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Power Seat Switch Works/Doesn't Work

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seat switch
102K views 85 replies 59 participants last post by  fixer34 
#1 ·
The Power Seat switch works fine to raise or lower the seat but often will not move the seat back and forth - front to rear or rear to front. It's intermittent so I don't want to chance it taking it to the dealer and having it work fine. Any suggestions?:bonk:
 
#32 ·
Not quite sure what you mean. With an XT do you have 3 rows of seats and are there 3 seats in the row?

Is the seat that is stuck, stuck in the forward position or the rear position or somewhere in the middle?

Just trying to find some logic to this problem

Thanks for posting :confused::confused:
 
#33 ·
Drivers seat is now stuck in middle. 5 foot wife can not drive due to this. It will go back but not forward. Screwdriver method no longer works.

It's all in this thread on what I have checked.

I wonder if I unbolt the 4 main bolts that holds the seat down if I could get the stupid thing with force to go forward. Wanting to set one seat a fire :crazy:

Yes XL has 3 rows of seats, but that's not the problem.
 
#34 ·
Well if it goes back but not forward it can't be the motor. Perhaps a switch? :confused:

I have had my seat out but didn't spend anytime looking under it to see how it works. It was very easy to take out. I would recommend taking it out and doing a visual inspection. You may see something that is a solution. If you do please take pics and let us know what you find.

Good luck
 
#35 ·
You got me thinking when motor goes reverse but not forward.

I took the switch completely apart. All looks OK. I even tried the one from the other side, no go, being it was different. So I put the switch back together and tried the bigger hammer and screwdriver method again. No go.

Well I started watching everything under the seat real close. Found the problem.

When going back the silver cage thing closes up when going forward it spreads open and the worm gear binds up. This is on the drivers seat one closes to the door. This is connected to the motor by a flexible shaft.

So how do I go about replacing this silver pot metal box thing that is broke apart? What is it actually called?

I took a screwdriver and kept pressure on the silver box keeping it closed and worked it slowing to the front position again. :cool:
 

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#37 ·
Well I started watching everything under the seat real close. Found the problem.

When going back the silver cage thing closes up when going forward it spreads open and the worm gear binds up. This is on the drivers seat one closes to the door. This is connected to the motor by a flexible shaft.

So how do I go about replacing this silver pot metal box thing that is broke apart? What is it actually called?

I took a screwdriver and kept pressure on the silver box keeping it closed and worked it slowing to the front position again. :cool:
So nobody has replaced this broken split part before? http://forums.trailvoy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11853&stc=1&d=1274216843
 
#36 ·
seat travel

Intermitent on forward and reverse - slight tap on the front motor just under front of seat with butt end of screwdriver fixed it. Could be a bad bearing in the motor. It will probably do it again. Will train spouse how to temporarily repair and hope it will not get any worse. Thanks for the hints.:grouphug:
 
#40 ·
So for a year or two of having my seat stuck this finally fixed it! I wasn't worried about it since I sit with the seat all the way back but my passenger seat stopped working a few days ago. Thank god I found this thread!

Both of my seats are now fixed but when I move the driver seat back it seems a bit "bumpy", is that normal?

Does anyone know if this is a permanent fix? When I say permanent fix I mean every time it goes out just pry on the silver thing? I don't want to eventually mess it up for good.
 
#41 · (Edited)
I have an '04 Trailblazer Lt and I tried the screwdriver trick on my drivers seat and still it wont work. It makes the noise when I push the switch to try to move it forward and backwards like it wants to move but it seems to be stuck. Its all the way back and its fine for me but Im thinking about selling it. I want my drivers seat to work again.
 
#42 ·
I had the same problem: tried the screwdriver to no avail. Finally, took a 2-pound hammer and rapped the back of the seat frame where it rides over the track. Tried it again and it worked fine. Now if I can just remember not to let it run all the way to the back, or carry the hammer around with me if the wife is going to need to drive!:bonk:
 
#43 ·
I have this perennial problem with my drivers seat as well. The last time it seized up (last week) I was able to get it operating again with a light tap. On the drivers seat as you look from the front of seat back you will notice two silver colored parts on the outboard side. I placed a screwdriver on the upper one and gave it a light tap with a hammer and the seat would then again adjust forward and back. I was wondering if there was any way to get some grease on the part that seems to be seizing up? Can this be greased, oiled, WD-40'd etc?

