I have an 87 300TD and the driver seat does not operate at all. Passenger works fine. I've tested the fuse and I'm seeing power going to the fuse and leaving it. I grabbed another driver-side switch from the junkyard and replaced my old one, which didn't fix anything. I tested all the contact points on the switch connectors, expecting to find at least one hot wire, but I didn't find one.

I've heard that the connectors under the seat can become disconnected, but the access room is pretty limited down there. I'm almost ready to just pull the seat out so I can thoroughly examine everything, but wanted to see if anyone had advice for other (easier) things to check for before I pull the seat.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

I've got the same problem but on my passenger side. Same with the rear windows, they don't work either. I'm anxiously waiting for others to reply.....

I had wires damaged by the springs in the lower cushion.

NJ300sdl:
Did you have to pull the seat to figure this out or is there some way to get good visibility/access under the seat when it's stuck in a low position?

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

I did some searching on the web when my driver side seat was dying a slow death - meaning that I would really have to get lucky to get my seat to adjust at all using the switch. What I found out is that you can take the seat switch apart and with contact cleaner blow out all the dirt and crud on the microswitches and bring it back to life. Just be careful - there are a lot of little balls, springs and contacts that will go flying! Just take your time and lay everything out.

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~shell
As of 2/2010:
2001 CLK55 0o\=*=/o0
13.6 @ 106mph
10K mi
1984 300SD
260K mi and going and going...
97 S600
46K miles
1991 Sentra SE-R (extremely dorked with)
www.se-r.net

I was thinking about cleaning the switch out, but since I've tried two different switches both with the same outcome, I'm thinking it has got to be somewhere else. I'm going to pull the seat and take a good look at all that stuff. Since I have two switches, I can clean one at my leisure

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

The wire repair was done with the seat in the car. I may have unbolted it
and tipped it back. The seat back once went in full recline on it's own.
The sellers mechanic got to the seat wires at the outboard hinge and powered the correct wires using large needles connected to 12V to get seat upright. Looked like a ALLDATA wiring chart guided him.

Well the rear bolts for the seat are inaccessible due to the position the seat is stuck in, so it's not going anywhere until I can get it moved up.

I can access all the connectors under the front of the seat so once I get my Bentley shop manual (just ordered) maybe I can figure out the wiring to get the seat moved to a better position or fix it without pulling the seat out.

Thanks for the pointers.

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-justin

1987 300TD, 1987 300TD
2008 R32, 2000 Passat Wagon

Hi - not sure if the 87 300TD is the same set up as my 83 300SD, but I had the same problem as you and the resolution was a seat flex cable.

This is only the case if you can hear the seat motor when you push the button to move it. If you can, then your cable is probably stripped or just came out a little bit. They're really easy to check and replace, but you need to get the seat out, or at least have the bottom exposed.

I had to replace the cable that makes the seat go front to back. It was the cable closest to your feet when you're sitting in the driver seat.

If your seat is all the way back, it's pretty hard to get those rear bolts out. A socket wrench with a real short extension should clear the angle. Once you have the seat out, leave the power plugged in and try wiggling the cables around while you try to adjust the seat. They may just need to be popped back in. If that doesn't work, take them out and see if they're stripped. They should be square, not round. You can get the cables from Phil. I think they're around $40.

If you can't hear the motor when you push the button to adjust, and the switch seems to be ok, then you probably have a bum motor. Good luck!

Oh yeah- If the cable isn't stripped, you can hook the motor end up to a drill and turn it that way to move the seat forward.

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1983 MB 300SD Turbo Diesel