Keep blowing driver seat adjust 30A fuse

[desimunda]

at almost $5 a fuse its adding up...anybody else run into this?

[12Ounce]

Look at the glovebox manual ... I believe that is suppose to be a 40a fuse.

But whatever it is, i am also losing that fuse after a few seat moves. First, I intend to make sure the seat track is clean and lubricated ... next step is to check out the little motor involved.

[scubacat]

I sense a visit to the junkyard in your future...

[Grabber5.0]

Funny my manual drivers seat hasn't failed once. (not that I wouldn't mind power seats..)

-- Sent from my Palm Pre using Forums

[desimunda]

Originally Posted by scubacat

I sense a visit to the junkyard in your future...

are you nicely saying i need a new motor or a seat?

i've been told perhaps short circuit...so try to find that or get new wiring i guess..

[mark_gober]

Originally Posted by desimunda

are you nicely saying i need a new motor or a seat?

i've been told perhaps short circuit...so try to find that or get new wiring i guess..

I'd be real surprised if it were the wiring. The likely culprit is the motor. Even with a completely bound up seat track, the motor shouldn't pop the fuse.

Good luck.

[12Ounce]

I'm pretty well convinced my forward-backward power seat tractor motor is shot on my '99 Winny's driver's seat. Even an oversize fuse pops instantly. Luckily the seat is in a perfect location for my legs, but sometimes I want to lend the old Windy to family members with different leg lengths.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY GOOD SUGGESTIONS FOR FIXING THE TRACTOR MOTOR ... OR A WORK-AROUND? Obviously I could swap a manual seat into the old beast .... but is there any manual seat, other than a Winny, that will work. I'm assuming a manual seat for a Winny will be hard to find ... but perhaps not so difficult to find for, say, a F150 ... will that work?

Any other suggestions? Thanks for your efforts ...l..

(BTW, my dealer says the replacement seat frame is no longer available ... and the motor is not replaceable otherwise. The cost of this now obsolete part is (was) $600 ...!! Yikes!)

[scubacat]

I'd visit pull-a-part and grab one off the yard. I don't imagine the motor assembly and/or seat frame would be anywhere near $600! Pull-a-part will give you a 30-day exchange guarantee for a 10% markup on their price. I've never used it but for something expensive, it may be worth the extra bit of insurance.

In my case, the motor that lifts the front of the seat up and down only moves an inch or so, and I'd love to have a look. However, I'm a bit wary of removing those 4 nuts underneath and snapping off the studs. 14 years of rust can take it's toll, and if that happens, getting the seat re-secured could be rather challenging!

[tomj76]

It may be helpful to make sure the tracks are clean and lubricated. Over the years a seat (manual or electric) can accumulate a measure of dirt and lint, plus lubricant sometimes dries up.

I'm not familiar with the electric seat assembly, so I wonder if removing the motor would free the seat to move easily to work on the track.

[scubacat]

Originally Posted by tomj76

It may be helpful to make sure the tracks are clean and lubricated. Over the years a seat (manual or electric) can accumulate a measure of dirt and lint, plus lubricant sometimes dries up.

I'm not familiar with the electric seat assembly, so I wonder if removing the motor would free the seat to move easily to work on the track.

Possibly, but if it's like a garage door, there'd be nothing to secure it in place if you took out the motor.

[12Ounce]

Originally Posted by scubacat

Possibly, but if it's like a garage door, there'd be nothing to secure it in place if you took out the motor.

I believe this is the case. I've only given it a quick study, but enough to convince me that if one removes the motor-tractor; something else must be installed to latch the seat to the track.

[tomj76]

Originally Posted by scubacat

Possibly, but if it's like a garage door, there'd be nothing to secure it in place if you took out the motor.

Well, I meant that you'd only remove the motor to work on getting the seat moving freely in the track. Once that was accomplished, I expected you to replace the motor.

Also, I've removed seats from old rusty mounting bolts without any problems. In my situation, the seat I removed was from a car with a rusted out floor. I didn't have any trouble with the mounting bolts, given that I also applied a liberal dose of penetrating oil before removal. Just make sure that you work the nut like you would if you were tapping a hole. This gives the rust particles a chance to move out of the way.

[scubacat]

Originally Posted by tomj76

Also, I've removed seats from old rusty mounting bolts without any problems. In my situation, the seat I removed was from a car with a rusted out floor. I didn't have any trouble with the mounting bolts, given that I also applied a liberal dose of penetrating oil before removal. Just make sure that you work the nut like you would if you were tapping a hole. This gives the rust particles a chance to move out of the way.

The Windstar driver's seat has studs that go downward through the floor and is secured by nuts from underneath. I once removed the passenger seat and both front bolts easily snapped off. That was not fun. (The rear is secured by INSIDE nuts which were perfectly fine. Another fine American design.)

[tomj76]

"secured by nuts underneath"... That's certainly different than the example I gave.

[scubacat]

Originally Posted by tomj76

"secured by nuts underneath"... That's certainly different than the example I gave.

My point, exactly. I snapped the 2 bolts that go downward from the inside on the passenger side due to rust. I don't have much confidence that those studs won't snap if I try to remove the nuts holding in the driver's seat since they're underneath and most likely VERY crusty by now.