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Thread: Electric seat won't move up or down

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Virginia
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    1980 Firebird

    Electric seat won't move up or down

    Hey all,

    This just started happening where my seat will move forward and backwards but not up and down. Anyone have an idea of what would cause that?
    “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State. In a single State, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28

  2. #2
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
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    Virginia
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    1980 Firebird
    Quote Originally Posted by SunzOut View Post
    The usual...bad switch, bad connection, bad motor...

    time to get your electircal tester out..
    I hate my life. I need to get some race seats and be rid of these heavy seats anyways but then that would require money which I don't have any of!!!!!
    “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual State. In a single State, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    No more BMWs :(
    997 Carrera 2S..the choice of 2 out of 3 Top Gear presenters.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Richmond, IN
    Posts
    31
    My Cars
    97 Z3/92 Miata/VW
    I've got the same prob with the '97 we recently purchased. I can see/hear/feel the up/down motor engage when I hit the switch but the linkage isn't turning. I can't tell if the motor is binded up or the linkage. Some suggest hitting the motor with a rubber hammer but that didn't do the trick for me. I even took a look at it while I had the seat out doing the bushings. I'm guessing I need to take the seat out again and actually try to take it apart. Anybody know of a DIY for taking these bits off the seat?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Australia
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    37
    My Cars
    2000 Z3 2.8
    Up/down motor or actuator is at front of seat. Get your hand under there and on the motor then try the switch. If you can feel something going on in the motor then its obviously not the switch. If its not the switch (as the motors going) then it could just be something jammed in the mechanisms on each side of the underneath that raise it up and down. Pen, Pencil?? Failing that do a search here on Seat Actuators as I posted something about taking the motor apart as my bushes inside were worn out. By the way the rubber mallet trick will work in some cases - particularly if one or more of the bushes are jammed and not touching the armiture in the motor.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    La Honda, CA
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    135
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    2001 Z3 2.5
    Happened to me when I first got my car (used). I found an article that said the seats have a tendency to get stuck at the full up position. You can manually turn the mechanism toget the seat off the end of its travel, then mine worked again. not sure where I found the information, but it was at a Z3 forum.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
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    Richmond, IN
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    97 Z3/92 Miata/VW
    Quote Originally Posted by seldredg View Post
    Happened to me when I first got my car (used). I found an article that said the seats have a tendency to get stuck at the full up position. You can manually turn the mechanism toget the seat off the end of its travel, then mine worked again. not sure where I found the information, but it was at a Z3 forum.
    Sounds very likely. However, I searched forums and the Internet but can't find anything. Does anyone have any leads or info on this or even just how to manually adjust the seat?

    Fixed it!!

    It was in fact jammed because the adjusting screw had been pushed to its limit of travel. What I did was remove the bolts and nuts that attach the seat to the floor. Leaned the seat forward just enough so I could get access to the bolt that attaches the bracket (which the adjustment screw goes through) to the seat. After the bolt and nut were removed and the bracket dropped down, the screw and bracket would turn when the button was pressed. This told me I had hit upon the problem. I then ran a screwdriver shaft through the bolt hole in the bracket. A few taps of the up/down button while keeping a firm grip on the screwdriver got the adjusting screw turning in the bracket again. Reassembled everything in reverse and the seat works fine now.

    Thanks everyone for leading me to this conclusion.

