Passenger Seat Electrics - 535I

[vping]

The seat on the passenger side of my '90 535, only reclined on the right (as seated) side. I knew this and did not force it. My daughters friend did not. He forced it to recline. Seems as if one motor is working the gear to recline it. I unbolted the seat but leaned it on its side enough to look underneath. I can hear both motors but something is preventing the gear from turning.

What is the problem?

Is there a way to get it back in the vertical position and I'll just hang a note up not to use the recliner?

Cheers
Vince

[kev535i]

maybe this might help page_1 (http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_11.htm)

[vping]

That looks fairly straightforward. Thanks a ton. I think I'll have my daughter assist me with it. :-)

[cor_van_de_water]

That looks fairly straightforward. Thanks a ton. I think I'll have my daughter assist me with it. :-)
Yup, I did this on each of my front seats, each one had one or more adjustments not working. In one car both seatbacks were twisted, the driver seat was beyond repair so I had to first fix it enough to allow driving the car, then replace the whole seat. (NOTE: since I replaced that seat, I kept several parts of the old seat, let me know if you need a part from a standard electric seat, I have motors, cables, switches, brackets, plastic covers and even complete headrest, tan color) Headrest adjustment fix can be done easily by simply pulling off the seat back.
I bought an E14 Torx and getting the seat out and either turned sideways inside the car or sitting next to the car (so the seatbelt does not need to be disconnected) will save you a lot of hassle while working on the cable sheats.
I prefer the method of removing two screws from the motor to swing it out and unplug the cables so you can work on (heat up) the thimble with the plastic/felt plug removed (it is greasy, so it may smoke or catch fire if you overheat it).
Also this gives a good grip to turn the drive cable enough for any crookedness to be gone, even by hand you can easily turn it, it just takes some time.
Preferably have two lighters at hand, as I found out that using a lighter for a longer time may cause it to need some "rest" before it will work again. Once you know what needs to be done and you have all tools at hand, this is a job that usually takes less than 1 hour. You need:
- E14 Torx socket and driver to remove seat bolts
- 8mm wrench for motor screws (though some screw heads also have a torx hole in addition, I believe T20)
- torch or lighter(s)
- sharp knife to cut plastic sheat
- needle nose pliers (to hold hot thimble and sometimes it is easier or safer to undo part of the seat cover leather, such as for headrest motor)
- Locking or large pliers to hold sheat while pulling/pushing on thimble, without crushing the sheat.
- (optional) Phillips screwdriver (headrest motor is screwed onto right seat pillar and it is much easier to undo these first, take motor out and then work on it)
- (optional) 12V to power seat motors while out of the car
- (optional) cordless drill to turn cables to check operation & straighten seat