Power Seat Trouble? Look here for FIX!
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Power Seat Trouble? Look here for FIX!
Pin this because this is soo damn useful its ridiculous how easy this was.
So my situation since I got the car was I would have to bounce my *** up and down while holding the seat control back to get the seat to go backward. I removed the seat and under there is a control box with a Green Black and Red connector. Disconnect it and the control box has two latch's that allow you to open it fully and expose the top and bottom board of the control box. At this point you can either remove the entire board or work on it while its in the plastic. Remove it and save your self the hassle and smell of burning plastic for those of you that suck at soldering Apply some solder to the RED points below this will make certain that the three relays have good connection to the circuit board and WILL fix the problem of a electric seat not moving when you are clearly pushing the control and its not doing anything. ENJOY
So my situation since I got the car was I would have to bounce my *** up and down while holding the seat control back to get the seat to go backward. I removed the seat and under there is a control box with a Green Black and Red connector. Disconnect it and the control box has two latch's that allow you to open it fully and expose the top and bottom board of the control box. At this point you can either remove the entire board or work on it while its in the plastic. Remove it and save your self the hassle and smell of burning plastic for those of you that suck at soldering Apply some solder to the RED points below this will make certain that the three relays have good connection to the circuit board and WILL fix the problem of a electric seat not moving when you are clearly pushing the control and its not doing anything. ENJOY
Last edited by xboxexpert; 08-19-2009 at 10:05 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by xboxexpert:
ArmchairArchitect (05-14-2019),
jweezy (03-01-2022)
#2
Intermediate
need a conector for the black plug
help. took my SCM out tonight for a fix you suggest, and the connector on the orange wire in the black plug is broken. does anone know where I can get a new metal connector for this wire??
thanks
thanks
#3
Intermediate
Member Since: Nov 2009
Location: The Woodlands Texas
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Loose seat
Sounds like I dont have the exact same problem but I do have a small amount of slack in both seats. They both slide forward and backward about 1 inch and wont remain stationary.
Any suggestions?
LW C-5
Any suggestions?
LW C-5
#4
My 98 C-5 seat slides forward less than an inch when I brake, then slides back once I stop, local service writer at the dealership wasn't familiar w/ the problem. courtyartz@yahoo.com
#5
Intermediate
my 98 c5 driver's seat only moves frontward / backward when no weight is on it.. so.. I have to lift my *** off the seat.. then adjust it.. then sit back down.. is this the same problem?
thanks
thanks
#6
Racer
Thread Starter
My 98 C-5 seat slides forward less than an inch when I brake, then slides back once I stop, local service writer at the dealership wasn't familiar w/ the problem. courtyartz@yahoo.com
Grab those it will fix your problem completely. It took me about an hour to do one seat carefully.
#7
Racer
Thread Starter
#8
Racer
Rocking and sliding, 2 different issues.
I have worked very hard on both of these issues, and I would say that the sliding issue can only be fixed if you go deep inside the tracks themselves. I guy name Ken Robb did a super how-to with step by step pictures etc. about 5-6 years ago. I agreed with most of his procedure, but found that you didn't have to split apart the top and bottom actual sliding tracks, with ball bearings going everywhere etc.
I would go into the archives of this forum to find this fix... this is the sliding seat problem caused as a result of a rubber bushing inside the seat tracks wearing out. I think it's under K. V. Robb, and it's way back in the Corvette Forum archives.
The other issue is the whole seat rocking, like a rocking chair, especially when you boot your car, which let's face it, IS one of the main reasons you bought that car in the first place. Bottom line on this one is the foundation "guts" of the seat angle adjustment is aluminum, with the pivot points of hardened steel SPLINED bolts, that are anchored only on one side. Because they are splined and not threaded they loosen just by you planting your butt in the seat. I'm sorry for the guy above because he's been pounding his seats to make them go backward, but also probably ruining the infrastructure. Lear did a SUCKY job on this design. I was able to get a new seat track from Dino's Corvette Salvage of Picyune, Mississippi, about 4 years ago. They came from some factory that was making Corvette office chairs out of the real thing, and GM would only sell the whole assembly to him.
They didn't need the tracks, so they are brand new. Mine was a little rusty from storage, but the grease hadn't ever spread down the track rods because they had never been used.
It took me about an afternoon to do, but I was able to swap the tracks out with the above salvage parts. GM wanted $650 for the same parts.
