FTD350z

iTrader: (8)

Im having the same problem and i took the car to the dealer ship and also told me i needed the new motor for the seats but they want 800 for that i'd rather same some money and buy a bride seat lol. But where can i buy just a switch? I've tried to electrical cleaner and it worked for a good 3 weeks but now i cant move it forward again. Does anyone know how to jump the motor? if so can you pm me thanks

J. Dub

iTrader: (18)

I have the same fail happening to my driver seat

MCofSAC

I hope that this helps, as I found this site looking for an answer to the same question. My son has an 1984 300ZX that had a broken seat bracket, after welding it and re-installing the seat, for some reason the seat would only move back, but not forward. Once in the fully rear position we were prevented from removing the seat because we could no longer access the bolts that held the seat down.

As suggested (on this site) I tried to jumper the motor without success.

While investigating under the seat, I noticed (at the front portion of the seat) that there was a cable (similar to a speedometer cable) that was sleeved between a motor and a small gearbox (going between the two sides of the seat). This sleeve had two nuts on either end, but the cable couldn't be removed just by loosening the nuts, I had to remove the four screws holding the gearbox in place first.

Once the cable was out of the sleeve, I placed the small cable into the end of a cordless drill and sleeved it with a cut piece of a drinking straw (over the cable) to hold onto the cable while spinning.

I then placed the other cable end alternately into either the gearbox or the motor.

After that it was a matter of determining which direction to spin the drill motor in order to move the seat forward or back (they had to spin in opposite directions). I had to alternate between the two openings (gearbox & motor) to move the seat forward enough so that I would be able to remove it.

Since we weren't planning on spending more than what the car is worth on the seat (alone), once the seat was where my son felt comfortable, I pulled the four wire plug apart so that no one would ever be able to adjust the seats back again.

I know that my son's car is MUCH older than what this site was set up for but I am hoping that the technology hasn't changed so much (as far as seat motor design) that my fix won't help you.

Marc Cabrera

xiaolinmonk

iTrader: (1)

I am having this same issue :'( I have warranty but I'd rather replace my seats with bride seats (which I already wanted to do) but until I can find a good deal on some seats+ rails. Is there any temp fix? Like manual over ride? Also what should I do if it doesn't recline forward, how can I "jump" the seat forward to gain access to the bolts?

billydabiller

spray it on the switch use a vac first to get any dirt out

Tifferzzz

I've had the same problem that you guys have - honestly I'm both glad and disappointed that it's happening to so many people. When I brought my car home after washing it I wanted to pull the seats and clean underneath them. Here's the problem that I have:

Drivers: Will go back, but not forward
Passengers: Will go forward, but not back

I took a chance on my passenger's seat (the one that will go forward) first. Since it was all the way back I had to move it forward enough to be able to undo the bolts. The one that's closest to the interior of the car is the most difficult to get a ratchet on. I read about the degreaser and all I had was WD-40 so I thought - what the hell. I sprayed it on the switch itself, pushing the switch into the position (back) that the seat won't move, wedged the WD-40 extender red hose-thingy under there and sprayed a good amount. I figured I have nothing to lose because if I do destroy the switch I'd have to replace it anyway. The problem that I ran into was getting the front screws. The one toward the exterior of the car was the easier one, but the one that's closer on the inside is a monster if the seat is forward over it. I grabbed one of those pre-sized wrenches (the one that has the circle on one side and the open end on the other) - with that I was able to get it unscrewed 98% of the way. However because of the height of the screw I had to jiggle / pull the seat to finally get it to let go.

I turned the seat over, maneuvering a few cables out of the way (be forwarned that this seat is connected to the car). When I looked at the switch, there are two parts / connectors. They are easy to differentiate from each other. The back one looked either burnt or rusted. I put some more WD-40 on it, pushed the back button (still with the chair upside down) and the thing moves!!!!! I tried it over and over again and it's working.

Now to get my driver's to work. That's the next step. I'll take a picture and upload to show what I did. Hopefully that will help some of you. Someone on here posted that the dealership said the whole frame has to get replaced. Here's the kicker - when I called them a while back, they had no clue why the seat would power one-way but not the other and said that you'd have to buy each piece individually - the two parts of the frame, the foam, the cover....etc....etc.... I'm calling B.S. I'm hoping some of you will try what I've done and get the same results. Hope this helps.

Tifferzzz

I had sprayed the WD-40 on my driver's switch to let it sit (I have not removed the seat yet). While I was working on the passenger's seat (took me about 45 to get it out, clean my car, get it back in - and it works; I then decided to try the forward motion on my driver's seat - it now works. The WD-40 is brilliant. The forward motion on my passenger's is still a bit slower than the back, but I sprayed the long bolt everywhere I could, maneuvered the seat forward and back a few times and so I think I'm good there. I rarely move it, but at least now I have the option to.

Now for my Driver's seat.

FraserM

I bought the car in this condition privately (20k miles). The seller suspected that the motor was shot and gave me a $300 discount for its replacement. When I visited the dealer I asked them to check it and they said it was the motor that was shot and I had to replace the whole undercarriage / rail assembly at a cost of about $600-700. After reading about this problem from many owners, I took the seat out (seat was locked in the middle so no problem accessing the bolts -14mm). I disconnected the switch and put 12v directly from the battery to the motor. Works find back and forward.

I looked for the OEM switch on eBay and it's available for about US$70 from a Nissan dealer. Checked my local dealer and had it the next day! These dealers, aka "easy-route parts changers" are pathetic. Once the seat is out which took maybe 15 minutes, changing the switch was another 5 minutes. A hell of a lot easier and cheaper than changing the rail assembly! Bunch of a-holes !!

I subsequently took the old switch apart and the innards are two micro switches, one for the seat and one for the back. Doesn't look feasible to pull the mircos apart to service, I think the $70 replacement was the way to go!

zakmartin

WD-40 is electrolytic (it will carry a current). Once it dries out, the problem's going to come back. What you did in all likelihood is a short term fix. Try deoxIT instead and work the switch back and forth about 50 or 60 times. That's a much more permanent solution.

Vigman

For the record: If a seat goes one way but not the other it's the switch PERIOD. It is a 2 wire DC motor and all you are doing is reversing polarity to the motor to turn CW or CCW. Switches are the TYPICAL fail point. but that being said, all the brushes in the DC motors ( windows, seats, vert top for Z AND G's ) are REALLY soft.It is POSSIBLE to hook up a battery ( small sealed motorcycle battery) and some GOOD clip leads 16 ga wire or better. you can hook up, give the motor a LIGHT tap and you MIGHT be able to get that last gasp of breath to move em where you need to be...