Hi guys,
so my car is running great, but because of this problem i cant really drive it. The drivers seat will not move back, and is stuck in the forward most position. Could this be a relay, or the motor itself?All other power in the seat works. I did also notice the drivers side floorboard has rust and a hole started under the brake pedal. Water likes to sit there under the floormat. Could this be the cause? Just some helpful insight would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

 

Can you hear the seat motor trying? If not, Check the fuse for the seat- there's a label on the backside of the fuse box cover, check the connector to the seat for corrosion . If the motor is working look for something jammed or dropped into the track of the seat.....

 

Hi Jdsjag,

The seat control module is on the floorpan below the front edge of the seat. If I recall correctly, it is mounted under a carpeted metal panel that has an "L" cross-section. The short end of the "L" is the vertical ledge just in front of the seat, and the long end of the "L" is the horizontal surface under the front edge of the seat. I can't remember whether the panel can be removed without loosening the seat fasteners and tilting the seat back. But I would guess that if your driver's floor pan is rusty, the electrical connector on the control module is corroded and it's even possible that the module has been contaminated with water. Let us know what you find.

If you tip the seat back, you can apply 12 volts directly to the forward/rearward motor and at least get the seat in a position that will allow you to drive the car, assuming the motor will run. If I recall correctly, the polarity of the voltage applied to the motor determines its direction of rotation and therefore whether the worm gear turns in the forward or rearward direction.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks for the help/advice guys. I am going to get to the seat control module to inspect all connections and see what comes up there. I will also try to include a picture of the floor pan and module to see what everyone thinks about that. Thank you for your help guys!

 

I should have also mentioned that a common cause of water in the footwells is clogged drains in drip tray beneath the A/C evaporator in the dash. Foam rubber insulation in the climate control system deteriorates over time and the crumbs plug up the tubes that are supposed to drain condensation that drips from the evaporator. When the tubes become clogged, water pools below the evaporator and sloshes over the edge of the tray down into the footwells while cornering. The drain tubes run down each side of the transmission tunnel and you can see them by pulling back the carpet. There should be a lot of information on cleaning these drains in other threads on this forum and at Jag-Lovers.org.

Cheers,

Don

 

I did read some other threads of that problem occuring. That could be an issue too, i dont know yet. Wouldnt that issue affect both floorboards though? My passenger side is great (i almost wanna say nice as the factory). But just the drivers side is kinda bad off. I do know that before i got the car, it sat for 6 years. Im assuming it was in a garage, based on the rest of the car. Below is a picture of my drivers side.

 

If your car has a sunroof, another common problem is clogged, disconnected or cracked sunroof drain tubes. There are four of them, one at each corner of the sunroof frame. The tubes run down each A-pillar and each C-pillar. It could be that your driver's A-pillar drain has a problem and is leaking water into your footwell. The sunroof gasket is not totally waterproof, so when it rains water makes its way into the tray in the frame around the sunroof mechanism, and it is supposed to follow the drain tubes down the pillars to the underside of the car, but a drain tube with a problem can allow water to drip into the footwell.

 

I'm having a similar problem with my driver's seat controls. The seat bottom will go up, but not down. All the other electric seat controls work (fore/aft, recline, headrests). I assume the trick of applying 12v to the motor that controls raise/lower would work to get it to where I want it at least? I don't have any rust in the floorboard, so I'm guessing it's a wiring issue or maybe the switch in the side of the center console. I have wiring diagram so I'll try to dive in and see what I can find.

 

Thanks for all your help Don. I was able to get the seat to move back by "borrowing" power from another motor. Temporary fix so I can at least drive the car again. I couldnt lift the metal panel for the relays. There is a single bolt that secures it to the floor. The bolt is really rusty and the head is rounding. I do know now that the motor still works, so Im leaning toward the relay, once i can finally get to it.
Good advice on sunroofs in these cars, but mine was not treated with one. At least that excludes that as a problem.
To also try to help your question XJ6Paul, I would feed that motor 12 volts to at least get the seat where you would like it, then take a look at the relays under the seat. Your floorboards are in nice shape, so at least it wont be as hard to get apart as mine. Good luck!