Hey all,

I have a malfunctioning seat motor in the passenger side seat. Switch connectivity all tested good. I've removed and disassembled the motor, cleaned the brushes, and re-lubricated the rotor. Everything appears to be in good working order. However, when power is applied, it will spin for about 5 seconds, slow down, and then die. I'd rather not buy a new motor, but I'm a bit stumped by this behavior. Could it be the capacitor going bad?

 

The item circled in this photo is a thermal fuse. They get weak over time and eventually open permanently. You can solder them closed permanently but it is not easy. My guess is that is your problem. Jumper across it and see if it solves your problem.

 

I'll keep this in mind for the lazy motors in mine.

 

Soldering that together certainly fixed my issue, so thank you for that. Unfortunately, I'm now left with a motor with no thermal protection. Do you happen to know what that fuse was rated at so I can splice one into my wiring harness?

 

I have no idea, and it is a thermal fuse not a current limit fuse. It is designed to stop damage due to overheat (which of course would occur if high amps are required to move the seat). Since you obviously have the seat out clean and lube the tracks so it moves smooth. You can then do some testing to see what the minimum amperage fuse needed to allow fore/aft movement with an adult male in the seat. Start with a 1 amp fuse and work your way up till it does not blow. I am guessing this was a fore/aft motor and not a tilt motor because the tilt motors rarely get enough work to weaken the thermal fuse, so you could consider swapping it with one of the tilt motors that rarely see work or significant force/current.

 

Good point. I'll just have to not be stupid with it.