    I would've posted pics but forum rules prevent such a newbie from doing so.
    Last edited by espressomiata; 07-12-2009 at 10:02 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    NH
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    2000 M Coupe
    Take the seat out and check all the tracks. I had the same problem and found an AA battery jammed in the up down track.
    2000 Z3 MCoupe, '01 LSB E46 M3, '99 GTI VR6, '06 Audi A4, Andrew '95 Avus M3

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Amelia, Ohio
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    3
    My Cars
    2001 BMW z3 Roadster

    Seat up and down stuck

    The problem with my seat was not the motor or switch. It was the gear box connected to the motor. The gears got stuck (they are possibly broken). Unfortunately BMW decided to mount this gear box in a bracket connected to one of the seat rails. To get it loose you will need to remove the seat "forward reverse" corkscrew in the rail and slide the rail out of the way to access the two pins connecting the gear mechanism. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble to fix it now that I know whats wrong. I will probably need a new gear box and just the hassel of removing makes me think it may not be worth it.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    sugar land, tx
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    368
    My Cars
    52 MGTD, 02 Ford, 00 Z3

    Broken seat travel

    Quote Originally Posted by grenny47 View Post
    The problem with my seat was not the motor or switch. It was the gear box connected to the motor. The gears got stuck (they are possibly broken). Unfortunately BMW decided to mount this gear box in a bracket connected to one of the seat rails. To get it loose you will need to remove the seat "forward reverse" corkscrew in the rail and slide the rail out of the way to access the two pins connecting the gear mechanism. I'm not sure it's worth the trouble to fix it now that I know whats wrong. I will probably need a new gear box and just the hassel of removing makes me think it may not be worth it.
    I had to buy a seat from the bone yard and I have the up/down motor and the bottom mechanism, I I needed was the front/back motor. PM me if you want to make a deal.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Orange, California
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    01 BMW 330ci convertible
    Buy my seats, they worked just fine.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
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    Far North Dallas, TX
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    R32 GTS-4, E30 325i
    I hate to revive an old thread but I just had this problem last, where the seat wouldn't go up or down. Unfortunately it was stuck aloof the way up and I was pretty pissed off about it this morning.

    I found this thread and fixed the issue by greeting a long straight slow screwdriver and putting it on the lifting bolt under the seat and gently tapping it while rocking the seat lift switch up and down repeatedly... Finally it caught and the seat went back down.

    Hope this helps if anyone else has the same issue.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
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    raleigh, nc
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    '00 Z3 roadster 2.3
    Before you blow an unreasonable wad of cash in motor, switch, and whatnot...

    Does motor work? If so, Unbolt the seat from the floor board, and actuate the screw by hand, use a screwdriver if you need leverage to re-run through the the threaded bold that moves it up and down.

    Mine, not an unusual prob, was stuck all the way up. Simply worked the thread mechanism, and done.

    Miguel

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    02 e367, 08 Acura TL-S
    We just experienced this yesterday. Give the motor a "bump" while actuating it. Might be enough to get it moving again.

    -Todd

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Miami beach Florida
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    2001 BMW 330ci
    Quote Originally Posted by ronnie38 View Post
    I had to buy a seat from the bone yard and I have the up/down motor and the bottom mechanism, I I needed was the front/back motor. PM me if you want to make a deal.
    I'd love to buy that from you. How much you want......please email me the only reason I joined this forum was to buy that from you. cjpolanski@hotmail.com

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Victoria, BC, Canada
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    193
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    1998 Z3 1.9 and Audi Q5
    I had a seat that was jammed. I slipped out one end of the flexible shaft from under seat that runs between the motor and gear mechanism. I left the end of the shaft that connects to the motor in place. The other end I inserted in the chuck of my cordless drill. The drill has more torque and got the seat moving. This solved the problem, the seat now moves fine with the motor after having connected everything back in place. I happened to have my seat removed which made this easy, but you might be able to do this with the seat still installed.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
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    Northern Virginia
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    2000 Z3 M Coupe
    Well, this thread explains a lot.


