S40 Driver's Seat --> Backrest won't go back

Scotttb · Post by **Scotttb** » 16 Jul 2009, 08:25

Ok, first post... greetings everybody!!!

Here's my issue:

2000 Volvo S40 - Wife's car

Driver's power seat moves in all directions with the exception of the backrest reclining backwards. The backrest is pretty far forwards now and a little uncomfortable to drive, need to fix this ASAP before the switch gets bumped and it gets worse.

So calling out to the experts out there... is it a bad switch, a bad motor, or a bad cable? And how big of a job is it to DIY in this case?

Thank you very very much in advance for any and all replies!!!

-Scott

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 16 Jul 2009, 21:54

Scott, welcome to MVS.
On other models (not sure about the S40), your symptoms often describe a bad cable. Check under your seat to see if the cable is bad...it can be stripped and reattached if it is and work again. There is a write-up in the repair database for the S/V70 models for this- it may apply to your car as well.

Scotttb · Post by **Scotttb** » 17 Jul 2009, 11:07

Forgot to add... VERY occasionally, if you try to get the backrest to go back, the motor will engage and it will go back. But it happens so randomly, there's no way to know when, or if, it will go back again. It hasn't 'randomly' worked for a couple/few months now and my wife tries to get it to work every time she gets in the car.

Does that shed any more light on this for anyone?

And thanks for the reply & tip! I will search for the cable issue this weekend.

Red October · Post by **Red October** » 21 Sep 2009, 13:59

Hi,

First time poster here.

I had the same thing happen to me, except the recline, and the front and rear up/down functions werent working. The only thing working was the aft/fwd seat movement. (notice I hesitate to say the motor isnt working...)

So I put my old aircraft electrician hat on and went to work. I pulled the seat out, removed the switch circuit board and associated cables from the seat and set them aside for now.

I gained access to each of the 4 motors; 3 under the seat and 1 in the back for the recline position. With a 12 volt power supply (battery charger) & using test leads I was able to run each of the four motors individually and successfully. Reversing the polarity to make them run forwards / backwards.

My next area of focus was the switches themselves. Using an ohm meter, the switches themselves are bad. Personally, I find it insane to spend $230 on an entire switch / circuitboard / cable assy, so I want to install and solder new switches into the PCB... trouble is, I need to find the individual switches somewhere. I cant imagine these switches being more than $5 to $10 each.

Any thoughts on where to buy these switches?