Oh, important, you can swap all of the electronics from your memory seat to a non-memory seat frame to save at least $200 or so.
This is a big flaw with C-5's. I HIGHLY recommend that you are very careful how you lower yourself down into your seats!
My car had only 15000 miles on it when I got it, and the seats rocked about a half an inch. I just couldn't stand it. The track replacement did work, but I don't know how many salvage tracks are left out there.
Good luck,
Bluemill
I would go into the archives of this forum to find this fix... this is the sliding seat problem caused as a result of a rubber bushing inside the seat tracks wearing out. I think it's under K. V. Robb, and it's way back in the Corvette Forum archives.
The other issue is the whole seat rocking, like a rocking chair, especially when you boot your car, which let's face it, IS one of the main reasons you bought that car in the first place. Bottom line on this one is the foundation "guts" of the seat angle adjustment is aluminum, with the pivot points of hardened steel SPLINED bolts, that are anchored only on one side. Because they are splined and not threaded they loosen just by you planting your butt in the seat. I'm sorry for the guy above because he's been pounding his seats to make them go backward, but also probably ruining the infrastructure. Lear did a SUCKY job on this design. I was able to get a new seat track from Dino's Corvette Salvage of Picyune, Mississippi, about 4 years ago. They came from some factory that was making Corvette office chairs out of the real thing, and GM would only sell the whole assembly to him.
They didn't need the tracks, so they are brand new. Mine was a little rusty from storage, but the grease hadn't ever spread down the track rods because they had never been used.
It took me about an afternoon to do, but I was able to swap the tracks out with the above salvage parts. GM wanted $650 for the same parts.
Oh, important, you can swap all of the electronics from your memory seat to a non-memory seat frame to save at least $200 or so.
This is a big flaw with C-5's. I HIGHLY recommend that you are very careful how you lower yourself down into your seats!
My car had only 15000 miles on it when I got it, and the seats rocked about a half an inch. I just couldn't stand it. The track replacement did work, but I don't know how many salvage tracks are left out there.
Good luck,
Bluemill
#9
Racer
Member Since: Jan 2006
Location: Ithaca Michigan
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fixed my rocking seats today! The things seemed to move a mile fore and aft when running a roadcourse. I had a Mustang guy riding with me the first time out and he noticed the seat moving right away, how embarrassing. It was very easy. The only hard part was sanding the nylon washers to .110 for a perfect fit. Took about two and a half hours not counting time to take the seats out.
#10
Sorry to hijack this thread slightly, but I have a problem that's related to the seats and maybe someone might know a fix. When I occassionally lean forward and then lean back with some pressure, the right side of the driver seat back kind of "pops" backward and feels loose (almost like I broke it!). I didn't think I put much pressure to do any damage, and after pulling forward slightly and adjusting the seat position it seems to be ok for a while. Any thoughts?
#12
Different problem here.
My drivers seat will all of a sudden lower itself and push itself all the way forward while I'm driving. Then the adjustment buttons become inoperable for a minute or two. This is extremely scary when I'm driving on the capital beltway in traffic a 75mph.
My drivers seat will all of a sudden lower itself and push itself all the way forward while I'm driving. Then the adjustment buttons become inoperable for a minute or two. This is extremely scary when I'm driving on the capital beltway in traffic a 75mph.
#13
Team Owner
Sorry to hijack this thread slightly, but I have a problem that's related to the seats and maybe someone might know a fix. When I occassionally lean forward and then lean back with some pressure, the right side of the driver seat back kind of "pops" backward and feels loose (almost like I broke it!). I didn't think I put much pressure to do any damage, and after pulling forward slightly and adjusting the seat position it seems to be ok for a while. Any thoughts?
There are two friction type adjusters under the seat. One on the right and one on the left. They are both controlled or actuated by your seat-recline lever via small steel cables that run to each side. When you pull up on the lever, one of the cables pull on each side to temporarily allow a "sleeve" to slide and when you release the lever, the sleeve "locks" in the position it is in when you released the lever. It relies solely on friction to "grip" the tube the sleeve slides on.
The only way to repair this is to pull the seat and order/buy a new seatback adjuster mechanism for the right side of the seat (called "inner" as it's closest to the inside of the car). It's called "Drivers Seat recliner (inner)" 10272506 Tip: Do NOT allow lubricant of any kind to get in the shaft of this device as it relies on a friction grip (metal on metal) to operate properly. It is not terribly expensive but does involve seat removal, etc and a good upholstery shop should be able to do this in an hour or so if you don't want to tackle it yourself.
