1996 Explorer front pwr seats dead

[XLTrunner]

Awesome! Should have no problem bolting those down in place of the others.

 

[XLTrunner]

ahhhhh true. these dont hold mucg status no more.

not too sure how to ship wheels, but i can look into it. that does ring a bell but im not 100% sure which wheels it was youre looking for. can you tell me which of these it is? instinct tells me D

View attachment 433373

It's a lot to ask of someone, for sure; especially, if the JY doesn't remove the rims from the tires. That's the case at my local U Pull. You have to buy the tire & rim together and then it's up to you (or, pay a shop) to remove and dispose of the tire. I currently run the "D" style rims (15") shown in this illustration, but have always liked the Lacy's that came on the '96-'98 Limiteds. Those aren't shown in this illustration. Here's an example:

1998 Ford Explorer Limited AWD V8 5.0L

1998 Ford Explorer Limited. AWD V8 5.0 litre, automatic. Leather interior w/sun-roof. 238K kilometers. Used only for camping and winter driving. Drives great in snow (M+S tires installed). Built in tow package with ball, and electrical connection included for towing. New parts in last 2...

www.usedvictoria.com

 

[Fix4Dirt]

It's a lot to ask of someone, for sure; especially, if the JY doesn't remove the rims from the tires. That's the case at my local U Pull. You have to buy the tire & rim together and then it's up to you (or, pay a shop) to remove and dispose of the tire. I currently run the "D" style rims (15") shown in this illustration, but have always liked the Lacy's that came on the '96-'98 Limiteds. Those aren't shown in this illustration. Here's an example:

1998 Ford Explorer Limited AWD V8 5.0L

1998 Ford Explorer Limited. AWD V8 5.0 litre, automatic. Leather interior w/sun-roof. 238K kilometers. Used only for camping and winter driving. Drives great in snow (M+S tires installed). Built in tow package with ball, and electrical connection included for towing. New parts in last 2...

www.usedvictoria.com

oh those! i will keep an eye out for them. ill see if i can look into shipping, since theyre large. also would be pretty expensive. iirc for a few bucks i tire my pyp will remove them but i have to see i see it sometiems soemtimes not

 

[XLTrunner]

I have a spare 15" rim that matches my others and it weighs about 17 lbs and would require a box 18"x18"x9" tall. Or, could probably stack two in a 18"x18"x18" box for a little cost savings. For something like this, UPS and FedEx Ground are the only viable options. I've literally shipped over a thousand items (including all over the world) when I was selling classic car parts on e-Bay and car forums, so became pretty adept at packaging; especially, as shipping costs kept rising. But, don't go out of your way. Just thought maybe you might keep an eye out and let me know if some nice ones might be available in your area and we could discuss further if interested in working with me. Either way, I appreciate it!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I have a spare 15" rim that matches my others and it weighs about 17 lbs and would require a box 18"x18"x9" tall. Or, could probably stack two in a 18"x18"x18" box for a little cost savings. For something like this, UPS and FedEx Ground are the only viable options. I've literally shipped over a thousand items (including all over the world) when I was selling classic car parts on e-Bay and car forums, so became pretty adept at packaging; especially, as shipping costs kept rising. But, don't go out of your way. Just thought maybe you might keep an eye out and let me know if some nice ones might be available in your area and we could discuss further if interested in working with me. Either way, I appreciate it!

of course, glad to help! i will for sure keep an eye out! who knows, if it cna work out ill try my best. another option is greyhound if theres a stop nesr to you

 

[XLTrunner]

Let me tell you about my first and last experience shipping an item via Greyhound that did not go well. Customer lived in the Orlando area and wanted a tail panel for his '76 Buick Regal he was restoring. First thing I learned after I dropped it off at the bus terminal is that there is no tracking system with Greyhound. Your item gets put on a bus and can get bumped at any given terminal along the way if baggage area is needed for paying riders. Afterall, they really aren't in the shipping business...it's just a sideline when transporting passengers. It then gets put onto the next available bus and so on and so on. In my case, it took two wks to get to FL (which wasn't totally unexpected) and by the time the bus arrived in Orlando, it was after business hours and there was nobody around to off-load it. So, it stayed on the bus and continued on to Miami. Miami turned it around and sent it back on a bus that was to pass thru Orlando. Same thing happened on the return trip. Finally, someone further up the road noticed it and turned it back around again and it was then off-loaded in Orlando. Even then, it was another day or two before they contacted my customer to alert him that it was sitting at the bus terminal. And, of course, customer is calling me for tracking info all that time...which wasn't available. Fortunately, it was customer who requested shipment via Greyhound and not me. He saved himself a whopping $25 over another carrier for the hassle.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Let me tell you about my first and last experience shipping an item via Greyhound that did not go well. Customer lived in the Orlando area and wanted a tail panel for his '76 Buick Regal he was restoring. First thing I learned after I dropped it off at the bus terminal is that there is no tracking system with Greyhound. Your item gets put on a bus and can get bumped at any given terminal along the way if baggage area is needed for paying riders. Afterall, they really aren't in the shipping business...it's just a sideline when transporting passengers. It then gets put onto the next available bus and so on and so on. In my case, it took two wks to get to FL (which wasn't totally unexpected) and by the time the bus arrived in Orlando, it was after business hours and there was nobody around to off-load it. So, it stayed on the bus and continued on to Miami. Miami turned it around and sent it back on a bus that was to pass thru Orlando. Same thing happened on the return trip. Finally, someone further up the road noticed it and turned it back around again and it was then off-loaded in Orlando. Even then, it was another day or two before they contacted my customer to alert him that it was sitting at the bus terminal. And, of course, customer is calling me for tracking info all that time...which wasn't available. Fortunately, it was customer who requested shipment via Greyhound and not me. He saved himself a whopping $25 over another carrier for the hassle.

