Driver seat won't adjust

[jmurdr1]

So I took my 99 aurora 190k miles to the shop for a waterpump and coolant crossover replacement. Took almost a month to get it back since we had to shop on ebay for the coolant crossover and wait for it to arrive...anyways got it back yesterday and tried to adjust my seat and its not working. The lumbar buttons are working but the recline and base seat switches are not working... anyone have an idea if something they were working around was close to any wires leading back to the switches for the seat....I noticed the seat had been lowered a tad and I tried to raise it back
up and nothing...the seat was working fine before I took it there. Any suggestions?

[RCA1186]

I wouldn't think that anything they worked on would have done anything to it. General rule is to check this out first and go from there.

[jmurdr1]

I'ma give this a shot tomorrow after work thanks bro

[sall]

Yes, excellent place to start.

[RCA1186]

If nothing is broken in there check the module under the seat, I've had wires pulled from the connector down there before.

[bobsblue95]

I assume you tried the passenger seat and checked the fuse... ;-)

[wfooshee]

The switches themselves do gum up, too. My passenger side quit, I found no broken wires in the door jamb, so I pulled the panel out of the door and just exercised the switches vigorously. The seats worked after putting the panel back in and reconnecting.

Also, if you have the water-gets-in-the-driver's-side issue that is so common, that water collects under the driver's seat. Guess where the memory module for the seats/mirrors sits....

[jmurdr1]

The passenger side is working just fine as well as all the windows and sunroof...the lumbar adjustments work for the driver side. Are the lumbar and seat recline and base seat adjust buttons on the same fuse and what fuse is it I need to check exactly?

[wfooshee]

It gets a little complicate on the driver's side. There are four three fuses and a circuit breaker for the various circuits and modules.

In the IP fuse box, the CHIMES fuse (10A) supplies ignition-on to the memory module under the seat. The TMNSS (15A) fuse supplies power to the Park/Reverse sensor, which the memory module uses to enable/disable certain seat memory functions.
In the RH Rear fuse block under the rear seat, the PWR ST 30-amp circuit breaker powers the passenger seat, the lumbar air pump, and the memory module (through which it also powers the driver seat motors.)
Also in the RH Rear fuse block, the IP 1 fuse (10A) powers the lock switches, and the driver-side memory buttons (which are inputs to the memory module,) the driver-side seat control buttons (which also are inputs to the memory module,) and the outside power mirror controls (again inputs to the memory module.)
And again in the RH Rear fuse block, the CTSY LMP/PWR IP1 fuse (10A) powers the driver-side seat position buttons, which are also inputs to the memory module.

It's important to realize that on the driver's side, the seat switches and memory buttons, and the mirror switches, are inputs to the memory module, and the memory module controls the seats. There is no direct switch-to-motor operation. When you hit a switch, you are asking the memory module to please make this adjustment for me thank you very much.

So, on to troubleshooting the fuses and what would happen if one was blown.

The PWR ST breaker is good, because the passenger seat works.

If the CHIMES fuse is blown, the memory module never knows the ignition is on. That wouldn't disable the seats, as you can adjust the seats with the car off, and hit the memory button as well. The module needs to know if the ignition is on in order to engage its safety logic, using the Park/Reverse sensor to disable the memory buttons if the car could be moving.

If the IP 1 fuse is blown, then lumbar, seat switches, and lock switches would have no power, disabling those functions, and it was stated that lumbar works. This is the fuse that would disable the seats if it was a fuse problem, but it would disable other stuff that does work, so this fuse is OK.

If the CTSY LMP/PWR IP 1 fuse is blown, the seat position buttons have no power, disabling the seat adjustment from the switches. (The seats could still be moved if memory positions are set, by hitting memory 1 or 2.) This would be the suspect fuse if everything works other than adjusting the driver seat position. However, if memory positions are set and the seat doesn't respond to the 1 or 2 buttons, then the memory module itself is suspect.

Note also that the outside power mirrors are controlled by the memory module, and positions will be memorized with the memory 1 and 2 buttons being set, so if you can adjust the outside mirrors to two different positions and recall those positions with the memory buttons, then the memory module is looking better.