HTH
#14
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Dec 1999
Location: Anthony TX
Posts: 32,736
Received 2,182 Likes
on
1,585 Posts
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Damn EXCELLENT POST with lots of very cool info! Well done BROVO ZULU! (Thats Navy for great JOB! )
#16
I had the same problem on my old C5 seats (I have C6 now).
There are two friction type adjusters under the seat. One on the right and one on the left. They are both controlled or actuated by your seat-recline lever via small steel cables that run to each side. When you pull up on the lever, one of the cables pull on each side to temporarily allow a "sleeve" to slide and when you release the lever, the sleeve "locks" in the position it is in when you released the lever. It relies solely on friction to "grip" the tube the sleeve slides on.
The only way to repair this is to pull the seat and order/buy a new seatback adjuster mechanism for the right side of the seat (called "inner" as it's closest to the inside of the car). It's called "Drivers Seat recliner (inner)" 10272506 Tip: Do NOT allow lubricant of any kind to get in the shaft of this device as it relies on a friction grip (metal on metal) to operate properly. It is not terribly expensive but does involve seat removal, etc and a good upholstery shop should be able to do this in an hour or so if you don't want to tackle it yourself.
HTH
There are two friction type adjusters under the seat. One on the right and one on the left. They are both controlled or actuated by your seat-recline lever via small steel cables that run to each side. When you pull up on the lever, one of the cables pull on each side to temporarily allow a "sleeve" to slide and when you release the lever, the sleeve "locks" in the position it is in when you released the lever. It relies solely on friction to "grip" the tube the sleeve slides on.
The only way to repair this is to pull the seat and order/buy a new seatback adjuster mechanism for the right side of the seat (called "inner" as it's closest to the inside of the car). It's called "Drivers Seat recliner (inner)" 10272506 Tip: Do NOT allow lubricant of any kind to get in the shaft of this device as it relies on a friction grip (metal on metal) to operate properly. It is not terribly expensive but does involve seat removal, etc and a good upholstery shop should be able to do this in an hour or so if you don't want to tackle it yourself.
HTH
#17
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Aug 2009
Location: Virginia Beach Virginia
Posts: 816
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Here is an issue that my car just started doing. My power seats move way to slow. I was kneeling on the drivers seat in the center when I felt it dent in like when you lean on a metal quarter panel and it dents in for a second. Do you think I am rubbing or did I do some unknown damage?
#18
Le Mans Master
1bad350,
It sounds like your ignition switch is bad, causing the body control module to think you turned off the key, and the auto seat is putting the seat in the "at rest" position.
You might just check the power under the right floor toeboard and wiggle the key in the "on" position..
It sounds like your ignition switch is bad, causing the body control module to think you turned off the key, and the auto seat is putting the seat in the "at rest" position.
You might just check the power under the right floor toeboard and wiggle the key in the "on" position..
#19
Racer
Pin this because this is soo damn useful its ridiculous how easy this was.
So my situation since I got the car was I would have to bounce my *** up and down while holding the seat control back to get the seat to go backward. I removed the seat and under there is a control box with a Green Black and Red connector. Disconnect it and the control box has two latch's that allow you to open it fully and expose the top and bottom board of the control box. At this point you can either remove the entire board or work on it while its in the plastic. Remove it and save your self the hassle and smell of burning plastic for those of you that suck at soldering Apply some solder to the RED points below this will make certain that the three relays have good connection to the circuit board and WILL fix the problem of a electric seat not moving when you are clearly pushing the control and its not doing anything. ENJOY
So my situation since I got the car was I would have to bounce my *** up and down while holding the seat control back to get the seat to go backward. I removed the seat and under there is a control box with a Green Black and Red connector. Disconnect it and the control box has two latch's that allow you to open it fully and expose the top and bottom board of the control box. At this point you can either remove the entire board or work on it while its in the plastic. Remove it and save your self the hassle and smell of burning plastic for those of you that suck at soldering Apply some solder to the RED points below this will make certain that the three relays have good connection to the circuit board and WILL fix the problem of a electric seat not moving when you are clearly pushing the control and its not doing anything. ENJOY
Don