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  #1  
Old 09-02-2001, 04:31 PM
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power seat 300E

Greetings everyone. I just came across this site and am really impressed with it. My problem. The drivers seat of my '88 300E only adjusts on the back left side of the seat. The rest of the adjustments are ok. Any tips would be appreciated.

Todd

1988 300E
1970 280SEL
1959 Alfa Guilletta Veloce

Previous 1967 300SE coupe
1974 Alfa GTV

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  #2  
Old 09-02-2001, 09:45 PM
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The seat will have to be removed and turned over to see what is wrong with the adjustment gear.
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  #3  
Old 09-02-2001, 09:53 PM
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Todd:
You need to be a little more specific on what isn't working.
Completely inoperative "modes" are often traced to a bad switch.
If you try operating a "mode" and only half responds, then often the problem is a bad cable drive.
What I mean is, if the seat won't go fore and aft, or there is a problem that the front or rear of the seat won't adjust up and down, or the back rest won't adjust at all, then it's usually a switch, but could be motor or wiring problems.
But if you make an adjustment and part of the function works , say you try to adjust the rear of the seat up, and only one half of the seat moves, kind of twisting the seat frame, then it's usually a bad cable. The front and rear vertical adjustment uses one motor on the jack screw, the other jack screw is driven by the same motor by way of a drive cable inside of a black plastic jacket tube. The metal inner cable can work it's way loose of either the motor or the driven jack screw and only the part with the motor on it will work, not the cable driven side. The rear seat tilt also works in this manner, but it's a straighter shot for the cable and therefor seldom bothers. the fore/aft movement is a similar arrangement, but uses a straight shaft instead of a cable drive, I've never seen this drive arrangement fail except for the motor itself---coins were jammed into the track.
A bad cable can be repaired by removing it and slicing off part of the outer jacket tube, but it is difficult because there are metal ends on each side of the outer jacket tube which must be removed and then reinstalled after shortening the plastic part.
Gilly
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  #4  
Old 09-03-2001, 11:14 AM
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Dan,

You have pretty much described my problem as the seat twists when adjusting the rear of the cushion up or down. Only the left half moves. I would assume that the left side is connected directly to the motor and the right is driven by the cable. I've had the seat out before but only to inspect for the obvious. Time permitting this holiday I will pull it out again and inspect the cable. Are replacement cables available if trimming the end(s) doesn't do the fix. Also is it possible to tell if the seat is level before putting it back together?

Thanks to all for your advice.

Todd
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  #5  
Old 09-03-2001, 06:01 PM
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Seat Twisting, owner shouting

Todd:
I've always had good luck in repairing the cables. I'm sure that cables are available if neccesary.
I take the seat out with the side that will work set at a max "up" position, as long as the seat frame will allow it. I then extend the cable driven side to the same max position, which assures that the left and right side are equal. If the seat begins to bind when raising the motor driven side, because the seat frame won't flex enough, then you can always remove the seat, turn it upside-down, and use a spare car battery and a pair of electrical leads and power up the motor after removing the cable drive. For cripes sake keep your hands clear of the mechanism, though. These drives are all high reduction, but high speed also, and will hurt you pretty bad and not say that they're sorry!
There won't be any other good way that I am aware of to get the left and right back into "time" without driving them seperately to a common position and then reattaching the cable to join them.
What works good for me to run the cable driven side is to use the motor side of the drive bable, you run the cable with a reversable drill on the inner part of the cable, just chuck it into the drill like it were a drill bit and raise or lower away! You may need to do this after the cable has been repaired to get enough"purchase" on the inner cable and have enough left on the other end to engage into the jack.
Repairing the cable will definitely fix it, just a matter of if you feel confident in fixing it. As I said, I have always fixed them with no come-backs. Once you get it out, look at it and see if you think you can do it. You need to take the metal press-on end off of one side, cut about 1/2 inch off that end, and get the metal end secured back on the trimmed side. Harder than it sounds, but if I can do it.......
You might want to examine the other cable, the one on the front raise/lower to see if it might need to be repaired, since your under there anyways.
Gilly
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  #6  
Old 09-09-2001, 06:01 PM
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Gilly,

I thought I would let you knew that I now have a fully adjustable drivers seat. All went well. The cable ends were ok but weren't getting enough bite on the right side so I cut off one metal end and worked it back on the plastic put it back in and it worked great.

Thanks
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2000 E55 AMG
1988 300E
1970 280 SEL (for sell cheap)
1959 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Veloce
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  #7  
Old 09-12-2001, 10:03 PM
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OK Todd, no problem. Surprizing how much those seats weigh, isn't it? Lot's of engineering at work there in the seats. Hope you got it all level again.
Gilly
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  #8  
Old 10-01-2007, 02:46 AM
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Power Seat Issue

Greetings!

Took the girl to the car wash today to get it detailedl When I got it back the passenger seat was all the way forward and it won't go back, nor will it go up or down in the front. All the other adjustments are working ok. Any ideas?

V/R,
Michael B.

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