I did a search and couldn't find what I was looking for, so here goes. My passenger side seat on my 85 sd will no longer lean back. What I mean is that the control on the door will make the bottom part of the seat go forward, backward and tilt just fine. The back of the seat will also go up ( towards vertical ), just fine. But the control will not move the back of the seat towards a reclining position.
Where should I start looking to fix this?

Can you hear the drive motor run while activating the switch in that direction? If not, you may need to clean the switch.

Check here http://www.rangerovers.net/repairdetails/seatcontrols.htm

If the motor does run, then you may have to pull the seat and do a little clean-and-lube of the mechanism.

__________________
Sam

84 300SD 350K+ miles ( Blue Belle )

Hey,
I had that problem and it was the switch itself. This may or not be your problem but I set it where I wanted it and disconnected it for now. Whatever you do, DO NOT try to take that switch housing apart! Don't ask how I know that. Those little ballbearings are PITA to get back in place!
But I guess you can do it if your careful and know what to expect.

Remove the 2 screws on the bottom of the seat back and it comes right off. If you can, reverse the leads to check the motor.

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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I think it must be the switch, for the simple reason that everything else works fine. How does on removethe door switch to replace it? Where can I get a replacement swtich?

Sorry for the bad grammer.

Get some contact cleaner from Radio Shack, squirt it in there and wiggle the switch around to clean the contacts. That's what works for me!

__________________
Tom Hughes
St. Louis
84 300SD
92 300D
86 300SDL

My Haynes Manual had pretty clear directions on removing the door panels.
You don't even want to know how much those switches cost!
I would definitely try the spray cleaner first.

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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Actually, *I* do! How much (I have a 83 300SD)?

-gil

Switches can be found on eBay too.

__________________
Michael LaFleur

'05 E320 CDI - 86,000 miles
'86 300SDL - 360,000 miles
'85 300SD - 150,000 miles (sold)
'89 190D - 120,000 miles (sold)
'85 300SD - 317,000 miles (sold)
'98 ML320 - 270,000 miles (sold)
'75 300D - 170,000 miles (sold)
'83 Harley Davidson FLTC (Broken again) :-(
'61 Plymouth Valiant - 60k mikes
2004 Papillon (Oliver)
2005 Tzitzu (Griffon)
2009 Welsh Corgi (Buba)

If the spray contact cleaner does not work you can fix the old switch. It is tricky like dannym says but you can do it if you are careful. It is worth a try since a replacement switch is costly.
When I first got my 84 300SD about 10 years ago I had a stuck seat. I didn't know about contact cleaner then so I bought a switch and put it in. When I was through with the job I decided to do an autopsy on the old switch and found that it was just a matter of dirty contacts. It wasn't that bad to get back together. Lift off the top slowly so you can see where the steel balls go.
The toughest part was getting the door panel off and removing the switch.
The switch on the other door has stopped working a couple of times since then and the contact cleaner fixed it

__________________
Tom Hughes
St. Louis
84 300SD
92 300D
86 300SDL

Actually not as bad as I thought it was.
They can be purchased from this site for $142.10

Click here to see switch

If you follow the directions in the link that was posted and you take your time and be careful you can dissasemble them easily enough. I did it the dumb way, I just took it apart and pieces went everywhere. With a little patience it all went back together.
What I would do:
1- Try spray cleaner
2- take apart and clean contacts
3- replace switch

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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