power driver seat dying?

[tbomb]

my power driver seat seems to be dying on me. i can make the seat go all the way back, but when i try to move it forward, itll only go up to about the halfway point and the motor just stops (i'm talking about going forward and backward, NOT reclining.) i couldnt really see too well, i dont think theres anything stuck in the rails, like loose change or something.

any ideas before i dare go to a dealership?

TIA.

 

[tbomb]

bump.

everyone i ask says to look REALLY WELL under the seat and in the rails for loose change - apparently its not uncommon for a penny or a dime to get lodged in there, but short of taking the whole damn seat out, i dont know if i'm really gonna get a good look in there.

anyone?

 

[jayhawkexplorer]

Will the seat move if you're not sitting in it? I'm thinking that the motor might be dying and it can't move the seat with a lot of weight on it. My Haynes manual has nothing about those motors, unfortunately. But I'm going to check and see if I can get them from O'Reilly Auto Parts (my work), just out of curiousity.

 

[tbomb]

Will the seat move if you're not sitting in it? I'm thinking that the motor might be dying and it can't move the seat with a lot of weight on it. My Haynes manual has nothing about those motors, unfortunately. But I'm going to check and see if I can get them from O'Reilly Auto Parts (my work), just out of curiousity.

yup. whether i'm in the seat or not has no bearing on this issue. it does the same thing either way. the more i think about it, the more annoyed i'm getting, and if we didnt get a ton of rain that flooded out basically all of NY, i'd go rip it apart tonight, heh.

 

[Ru Dawg]

It's a problem with the switch....mine does the same thing. You can order a new one from www.fordpartsnetwork.com . The part isn't listed, so you have to e-mail Torrie there and he'll ask you for a part number & give you a price.
Mine stopped going forward completely, I needed to move it forward for a road trip (haven't ordered the new switch yet), so I took apart the cover where the switch is, jiggle the wires and made sure everything is connected, started playing with the switch, and now I can go forward again!!!

 

[section525]

I think its a problem with the seat belt track. My passenger one does the exact same thing. Try physically holding the seat belt back as you slide the seat forward. I'm willing to bet Ru Dawg's explorer that that's the problem.

 

[Ru Dawg]

What does the seat belt have to do with the power seat?

 

[section525]

Well the seat belt receiver has it's own track that it moves along to keep up with the seat. Now what happens with mine is the part that should slide along the track.. actually pinches against the track as it goes forward. Resulting in a gradual stop of the seat. I feel a video coming on....

 

[section525]

Now the first quick part of the vid (didn't capture all I wanted) is it getting pinched on the track. The second part is me holding the seatbelt back so nothin hits the fan. The third part is what happens when you don't hold it. You can kinda see what's happening here.

http://www.explorerforum.com/files/4452/seatbelt.wmv

 

[Ru Dawg]

Wow!!! A video guide and all!!! Thanks Section.
I'll have to check out the vid when I get home.... damned Smartfilter at work!!!

 

[tbomb]

thanks for the replies guys, and section, thanks for the vid clip i'm pretty sure mine isnt an issue with the seat belt. i'm gonna pop off the plastic cover when i get a chance and check out the rails; if the rails are clear, ill play with the switch and the wires and go from there.

thanks again all. i'll post whatever i come up with - most likely, this weekend.

 

[Digger1024]

I had a similar problem with my 92. It was actually my plastic cover on the rails that has an indention in it which is preventing the seat from moving on the rails.

 

[RiverRat]

I think its a problem with the seat belt track. My passenger one does the exact same thing. Try physically holding the seat belt back as you slide the seat forward. I'm willing to bet Ru Dawg's explorer that that's the problem.

Yup, Had the same issue when I swapped explorer seats into the ranger. Sections525 is on it

 

[tbomb]

so it finally stopped raining around here and i checked it out. it was the seat belt thing easy fix.

thanks to all.