Hello friends.

My 1999 Cherokee Classic has a driver side power seat.
I have had an old, long standing problem with it, and today I added a new one.

Let's start with the old one first


1) REAR VERTICAL LIFT
The rear vertical lift has not worked for years and has been stuck all the way down since the previous owner.
I can hear and feel the motor moving when I move the switch, but the gear must be stripped out as it never engages, even when I try to manually "help" it up. I haven't tried to take the seat out yet and I want to know what to look for before getting into it.. the seat bolts look a little rusty and promise a very not-fun time.

- How do I know which end of the lift mechanism is stripped/not engaging?
Is it on the motor's end or is it on the track's end?
I have found a good deal on a replacement vertical lift motor only (MUCH cheaper than replacing the whole power seat assembly or switching over to manual seat track/mount), but I don't wanna buy it without knowing if the problem causing the rear lift mechanism not to engage is motor related or track related.

Now, the brand new problem :


2)VERTICAL LIFTS POWER SWITCHES WORKING ONLY ONE WAY
The other two adjusters (front vertical, and horizontal forward/backward) had worked fine until today. I tried to adjust the seat a little today (front vertical lift) and now the motor only works for lowering the front of the seat, but not for raising it back up; when I push the switch UP there's no motor sound/power anymore.
At the exact same time, the rear vertical lift motor (the broken one that doesn't engage the gear) now only comes on when pushing the switch UP to lift the back part of the seat... but no life from the motor when I push the switch DOWN to lower it. Basically, both vertical adjuster motors will now turn on ONLY one way (one up and one down, opposite of each other) so that's really weird.
HOWEVER : The switch in the middle (the joystick-shaped one for forward/backward control and simultaneous front+back lift control), will STILL make the front adjuster kick on BOTH WAYS and successfully lift and lower the front of my seat, and I can also hear the rear lifter kicking on, both in UP and DOWN position (but won't move the seat because of the stripped gear).
So... all the power seat adjusters/ motors are getting power and operating both ways ONLY from that center switch and NOT from the front and rear lift controls, which seem to have a mind of their own.

-Is it a switch problem causing this, or is it some other thing like a damaged wire? Does this thing have a relay or any other thing like that?

Thanks in advance!!

 

No relay. The switches on these things are crap.

You can put more into it if you'd like but I'd highly suggest switching to a manual seat bracket. I've done this in all of my XJs that had power seats. It's not worth the hassle.

Most Pull-a-Part type yards sell seat brackets for $4.50

 

I took the trim panel off the seat and plugged the switch back in and started using the switches while wiggling and moving the wires.
I got the front lift switch to work on UP a couple of times, but that seemed unrelated to the wires being played with. I never got the rear lift switch to work on DOWN.
All three motors still come on both ways but ONLY when using the middle "joystick" switch. I am thinking it's the switch assembly that's acting up, not the wires.

So...
I am gonna pick up that vertical lift motor (50$) and a used switch (12$). If I can't fix it all with those parts I guess I am gonna have to pick up a manual seat track.
As I said, three out of the four bolts holding the track to the floor look pretty rusty and I foresee a big struggle and possibly ending up with broken bolts. The bolts holding the actual seat to the track look good... so if I can fix the issues for 62$ without removing the existing mount/track, it'd be ideal.

PS - I'm so tired of having to drive with a pillow under my butt

 

You must REALLY like having electric seats.

If you look under the Jeep you can see where the bolts come thru the floor for the seat track. If you hit the exposed threads with a good wire brush and some sort of lubricant they should come right out.

I've never broken a seat bracket bolt and I've worked on some rusty junk.

 

I'm sort of a short guy, so I'd really like being able to lift the seat higher than the manual track height.

 

anyone know how to remove the motor from the track?

 

Did you ever get this issue fixed??

 

Yep.. I went ahead and got that new motor.. If I remember right here's all you have to do :
Just unbolt the seat, lean it back over the backseat so you don't have to go nuts trying to get it out the front door. the motors are held in place with roll-pins... hammer those out with a punch and a hammer, manually adjust the bracket until you have enough room between the motor mount and that threaded shaft that goes in the other end of the motor so that you can put the new motor in. Feed a little bit of the shaft into it, then secure the other end back on the mount with the roll pin. Bolt the seat back on and you are done.