Wow Dumb Seat in my 850...

ecsevo705 · Post by **ecsevo705** » 21 Aug 2006, 16:50

Today when I got in my car (95' 850 Turbo Wagon - Power drivers seat), i went to adjust the back, 90-120 or however many degrees is goes back. When I pushed the button to make it recline, all that happened was the motor inside spun...the seat didnt budge. I think something inside slipped? Gears or what? Either way I push it, the motor just runs - no seat movement. Any idea what happened? Is this expensive to repair? Any comments would really be appreciated. I just purchased the car, and it was just in the shop for some repairs, so this is really ticking me off. Thanks so much!
Erik

heydanno · Post by **heydanno** » 21 Aug 2006, 17:49

This is a very common problem with 850s. The normal route is to replace the cable that runs from the motor/gear assembly on one side of the seat to the gear assembly on the other side of the seat. The motor is where the seat back comes down and attaches to the seat. Check out Bay 13 for more info.

http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/seatcable1.php

I did this job a month or two ago. Cost was a $50 or so cable from the dealer and a few hours' time. Some have reported success with modding the existing, broken cable, too.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 21 Aug 2006, 18:15

Right...you have to trim off some of the outer sheath and use the part of the cable that slides through it that hasn't broken...but depends on where it broke, really. If you can find a part number for the cable, I'd call fcpgroton.com as they are able to get Volvo parts.

Post by **kelvin6** » 22 Aug 2006, 00:53

Also note that you have a side airbag in the seat...

In the Volvospeed writeup, at the end, it describes a alternate situation where the gearing box is REVERSED. I think all the seats that have the side air bag have this configuration, so be prepared to have a OFFSET SCREWDRIVER. This is basically like a right angle ratcheting screwdriver. I remember I had to buy this tool because there was no way that i could access the gear box to release the cable when I did my power seat.

Also, the Hog rings can be a pain in the a**, I couldn't even cut them, I had straighten (from a loop) and pull them out. I ended up ziptie-ing the seat back together... and it works GREAT and can't be seen.

heydanno · Post by **heydanno** » 22 Aug 2006, 05:44

Yes, it's really quite tight in there and the offset screwdriver is definitely helpful. Even so I had to do a bit of prying on the plastic to get my hands down there.

I replaced the hog rings for where the upholstry connects to the seatback but, like above, I used zipties for where it all comes together at the bottom of the seatback since there was no way I could get a hog ring to span that huge gap. See if you have a friend with hog ring pliers since it's a waste of $20 to buy a pair just to replace about 6 hog rings. Good luck!

ecsevo705 · Post by **ecsevo705** » 22 Aug 2006, 13:32

thanks so much all your help guys, ill let you know how it goes - Ill probably be back wtih Q's anyway.
Erik