Passenger power seat

[Flashflood]

My passenger power seat motor works intermittently sometimes it works and then stops other times nothing at all but this is only on the forward and back movement all the other functions including leaky lumbar even the angled movement works any clues

 

[XLTrunner]

If you're lucky, it's just the switch. Otherwise, time to pull the seat and check to see if there is corrosion on the linkage limiting movement. Most likely, it's a weak power motor and time to look for a replacement.

 

[J_C]

Can you get the switch out without pulling the seat? I could be wrong but vaguely recall something about not being able to take the driver's side plastic cover off without pulling the seat due to screws going in through the bottom lip of it... maybe with a mirror, flashlight, and stubby screw or nut-driver it's possible?

I too would suspect the motor, unless the switch feels funny when you press it. When you stated it's intermittent, is it possible that it stops working when the ambient temperature is fairly cold? If so, you might be lucky and just need to strip off old hardened grease and relube it, or add a little light oil and put it through full range of motion to work that into the hardened grease.

Here is a relevant topic, there might be others, or other youtube videos depending on what the actual fault is.

Power Seat Motor

Okay, so I'm selling my 2001 Sport Trac and I wanted the next owner to have a great truck so I've fixed everything that can be fixed - except the seat motor. I am extremely tech-savvy so I know how the motors work - just like the window motors, they're reverse polarity driven electromagnets...

www.explorerforum.com

Here's a topic where seat removal was detailed. There may be others too.

Removing Interior Get To Trans Access Plate

A while back BT93 and I needed to remove his AWD transfer case to get the top bolts that holds the case to the trans, it is necessary to remove the front seats, pull the console and fold the carpet back. You will start with something like this: Remove the passenger side seat, start...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[EB4X]

Mine does that too.... in my case it's the switch having poor contacts/ residue build up etc.... I just put the seat in middle spot for most peoples comfort -- achieved this by removing switch so it's sitting out of seat housing and squeezing it with large channel lock pliers thus making contacts touch again - as bizarre as this sounds it worked - so my seat was no longer stuck all the way forward for when my short buddy was sitting there.
"One of these days" I'll take switch apart and see if cleaning contacts is good enough.... I'd imagine there aren't any third parties that make them and ones at junkyard are at same stage or close enough to it to not to bother with.....and rarely have passengers in this rig so...........

 

[J_C]

^ I'd have to take a closer look at it to be sure, I mean as far as clearance is concerned, but electrically you could replace any faulty seat switches with standard panel mount, dual pole, dual throw momentary switches. You'd just cut the appropriate sized hole in the plastic trim to mount it, the question being whether there is clearance behind it. If there is no room in the seat cover panel, the switch could be placed somewhere else and run wire back to the motor.

There are hundreds if not thousands of inexpensive switch choices at major electronics suppliers like Digikey, Mouser, etc... and if you pick one currently being made, or at least standard form factor (hole cutout dimensions) you will also have a source for an inexpensive replacement in the future if the replacement ever fails. I would not get a generic chinese switch off ebay/etc due to this being a few amps DC current. A low quality switch may work fine but won't last as long as similar rated major brand.

You'd wire the switch with positive and negative going to the center contacts, then motor polarity wires reversed in position for the two throws of the switch. Maybe a picture shows it better than I describe...