:suicide::suicide:
 
#44 ·
Looking for source for power seat control switch

My '03 had similar problem: Sometimes the switch (forward/backward) works; sometimes not. There was no sound to indicate that power was getting to the motor, so I looked into the switch (literally!) . For each of the controls (fwd/back, tilt, up/down) there are a small plastic pins on the switch's core that mate with corresponding holes on the 'handle' (? - the part that touch when you want to move the seat). The pin for the forward/backward control broke - when I moved the handle, the switch didn't move, hence no power to the motor.

So that's the cause. Now, the fix? Very frustrating. I tried swapping internal parts to replace the part with the broken pin. Worked fine, but the pin broke again in a few weeks. I tried to glue the parts together (an 'irreversible' fix, but what's to lose?). Again, after a few weeks it quit working. (BTW, I also tried talking to the others who drive this TB, to ask them to be gentle with the switch. No joy.).

Hopefully that info will help others.

For me, now I'd like to replace the switch assembly. Can anyone recommend a source? I'd prefer to avoid GM, as I suspect the price will be high. I've tried eBay/Google & local junk yards - no joy (yet).

Can you suggest a supplier of parts such as this (switch assembly / power seat controller)?

Thanks
Eggy
:thx
 
#47 · (Edited)
I am having this same problem with my 03 TB LT. Had a shade tree mechanic test the switch and he said there was no juice getting to it. Went the dealer route and purchase a new one ($185 and that was name-dropping a friend who worked there to get that price) and had the exact same thing happen a couple of months later. Now the up and down switch is not working either and the stupid plastic housing unit has broken off at one of the screws.

I found a replacement seat on E-Bay from a junkyard which will put it a lot cheaper than the dealer quoted me (no local junkyards have 03 TB's around here it seems) even with freight.

Now comes the dilemma: I have not ordered it for fear of having to install it. I am not the handiest of mechanics. I can change oil, keep fluids topped off, change alternators etc, but serious stuff I have almost always had no choice but to go to a shop.

Anyone have an idea how hard it is to swap out this seat and could an average joe like me do the work?

Thanks for this site as I love my TB especially the fact that it is paid for and barely over 100K in miles.
 
#48 ·
...could an average joe like me do the work?...
I recommend you just jump in there and try. What's it gonna cost you?

Looks from the picture on compnine.com that it's only four fasteners. GM designers were sometimes crazy, but how could they ever justify needing some special 23-point frammitz wrench to install a stupid seat.
 

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#51 ·
I JUST turned 100k and this problem reared its ugly head on the driver's seat. I was able to use the hammer trick, tapping on the back of the rail while I activated the switch to go forward, and got it loose once, but when the seat unexpectedly went all the way back again on my wife, it stuck and won't move forward.

I can tell that it is not the switch. The motor turns, and the outside rail (next to the door) tries to move. The inside rail won't budge.

I have not tried prying up on the silver part. I'll do that tomorrow.

But I wanted to share some observations so far.

1. There are three motors, one to make the seat move fore and aft, one to raise or lower the seat, and one to adjust the rake of the seatback.

2. Hmm. Didn't notice how the seat bottom tilts front to back. Might be a fourth. Anyway, the important motor is the one that controls the fore-aft motion.

3. That Fore/Aft motor has cables that attach to each endo of the motor. Those cables go out to the silver housing that sits on each rail.

4. Those silver housings are apparently small gearboxes housing a gear or gears.

5. The gear(s) in that housing engage a worm gear in the seat rail.

6. When the Fore/Aft motor turns, either clockwise or counterclockwise, the worm gears in the seat frame rail turn in one direction or the other.

7. They must go through a nut mounted to the seat itself. The synchronous rotation of the worm gears on both sides is what moves the seat back and forth.

8. The inboard rail on mine is the one that is jammed. I can see the cables torquing up when I move the fore/aft switch, so I know that something is locked on the passenger side rail.