    2000 Z3 M Coupe

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    Miami beach Florida
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    3
    My Cars
    2001 BMW 330ci
    I have electric seat motors if anybody is in the market. I had a problem where my seat would not go up and down so I purchased a seat and have all these spear motors lying around. Please reply or call if interested (910) 232-8478

    Its prob 1 of 3 things. The motor, the gear that is attached to the motor, or the track....maybe something is jammed in the track or the track is off. If you puch the button and hear the motor is running than it is prob one of the other two. I just went through the same problem and might have the part you need which are very hard to come by. If interested hit me back
    Last edited by cjpsurf; 01-19-2013 at 07:01 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Inianapolis, IN
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    6
    My Cars
    1997 Z3 1.9L
    I just fixed the same issue. I could hear my motor try to lower the seat but it was stay stuck at the highest position. I unbolted the seat ( not completely necessary ) and tilted the seat forward. This gave easy access to the height adjustment bracket bolt. Just undo the bolt and remove then manually twist the linkage 1/2 turn and then reinstall the bolt. Now click the down button and the seat should now go down. Reinstall all four seat bolts and your done. 10 minute job and FREE!

  21. #21
    Join Date
    May 2011
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    Huntingdon Valley, PA
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    2018 X4 M40i
    Quote Originally Posted by MCoupeVet View Post
    Take the seat out and check all the tracks. I had the same problem and found an AA battery jammed in the up down track.
    A wayward penny jammed mine. Much relief when I was able to get it out of the track.
    2018 X4 M40i

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
    Location
    Truro, Cornwall, UK
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    Z3 2.0

    Z3 seat stuck in raised position

    I found my seat was stuck because the linkage had reached the bottom of its travel. Pressing the up / down switch had the effect of the linkage trying to twist left / right rather than move forward / backward. I removed the bolt which attaches to the height adjustment bracket then to free the linkage I had to fairly firmly tap the inside of the linkage next to the head of the screw. Incidentally, I found a coin crushed inside the top end of the linkage so to avoid anything fouling it I fitted it upside down so the open part faced downwards - works fine this way.
    Hope this helps.


    Quote Originally Posted by espressomiata View Post
    Sounds very likely. However, I searched forums and the Internet but can't find anything. Does anyone have any leads or info on this or even just how to manually adjust the seat?

    Fixed it!!

    It was in fact jammed because the adjusting screw had been pushed to its limit of travel. What I did was remove the bolts and nuts that attach the seat to the floor. Leaned the seat forward just enough so I could get access to the bolt that attaches the bracket (which the adjustment screw goes through) to the seat. After the bolt and nut were removed and the bracket dropped down, the screw and bracket would turn when the button was pressed. This told me I had hit upon the problem. I then ran a screwdriver shaft through the bolt hole in the bracket. A few taps of the up/down button while keeping a firm grip on the screwdriver got the adjusting screw turning in the bracket again. Reassembled everything in reverse and the seat works fine now.

    Thanks everyone for leading me to this conclusion.

    I would've posted pics but forum rules prevent such a newbie from doing so.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Geneva, Switzerland
    Posts
    243
    My Cars
    M54 3.0i
    I have the issue with the seats moving back and forward but not up/down. i will have a closer look but I don't hear the engine when pressing up/down...
    '01 3.0i Roadster Oxfordgrün II beige leather - Bilstein B12, H&R Sway, CDV delete
    '02 3.0i Shoe
    Sterlinggrau with extended beige leather 1/1 (euro market) - Sunroof delete, Bilstein B12, Remus exhaust, CDV delete, Short shift
    Past 01 E367 2.2i Oxfordgrün II - 02 M Coupe S54 - 02 E367 3.0i Sterlinggrau - 01 E368 3.0i Oxfordgrün II - 02 E367 3.0i Saphirschwarz - 01 E367 2.2i S.E. Titansilber - 01 E367 3.0i Estoril

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Choudrant, LA
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    2005 BMW 330i
    My 2005 BMW 330i front passenger seat was working fine until today. It is stuck in the all up position. Nothings working on it now. Help please.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    birmingham,al
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    2001 3.0 Z-3 RD'STER
    Here's a thread that worked for me. (post #7) https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...c+seat+problem
    Last edited by MORRIE; 02-20-2018 at 02:00 PM.

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