Dead Power Seat Recliner

[HappyGarage]

I just purchased a 2001 Boxster S... wonderfully maintained.

I've discovered that the seatback on the right seat will not recline forward or back when activating the switch on the side of the bolster. No clicks, no grunts, no nothing... dead.

I checked the following usual suspects:
[] fuse is good;
[] pulled the switch and I have 12V on red power feed wire (input power good);
[] 12V appears on grey/ striped wires when moving switch between forward and back (switch is good)
[] 12V appears on grey/ striped wires after the first connector under the seat (first connector is good).
[] Heated seat does work, so is I assume I have a good ground...?

It appears that either the wiring/connector on the way to the motor is bad, I have a bad ground, or the motor itself is toast.

To continue troubleshooting, I need to get to the motor that lives inside the seatback. How do I access it? There is a large, plastic cover on the back of the seat and I suspect that needs to be removed to uncover the motor, but I can't figure out the magic steps to remove it!

Help!

[mebeached]

Originally Posted by HappyGarage

I just purchased a 2001 Boxster S... wonderfully maintained.

I've discovered that the seatback on the right seat will not recline forward or back when activating the switch on the side of the bolster. No clicks, no grunts, no nothing... dead.

I checked the following usual suspects:
[] fuse is good;
[] pulled the switch and I have 12V on red power feed wire (input power good);
[] 12V appears on grey/ striped wires when moving switch between forward and back (switch is good)
[] 12V appears on grey/ striped wires after the first connector under the seat (first connector is good).
[] Heated seat does work, so is I assume I have a good ground...?

It appears that either the wiring/connector on the way to the motor is bad, I have a bad ground, or the motor itself is toast.

To continue troubleshooting, I need to get to the motor that lives inside the seatback. How do I access it? There is a large, plastic cover on the back of the seat and I suspect that needs to be removed to uncover the motor, but I can't figure out the magic steps to remove it!

Help!

Hello I JUST FIXED MINE A FEW MIN AGO . I had the red power wire pulled out of the connector it had broken off at the connector. I did not have any of the female wire connectors . I HAD TO CLEAN THE TERMINALS INSIDE THE PLUG CONNECTOR. Then cut the red wire into from the seat plug and tied it together with the red wire from the harness. Works great now! hope this helps.

[HappyGarage]

Thanks for following up.

I do have power to the switch, and also out from the switch. I'm thinking it's the motor.

I need to figure out how to open up the seatback to poke around the motor itself. Any ideas on how to get in there?

[mebeached]

Originally Posted by HappyGarage

Thanks for following up.

I do have power to the switch, and also out from the switch. I'm thinking it's the motor.

I need to figure out how to open up the seatback to poke around the motor itself. Any ideas on how to get in there?

sorry have only had mine for about 2 weeks still fixing little things ,like new ignition switch , seat wire.
I HAVE A RADIO PROBLEM NOW I HAD TO TAKE A TERMINAL OFF THE BATTERY. I HAVE NOW POWER TO THE RADIO SO I CAN'T PUT THE CODE IN. I have not found anyone that knows how to deal with that.

[KevinH1990]

It may be that the motor is dead. If your motor is no longer working, you will need to disassemble the seat and replace it. On a scale of 1-10, I rate the difficulty of the task as about a 6.

Here's a link to information I compiled while I was upgrading my seats: https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum/915206-upgrading-two-way-power-seats.html

Here's the specific link to the seat disassembly process:

Boxster Seat Disassembly Procedure Part 1 of 2

I don't think either link shows exactly how to take the seat back motor out, but you will need to partially remove the seat back cover (after you detach the seat back from the seat bottom) and remove a long rod that goes through the motor. The only real tricky part is realigning the rod so that the seat back doesn't twist when it moves.

If you need a motor, I have one.

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by mebeached

sorry have only had mine for about 2 weeks still fixing little things ,like new ignition switch , seat wire.
I HAVE A RADIO PROBLEM NOW I HAD TO TAKE A TERMINAL OFF THE BATTERY. I HAVE NOW POWER TO THE RADIO SO I CAN'T PUT THE CODE IN. I have not found anyone that knows how to deal with that.

https://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/18982-lost-radio-code-faq-read-this-first/

[HappyGarage]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the pointers! I'm assuming the motor is bad and would be interested in taking your old motor off your hands. I'll PM you.

Bob

[KevinH1990]

I think the motor is the same for both seats, but you can check the part number on the label and confirm that.