Driver's seat has a mind of its own...

My 1999 Riviera: The driver's seat has been going nuts. The manual controls will function to move the seat rearward but not forward. Press position 2 on the door arm rest and the seat moves all the way forward and up. Hit exit an it moves all the way back and down. The motors are working but the controls are not. I know there is a memory module under the seat but to date I have not found a replacement part. Any ideas?

...might be a loose wire to a seat control, likely in the seat cushion near the switch. By the way, have you pulled the old module and what is the part number molded into it?

Now the seat is not moving at all... stuck in the rear position. Found a module but I want to check the seat to make sure the motors work... I need a wiring diagram for the memory module...

Dagwood(TSRW) wrote:

Now the seat is not moving at all... stuck in the rear position. Found a module but I want to check the seat to make sure the motors work...  I need a wiring diagram for the memory module...

Do a visual inspection and find the short in the seat wiring. Just a guess on my part but I am thinking the insulation got pinched in the seat tracks and one or more wires is now shorted. What you hope is that the floor of the car was not submerged, if so well that's where the computer is that runs the seat memory...

Also, under the back seat you'll find the thermal breakers for the seat motors, I bet you have one that is too hot to touch. Pull it out with a pair of needlenose pliers (since it is too hot to touch) then poke around under the seat and free the wiring. Reinstall the cooled breaker and the seats will again be movable w/the seat controls. As for the position the seats go into you set that by pushing the SET button then the number of the setting you want to save, 1 or 2.

Do you have an owners manual?  A service manual?

Its not the thermal breakers. Checked those first. Its not the wires, checked those next. Just got a new-to-me (used/salvage) memory module and ordered some seat motors. When all that gets here, I am pulling the seat, getting it re-stuffed and the seating surface replaced with new leather, then come the electrical trouble shooting. I should be able to do it as I am an electrical engineer but a wiring diagram and schematics would help. I have only what I can find on-line and I have learned to not trust much of what I find as it is sometime for the wrong vehicle or made from someone's poor memory skills. If I can verify power is good, the rails are mechanically sound and moving, and the motors are working, it should all be ok. A good chassis wiring diagram and a schematic of what exactly is in that black plastic box would be a help.

Meanwhile the damn flasher relay died. I replaced it with an Advanced Auto generic part but it had a plastic case and when it got warm the mounting clip bent the plastic case into the relay and it died again. Anybody know a good source for a metal can, loud click, turn signal flasher relay?

BAM!! Happy hunting

Dagwood(TSRW) wrote:

Its not the thermal breakers. Checked those first. Its not the wires, checked those next. Just got a new-to-me (used/salvage)  memory module and ordered some seat motors. When all that gets here, I am pulling the seat, getting it re-stuffed and the seating surface replaced with new leather, then come the electrical trouble shooting.  I should be able to do it as I am an electrical engineer but a wiring diagram and schematics would help. I have only what I can find on-line and I have learned to not trust much of what I find as it is sometime for the wrong vehicle or made from someone's poor memory skills. If I can verify power is good, the rails are mechanically sound and moving, and the motors are working, it should all be ok. A good chassis wiring diagram and a schematic of what exactly is in that black plastic box would be a help.

Meanwhile the damn flasher relay died. I replaced it with an Advanced Auto generic part but it had a plastic case and when it got warm the mounting clip bent the plastic case into the relay and it died again. Anybody know a good source for a metal can, loud click, turn signal flasher relay?

rockauto.com has a couple choices. see

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/buick,1998,riviera,3.8l+v6+supercharged,1303322,electrical,flasher,10139

sorry it was not as simple as moving a wire and finding a short.

you may need to jump the fore/aft seat motor to move the seat enough to remove it.

Yeah; the Novita relays are plastic cans and they melted. It seems only the Wells or OEM AC/Delco will do...

Dagwood(TSRW) wrote:

Yeah; the Novita relays are plastic cans and they melted. It seems only the Wells or OEM AC/Delco will do...

Teh TRIDON electronic flashers I've had are good for +/- 5 years of service. The OE flasher lasted about 7 years but much of that time was really funky and I did not know what was wrong. Flasher would click while not turning but not flash lights - I called it Phantom operation, one of the dealer's gearheads said it was a signal to replace the taillight bulbs, he was kinda right and kinda not. I replaced them all once, the flasher finally failed bad not quite 2 years later. The electronic flashers fail by flashing when the TS is not activated due to a weak current passing thru the (worn but servicable) multifunction switch, not enough to trip a conventional flasher but enough for an electronic.

Dagwood,
I have a complete set of Factory Service Manuals for the 99 Riv. if your interested. They include the wiring diagrams.

Will sell cheap. Bought them for another member some years ago and he never followed up with me so they have been boxed up and ready to ship since then.

If interested email me at IRRICKW@COMCAST.NET

Rick

I took apart the Wells flasher that was in the car and found the coil swelled and stuck the contact plunger. The next try was Novita but the case meted and the mounting spring clip pushed the case into the relay preventing the plunger to operate; removed the case and it works but now it will short to whatever it touches so it's trash. I put in another Novita but this time a long life version. Instead of the spring clip mount that crushed the hot plastic case I mounted it with wire ties and left the flasher free. We'll see how this does.

Dagwood(TSRW) wrote:

I took apart the Wells flasher that was in the car and found the coil swelled and stuck the contact plunger. The next try was Novita but the case meted and the mounting spring clip pushed the case into the relay preventing the plunger to operate; removed the case and it works but now it will short to whatever it touches so it's trash. I put in another Novita but this time a long life version. Instead of the spring clip mount that crushed the hot plastic case I mounted it with wire ties and left the flasher free. We'll see how this does.

I've just never had that problem with a flasher -- I've used the plastic electronic Tridons for the last couple -- and in the back of my mind suspect something else may be wrong. On my car, they just wear out electrically after a good long while. The current one might not. What I did: I left the front lights conventional incandescent but replaced the rear-facing lights with LEDs. The load presented to the flasher is heavy enough for it to work (needs 2 bulbs on) but about half the load it would see if all the bulbs were incandescent.