9. I was going to take the entire seat out, but cannot. Because the seat is locked in the rearmost position, the seat frame rail extends over the cover over the outboard rear nut. I can't get the cover off, and even if I could, I might not be able to get the nut off. If I destroyed the cover to access the nut, I could do it by raising the frame rail as I loosened the nut, to provide the necessary clearance. I'll do all this as a last resort.

10. I took the seat bottom off.

a. 4 nuts on studs

Then you must remove the side cover

a. There may be an easier way, but what I did was

b. Remove One phillips screw in front

c. Pry the covers off the switches (the outside covers, the controls)

d. There are two bottom tabs that hold the fore/aft/up/down switch in place, plus a back tab or two. Loosen and remove

e. Push the side cover up and out of the slots at the top

f. Disconnect/remove the Lumbar switch if you have it, and the seatback switch.

g. Disconnect other wiring

h. Toss it in the passenger seat

Remove the seat cushion and throw it on the passenger seat too

Remove the metal center place, disconnecting wiring as necessary

You should now have access to everything

I ran out of time at this point.

I don't see how to access/remove the silver housing that contains the gears that drive the worm gear on the passenger side of the seat. I can see how to disconnect the cable from the motor, but the problem appears to be in the silver housing, and I cannot see how that comes apart.

To be continued...

Any experience or comments will be welcomed. I won't be attacking the problem until tomorrow (Thursday) evening.
 
#53 ·
Well, the ship won't be sailing now until next week. Sometimes life intrudes. I'm going to try the pry now. BRB....

Ok. No joy. I can pry up the silver housing almost 1/8 inch, but it still won't move. I used a long reach rounded punch to hit it with a hammer, and no joy.

The whole thing must come out, I'm afraid. I'll ponder and research until late next week, and attack it again. In the meantime, perhaps someone who has disassembled one of these will come to my aid.

Thanks.
 
#54 ·
Did some research and concluded that mine is likely not repairable. Did some more research and learned that the entire assembly is relatively cheap. So, do I tear mine out and try and fix it, hoping it is repairable, or do I just replace it and then do some destructive testing to see why mine failed?


Went to the dealer with my VIN and asked for the driver's seat frame/motor assembly. He asked for the last 8 numbers of my VIN. Prepared, I gave them to him.


Price: $437 and change. Plus 7% tax of course. A special order item, and he would have it in 4-5 days.


Asked for the part number. Bingo. It was the one I had. Said thanks--there was another customer present, and didn't want to try and negotiate a discount.


Came home and checked prices on Parts4Chevys.com and GMPartsDirect.com. GMPartsDirect was cheaper, but had a whopping $60 shipping charge. Bottom line, GMPartsDirect was about $20 cheaper overall. It is a special order/non returnable item. But I went ahead and bit the $311 bullet anyway.

So I'll just swap in the new one and then tear the old one apart and document what I find with photos.

Then, if I can fix it, I'll sell it and recoup some of my investment. Maybe I'll just be able to sell the "good" track mechanism--it may be possible to swap the guts of the mechanism from side to side. We'll see.
 
#55 ·
My passenger front seat was stuck in the rear most position. The motor would torque up when side switch was activated for back and foward. I tryed the screwdriver lift of the drive gear mechanism on both tracks and it fixed the issue. Now my passenger side seat moves easily foward and back. Thanks for the suggestion, it saved me from having to remove the seat to check for something jamming the track.
 
#56 ·
Hooray for the internet!

Glad to hear I am not alone with the dang switch! I'm 5'4 and my future hubby is 6'5! I had to do all the driving on our trip to meet his family this week... 1800 miles later I am pooped! Switch was going to be $221 JUST FOR THE PART. Now I know to check the tracks first! Thanks so much, y'all!
 
#58 · (Edited)
Had the same problem on my 06 Envoy with the driver seat being stuck in the rear-most position. Took a hammer and struck the rear of the inboard rail from behind the driver's seat. The power seat is working again ... thanks for the good advice in this thread! And on top of that, the memory seat function started working again.:)
 
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#59 ·
intermitent about forward and reverse - slight tap within the front motor just underneath front of seat together with butt end of screwdriver set it. Serves as a bad bearing in your motor. It will probably try it again. Will train spouse how you can temporarily repair and hope it's going to not get any more intense.
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They used to be death on spammers. Now it looks like the inmates have taken over the asylum!!!!!!!!
 
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