It's that pesky jammed seat motor...

Little Lady Katie

Little Lady Katie

Zorg Legend
British Zeds
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Points
75
Location
York
Model of Z
Z3 3.0i
Hi guys and girls! Firstly, I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying life and driving!

So my query relates to that notorious seat motor jam that I think a lot of us have probably experienced!

Mine is my passenger side up/down motor. It's been stuck in the furthest up position since I got my baby some 5 years ago now, but it's never really caused me too much of a problem (it's usually just me out driving in felix (aka my zed!). 3 and a half years ago now I met a really wonderful guy who somehow manages to put up with me (haha!) and I think he's had enough of having his head blown off when we're out for a drive in my baby!

So we decided to set about tackling the seat today, my stepdad and I

The motor is working, but appears to be jammed. We followed Gary's great guide (thanks to @Aceman for pointing me to it) but hit a snag - It looks like the problem is in the gear box. My stepdad hypothesised that the worm has likely 'overshot' and here we are, it's jammed. The problem is that the gear box doesn't appear to have a way in - it looks riveted shut! We don't even know how to access it/remove it

Will we need to find a new part? Does anyone have a good guide or series of steps we could follow? Any and all advice, hints and tips gratefully appreciated! @spurs fan in a coupe I've been told you might be the guy to ask re spare gear boxes/seat parts if that's what I need to get? :)

A big thank you in advance! Katie! :)
 
Does the up and down motor not attach with a bolt to an arm that does the up and down motion ? I un did mine at this point and the motor ran fine it was the actual seat frame that was stuck not the motor.
I think it had been left in the down position all its life and it just was stuck .
With some gentle persuasion it moved itself free and when re joined to the motor it worked fine.
Mine was a z3 though unsure if the 4 has a totally different set up.
 
Antm72 said:
Does the up and down motor not attach with a bolt to an arm that does the up and down motion ? I un did mine at this point and the motor ran fine it was the actual seat frame that was stuck not the motor.
I think it had been left in the down position all its life and it just was stuck .
With some gentle persuasion it moved itself free and when re joined to the motor it worked fine.
Mine was a z3 though unsure if the 4 has a totally different set up.
Click to expand...
There's a gear box which has 1/4 turn of movement and then there's the drive shaft to the back
 
Little Lady Katie said:
There's a gear box which has 1/4 turn of movement and then there's the drive shaft to the back
Click to expand...
The motor attaches via a flexible shaft to the gear box at the side, which appears to be riveted up (the casing) so it doesn't look like you can get into it. Then I seems to have a mechanism that joins it to the arms to raise and lower the seat
 
Stupidly forgot to take a picture of the underside of my own seat before we reconstructed it! But we believe it's this one :)
 

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Can you disconnect the seat from the gearbox ?
This will rule both in or out disconnected you may find the gearbox runs fine.
 
Yeah its the same disconnect what looks kike a gearbox it has a pinch bolt to the frame.
Run the motor and if the silver bit moves its all ok and just a jammed seat mechanism.
 
Its like a worm drive inside that silver box if disconnected and jammed it will just rotate and it will become clear what you need to do.
 
Antm72 said:
Its like a worm drive inside that silver box if disconnected and jammed it will just rotate and it will become clear what you need to do.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, that's brilliant! We are going to have another look (take 2) tomorrow afternoon/eve and we will try this :)
 
I'll keep you posted. If anyone has any thoughts, tips etc they're all so gratefully received as I personally have no clue :D
 
Just watch fingers as when you release that bolt the frame may drop :nailbiting:
Good luck :thumbsup:
 
spurs fan in a coupe said:
If you need parts I have loads of working seat Base parts, motors, switches etc
Click to expand...
You are a superstar! Thank you!! Well hopefully all being well we'll have a look again tomorrow and we'll try follow @Antm72 's steps If it looks like it's a part that needs replacing and not a simple jam, you'll be my favourite person! :D:whistle:
 
Well guys... My plans for tomorrow's seatbelt fix - take 2 - are temporarily on hold.

Felix and I had a pretty terrible end to our evening. I live in the countryside, and I'm used to seeing badgers and foxes, but never thought I'd hit one :(. I was driving home from my mums via the country back roads I know like the back of my hand when a beautiful badger ran out from the opposite side. I couldn't swerve as it was on the opposite side of the carriageway, I suppose I hoped that like a rabbit it might bolt and run another way, but it kept running for me and straight into Felix's wheel arch. Needless to say, neither came out well :( the most heartbreaking thing was finding the badger on the road and realising it was a mummy nursing babies (judging on its obvious enlarged nipples).

What a night!! :/

I usually call on friends in the trade to get help with minor bodywork issues and things, but when I saw my wheel arch and bumper, I knew I was going to have to claim on my insurance for the first time ever

Hopefully I'll have him fixed and ship shape again in no time, so I can carry on with this pesky seat! ;)
 
It heartbreaking when something like this happens. We've seen several badgers lying at the side of the road in recent days - far more than you would usually expect to see.
If it's the first time having to deal with insurance take advice on having to do so.
 
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