EDIT: I just looked and compared the seat schematics to the fuse block description, and I think the fuse I referred to as CTSY LMP/PWR IP 1 was mislabeled on the schematic, as no such fuse is described in the fuse block description. The fuse block description says the IP 1 fuse supplies the seat position buttons as well. If that fuse were blown, you'd have a LOT of things not working besides the seats, like the lock buttons, the gauges, outside mirrors...... We're back to either the switches themselves, broken wires in the door jamb, or the memory module.

[willbilly292016]

I have 2 aurora's. one had a bad memory module one didn't. I can get the seat to work by putting the good one in one of my cars. but the other car it just clicks for the lumbar and does nothing to move the seats.. I fixed all the wires in the door. actually removed both doors because I'm doing a swap. so I know all the switches work. are you sure there is no fuse?

[willbilly292016]

jmurdr1 I am pretty sure your problem is the memory module. because that's what one of my cars was doing until I put the new module on.

[wfooshee]

Apr 16, 2016 16:56:30 GMT -6 willbilly292016 said:

 are you sure there is no fuse?

There is no fuse that will disable the seat movement but let the lumbar work. It's either the switches themselves or the memory module.

In my case with my passenger seat, some of the adjustments worked and others didn't. I knew it was the switches because it would tilt forward but not back, and slide back but not forward. Those opposites use the same wires and motors, so it had to be the switch not connecting for one direction.

If none of the seat motors work, you either have a remarkably coincidental set of broken wires in the door jamb or a dead memory module. Remember that if your car is not totally weathertight, the memory module can be immersed in the water that collects under the seat.

You can rig up a repair to bypass the memory module, but you'll have to rewire the power to the seat switches to come from the 25A circuit breaker instead of the 10A IP 1 fuse, and you'll have to cut and splice a bunch of wires at the memory module connections so the switches go directly to the motors as they do for the passenger side.

[willbilly292016]

where is the 10 A IP 1 fuse your talking about?

[wfooshee]

Under the back seat, the box closest to the battery. Labels are inside the lid.

If that fuse were blown, there would be no gauges, no HVAC control, no retained accessory power (radio stays on after shutting off ignition until the door is opened,) no power door locks from the door buttons, no lumbar inflation control, no Data Link Connector, and no power mirror controls, so if any of those items work, that fuse is OK. He already said that lumbar works, so this fuse is OK.

[miguel]

Take the door panel off. Look for the connector that connects the seat controls to the main harness. Disconnect it. With a voltmeter, check the terminals for 12v +on the main harness side. Don't check the switch side. If you have 12v + the problem is the motors or the switches. You can take a paperclip and carefully go from the 12v to the other terminals. If the switches are bad, you will be able to operate the seat motors. I was able to move the seat to a comfortable position and use the seat memory function to memorize the position until I can get a switch from the pick and pull.

[wfooshee]

Apr 18, 2016 16:44:45 GMT -6 miguel said:

If you have 12v + the problem is the motors or the switches.

Not true, unfortunately. There is no direct connection between the switches and the seat motors on the driver's side. The switches are even powered by a different fuse than the motors.

The switches are an input to the memory module, and it's the memory module which operates the motors. The switches are a request from the module to operate the seats.

On the passenger side, there is no module, and the switches do operate the motors directly. The same breaker that powers the passenger seat operations also powers the memory module, so we know the module has power because his passenger seat works.

[mustangslayer97rora]

Apr 16, 2016 21:26:31 GMT -6 wfooshee said:

Under the back seat, the box closest to the battery. Labels are inside the lid.

If that fuse were blown, there would be no gauges, no HVAC control, no retained accessory power (radio stays on after shutting off ignition until the door is opened,) no power door locks from the door buttons, no lumbar inflation control, no Data Link Connector, and no power mirror controls, so if any of those items work, that fuse is OK. He already said that lumbar works, so this fuse is OK.

I do have this problem what is the easiest way wire melted behind driver's seat going to fuxe box pops everytime