Power seat not working

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crazyazcat
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:15 pm

Power seat not working

Post by crazyazcat »

My power seat isn't working at all. The windows and such work so I'm guessing the circuit breaker is good. Do I automatically assume it's the motor or is there something else I should look for first?
1963 Thunderbird - Purchased Aug 2013
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ABQTBird
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Post by ABQTBird »

There are a number of things that could be wrong. I would first rule out the motor and then the switch. There are also some relays involved. First, you want to test the motor to rule it out, then move to the switch.

I highly recommend building this power supply. But short of that, I guess you will have to use a battery, just be careful if anything starts to heat up.
http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... php?t=9406

When you pull the motor there will be four wires; black, red, yellow and green. Black will go to ground on your power supply and green will go to positive, that provides power to the armature. Then when you apply power to the red wire, it will spin in one direction and then applying power to the yellow wire will turn it in the other direction. Those are the field wires, the electromagnet surrounding the armature. Disconnect the green wire as soon as you are done testing.
Image

Take a look at this thread also. Blue Ridge T actually took his switch apart and cleaned it.
http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... php?t=9242
Tom in Albuquerque
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1962 Corinthian White Hardtop, Medium Chestnut Metallic #89 Leather, A/C, P/W
2003 Premium Torch Red/Performance White HT, Partial Accent Interior, 1 of 47.
Past T-Bird: 1960 Convertible, 1974-1978
mrjagrock
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:30 pm

Re: Power seat not working

Post by mrjagrock »

Hi,
I pulled my seat motor and tested it. THe black Motor(ground) and Green Motor (Power) short out when hooked up as your suggestion? But when I attach the 12v Red power to the Green and touch the Black12v to the red and it works one way, attach the black to the yellow and it goes the other way. What can be the problem. The motor seems strong and I cleaned it up inside, thinking I would find a short, but not! Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks
MN63Tbird
Posts: 247
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:38 am
Location: Minnesota

Re: Power seat not working

Post by MN63Tbird »

Not sure what year your car is but for trouble shooting electrical problems I have 2 tools that I use. One is about 30 feet of #18 or larger gauge wire with alligator clips on each end. The second is a volt meter with a audible continuity setting for resistance.

Your wiring for the seat goes into the console. You can access the connector by pulling out the center tray . Sometimes you also need to pull out the ash tray and lighter assembly. Both are just have screws to remove. There should be a wire coming up from the side of the seat to the wire loom that travels through the console on the transmission housing. I believe there is a black connector for that which can be disconnected. (Its been a few years since I took this apart). With the volt meter you can check the continuity of the wire from the seat to that connector plug. Just connect the leads to each end and set the meter to sound. No sound then it is a short. If it is good you can connect one end of the connector to the battery with your alligator clip and wire and the other end to ground. If the seat motor works then your problem is the wiring along the path from the connector to the starter relay or to the fuse box for 63 Tbirds. To trace that out you need the color of the wire to trace it as it comes out of the console under the dash. From the diagram it is probably blue black. At various locations you can jumper around wires using your alligator clips and wire until you find the shorted wire. My guess is that it is probably in the console somewhere since that takes a lot of heat when the car is running. Good luck. '

MN63
1963 Thunderbird Hardtop
1966 Mustang Coupe A code
mrjagrock
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 5:30 pm

Re: Power seat not working

Post by mrjagrock »

My seat was not working in my '61. After much testing and disassembly, I traced it down to a large relay which all my parts sources said was not available. However, the connector boot was the same as the large Convertible top relay, but the mounting was different. I opted to switch housings on the new one and mount up to solve my problem. The new mounting will also work by using a large washer on each bolt (2).
ornithology
Posts: 100
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2018 2:38 am

Re: Power seat not working

Post by ornithology »

i may be taking on such a power seat, no worky while i test-drove it for purchase. if i bought it, in the meantime, is there any way to manually get the seat back as far as possible for the drive home?

cheers all.
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