huh, interesting. good to know. at lesst for the tires i noticed greyhound was maybe 2/3 the price. significant saving, but that doesnt sound too postive. good to know however. i shall keep my eyes out for those limited rims! do you want the other ones if i find em, or just hold out fornthe ltd ones?

 

[XLTrunner]

My existing rims are in pretty nice condition, yet; although they are beginning to show some signs of clearcoat cracking and underlying corrosion. The truck was bought and shipped here from Phoenix ten yrs ago and so far I have avoided driving it in the winter to preserve it. Don't know exactly what causes the clearcoat to deteriorate...whether it's the extreme swing in seasonal temps or just age. Then, of course, if driven on winter roads treated with chemicals, the corrosion really takes hold as it creeps under the damaged clearcoat and attacks the aluminum.

 

[jammor]

The '96 Explorer Limited had seats with adjustable headrests (I know this as I pulled a set several yrs ago to install in my '98 XLT). Not sure about other years. Suppose you could remove the headrests and lose some height over std profiles found on other models. Here are a couple photos. Height from rear of seat cushion to top of back seat (excluding headrest) is about 23".

View attachment 433356 View attachment 433357

Hey man nice seats and nice console cover! I have a 96 but my front seat was not leather and the fabric covering seat is in horrible condition.
TekCTRL if you are reading this try searching ebay for this "1996 1997 1998 Ford Explorer Tan Cloth Front Drivers Power Seat". The person that posted it has a chart of seat compatibility between years (including the Sport). Now I don't know where the guy got that or if it's correct but maybe you could message him..

 

[Jimmy Sport]

Hey folks. I switched interiors from my 98 (rusted and heading to JY) to my 99 (5.0, zero rust, higher mileage). Everything bolted up perfectly except the airbag sensor plug. I still use the truck but the airbag light is on.

To be honest, I haven't taken the time to pull the old seat and see how to fix this. But if someone could give me an idea, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[tekctrl]

So I got the dead '96 drivers seat out and went to put the '01 drivers power seat in. Before bolting it down I lubricated everything and hooked up what I could of the wiring harness and gave it a try...dead. The '01 seats tested good at the scrapyard, so I'm missing something. The harness in the car has 4 connectors; gray, green, brown and black. The '01 seat has two identical connectors; brown and brown. I hooked the car brown connector to each of the seat brown connectors but nothing. According to my tester, the gray and black connectors have current on one pin each when the ignition is on but they're all cold otherwise, even with the ignition on. Any suggestions on what I might be missing? What are the black/brown/green/gray connectors for? I'm assuming that whoever built this car took an entire factory harness out of a '96 Explorer. Should both brown connectors in the '01 seat be connected somehow? There's only one matching brown connector in the car harness.

 

[tekctrl]

 

[tekctrl]

Hey man nice seats and nice console cover! I have a 96 but my front seat was not leather and the fabric covering seat is in horrible condition.
TekCTRL if you are reading this try searching ebay for this "1996 1997 1998 Ford Explorer Tan Cloth Front Drivers Power Seat". The person that posted it has a chart of seat compatibility between years (including the Sport). Now I don't know where the guy got that or if it's correct but maybe you could message him..

Jammor; I'm going to have a pair of leather/suede-covered '96 seats to get rid of shortly if you're in the market. I won't be using them and they'd just take up scarce space in the garage (which is already full of parts that I'll use 'someday').

 

[tekctrl]

The '01 seat bolt pattern and mounts appear to be identical so, with a little tweaking, they'll bolt right in. The drivers seat being powered, however, needs to be wired in and the connectors (with the exception of having 1 brown in the car and 2 brown in the '01 seat) have nothing to connect to. Right now the drivers seat is fully forward making it impossible to drive the car (I'm 6'2") and refuses to adjust rear-ward or any other -ward. I checked and all fuses are good.

 

[CDW6212R]

I haven't been under any Explorer seats in a while(years), but I've rewired a few, swapped my old 93 seats into my 99.

From what I recall, there should only one main green seat connector unless it was a Limited Explorer, which had two, the other I thought was black. The motors have a brown connector which plugs into the seat track harness, which merges the other seat functions into the one main green connector that drops down to the vehicle connector wiring.

