motors!

Lol- no help but i know what you mean. There is something to be said for manual seats and hand wound windows - i can fix them because i understand mechanical stuff !!. Electrics are all based on black magic and pixie dust.....

**Ed.** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 22:07

pm'd

**nick** · Thursday 18th March 2010, 22:23

Ed - just sent you a txt. Thanks very much for your offer of help....top stuff !

**nick** · Sunday 21st March 2010, 19:00

just a quick message to say thanks again to Ed for trying to sort my front seat out and for the loan of the remapped ECU - i didn't know my car could boost so far off the scale !!

if anyone has a black 850R drivers seat going spare (unlikely i know) then i would be most interested as mine is still not reclining. the motor is trying to move but something is stopping it - don't know if its the recline mechanism that is seized, the motor position sensor is broken (if there is such a thing on it) or something else. we even swapped seat ECU's but no difference.

it might be a case of taking the seat out and stripping the cover off completely to have a look.