The memory seat of the Limited had six wires going from the seat to the door memory switch, plus another power, ground, and "neutral safety" wire(green/yellow). Those all went out a separate 2nd large connector leading into the floor wiring, black I think.

So I wonder if it's been wired wrong to start with. You can hot wire the seat motors easily through the green connector of the seat track. Just apply power and ground to the pairs of wires, reverse to make it go the other direction. I tested a seat track in the JY once before removing it(97 Limited). I used a 19.2v C3 battery and some jumper wires between.

All of the 1992-2001 Explorer seat tracks will swap, left to right also if you moved the inner seat belt track assembly(I don't know how tough hat would be to do). The motors swap left to right. But the Limited left seat has special seat motors, they have an extra wiring connector which is for the sensor wiring for each. That goes to the module mounted within the seat track.

Below is a NOS Limited seat track, note the memory seat motors, there is one same power connector just like the regular motors. But it also has another wiring receptacle, one the far opposite corner, a small white built in female plug in connector.

 

[CDW6212R]

My existing rims are in pretty nice condition, yet; although they are beginning to show some signs of clearcoat cracking and underlying corrosion. The truck was bought and shipped here from Phoenix ten yrs ago and so far I have avoided driving it in the winter to preserve it. Don't know exactly what causes the clearcoat to deteriorate...whether it's the extreme swing in seasonal temps or just age. Then, of course, if driven on winter roads treated with chemicals, the corrosion really takes hold as it creeps under the damaged clearcoat and attacks the aluminum.

I just swapped around my two sets of 1998 Limited wheels, aiming to install new tires on the worse set. So the best four I have off as spares, to sell. The bad four have some noticeably dead areas in the clear coat. The four best aren't like new, but look good from 10-20 feet away. I love the 99-01 Limited wheels, and the center caps are the same for 1996-2001, those never fall off.

 

[CDW6212R]

View attachment 433637View attachment 433638

I believe your car has some mixed up wiring. In the top picture it looks like the two seat brown connectors should be plugged in together. The bottom shows the car wiring, which looks very odd. There should be one connector(green) to plug into the seat wiring, plus a little one for the seat belt sensor maybe.

Look at your seat tracks closely, just the wiring. There should be a small short wiring harness that can be removed(unplugged) from everything in the seat. The harness connects to the motor harness, and it has the main connector ending at the very rear bottom, plugging into the car connector. The motors have six wires, in their brown connectors. The main green one should have about seven wires I think in a potential eight wire connector.

 

[tekctrl]

I believe your car has some mixed up wiring. In the top picture it looks like the two seat brown connectors should be plugged in together. The bottom shows the car wiring, which looks very odd. There should be one connector(green) to plug into the seat wiring, plus a little one for the seat belt sensor maybe.

Look at your seat tracks closely, just the wiring. There should be a small short wiring harness that can be removed(unplugged) from everything in the seat. The harness connects to the motor harness, and it has the main connector ending at the very rear bottom, plugging into the car connector. The motors have six wires, in their brown connectors. The main green one should have about seven wires I think in a potential eight wire connector.

CDW; You're very likely right about the wiring being 'mixed up'. Whoever wired it seems to have used a factory harness (possibly from a '96 Explorer) and jury rigged it somehow. No telling what they did or how they did it. Now I get to try to get it to work with the '01 seat. Both plugs under the '01 seat are brown 6-wire female connectors. There is only a single male brown 6-wire connector in the harness. No other connectors in the harness are 6-pin. <shrug> If the brown connector is for the seat motors, what are the black, gray, and green for? If they're not used for the motors then I'm thinking that I can just tie them off and ignore them.

 

[tekctrl]

CDW; re your " You can hot wire the seat motors easily through the green connector of the seat track". The seat track has four connectors; brown, brown, black, and yellow. There's a green connector in the harness but not on the seat. I'm guessing the yellow is for a seat-belt interlock. None of the harness plugs will connect with the black seat connector.

Does anyone have or know of a wiring schematic that shows the under-seat wiring?

 

[CDW6212R]

I'm sorry that I'm likely to be mixing up the connector colors from not looking at mine for many years now. Yesterday I glanced at the Limited seat track harness I knew where to find fast in my spare room. It's the unique wiring that plugs into the memory seat motor sensor port, plus it goes to all the other identical connectors in the seat track. It has a brown connector on it which like yours plugs into the motor connector.

I'll try to get a look under my 98 Limited later today, it has the two big connectors, one will be what all have and the one you need to use, and the other is for the memory seat functions only. Which side is the female connector versus the male will tell you which is part of the car wiring, and which is the seat track wiring.

Note again that there is a complete harness under each seat, it connects all the electrical systems of the seat track(motors, air pump, and the control switches). That all comes together into the one big connector that you need, which I think is green.

In that last picture you posted, it looks like they used the seat track harness(removed it from the seat track), and hard wired that into the car wiring under the rug. Try to compare that wiring to your new 2001 seat track wiring. I'm betting that wiring will be virtually the same if neither is from a Limited(memory seat).