| Author | Message | ||
     Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 738 Registered: 09-2002 |
Yes it is  Long story short, the wife reclined the seat back last weekend (don't ask) and after we're done, I'm mean, after she wakes up, I can't get it up - the seat back that is. All the other seven directions still work, just the back won't come up and of course I have to keep checking to make sure it still goes back and it keeps getting further and further down. Now I'm in a jam, so today I pull out the switch module (remove the switch caps, top cover, two screws and pull off the connectors), get the part number and check the price. In typical LR tradition it's $125 to $200 for the switch. Roight, I say in my best Austin Powers voice, I'm fixing this muther. (I guess it's not really a long story short) So, I start poking at the switch module and finally undo the single screw on the underside and pop the top off. Bingo, the whole thing explodes in my hands and presents me with four switch toggles, eight springs, eight brass contact strips and sixteen ball bearings - nice. I can see how it all went together and I can see the corrosion on many of the brass contacts. I clean all thirty two contacts (two on each strip and sixteen in the housing) with the wife's nail sanding thing and start the reassembly. I should have taken pics but I was too excited that this might actually work. Now, let me add, the assembly requires a very steady hand and lots of patience. You have to place the eight brass contact strips in their tiny holders, place the four toggles on their pivots, drop two ball bearings into each toggle followed by two springs and then balance a ball bearing on the top of each of the springs (they protrude from the toggles). Keep in mind only gravity is holding it together at this point. All you have to do now is replace the cover without dislodging the toggles. If you touch any of the toggles, the ball bearings fall of the springs and you have to start over. It's kinda like that carnival game where you have to try not to touch the wire with the loop. Well, I did it. Once the cover is touching the ball bearings you just squeeze the cover onto the base and it holds everything in place (it clips on). One screw in the bottom holds it all firmly together. I re-install the module into the housing on the seat and hey-presto, the damn thing works like new In closing, I would like to add, if you have one or more functions of your RRC electric seat not working, don't just bend over and buy a new switch. Pull the switch out, take it apart, clean it and put it back together - I dare you. Worst that could happen is it won't go back together - so you were going to buy a new one anyway right? Good luck, SC | ||
| Greg Hirst (Gregh) Senior Member Username: Gregh Post Number: 524 Registered: 10-2002 |
LOL- I tried that once and decided I'd rather bend over... It's only $$ and you can't take it with you. OTOH you'll never get that time back Steve, you could've been out wheeling with Dallas- | ||
| Rob Davison (Nosivad_bor) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Nosivad_bor Post Number: 1728 Registered: 02-2003 |
Steve on my trip out west in 2002 i stoped in the middle of utah for a nights rest. i reclined my seat and my buddy his. Next morning without any prior warning his seat back decided not to raise. after bitching about driving home with no back rest he decided to take the seat switch apart. i had heard the horror stories of BB's and brass plates so i know the can of worms he was opening. since he didnt ask to disassemple my switch i didnt bother warning him. after an hour of him fucking with it and my acting like i didnt notice he begine to lower the top on when it all goes everywhere. i burst out laughing an him too. then i let him in on the fact that i knew what he was doing was a bitch of a job, especially as you can appreciate doing it on a flat table, he was doing it in my Moded Disco i will give him credit though, after about 6hrs of driving he got that SOB back together, though only assemling the the contacts for the part that raises the seat back. LOL basically Steve, I just wanted to say "I feel your pain" | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 740 Registered: 09-2002 |
Ha, I figured I wasn't the first to try this. Yeah, I had the kitchen table and a white towel in my favor. I can't imagine trying to do that in a moving vehicle. Dallas just watched and learned (I hope ) BTW, on a related issue, for those with the memory feature on the driver's seat, I discovered that the memory buttons will still put the seat back to the memory location even if the manual switches have failed (makes sense actually). My wife drove the truck in the mountains last weekend (went shopping while we played in the snow) and moved the driver's seat way forward. I tried to move the seat back and it was the same story as the other seat, except no backward movement. I hit the memory 1 button and the seat went right back to my settings. So, if you have the memory buttons, make sure they are programmed before it's too late. SC | ||
| Jon Santana (Mustache) Member Username: Mustache Post Number: 125 Registered: 09-2002 |
Syevie-boy, i feel ya... mine liiterally expoloded in my face and i spent about an hour on the carpet, looking for god knows what came out of that dang box, then spent another hour tryingt o get it back together... the carnival game analogy is perfect! i hear those are designed by Mercedes... sure looked like the P.of D. to me. :P Jon | ||
| Steve Cooper (Scrover) Senior Member Username: Scrover Post Number: 742 Registered: 09-2002 |
Haha, well, surprisingly it is made in Germany. Thinking about it, it really is a piece of crap. There is no way they could have automated that assembly. Some poor bastard had to sit and juggle with that shit all day long. They could easily have put four off-the-shelf center biased toggle switches in the same box instead of building that crap into the box. In fact, if (when) it fails again, I think I'll try that. I'll build a better mouse trap if it kills me. SC BTW, it's amazing what you find when you're crawling on the carpet looking for tiny ball bearings | ||
| Greg Hirst (Gregh) Senior Member Username: Gregh Post Number: 525 Registered: 10-2002 |
Steve- I can't remember the Mercedes part number but I found a good deal from a Mercedes shop listed in Hemmings and bought a couple from them-around $40-50/ea if I recall. Mid-eighties door mount seat switch in Mercedes E or S-class I think. Less lube bending over- | ||
| Rob Davison (Nosivad_bor) Dweb Lounge Member Username: Nosivad_bor Post Number: 1730 Registered: 02-2003 |
no wonder why they are so expensive. | ||
| Jaime (Blueboy) Senior Member Username: Blueboy Post Number: 954 Registered: 02-2002 |
here is a good link I've saved for when the dreaded day comes and I have to perform this task. it has pics of what to expect: http://www.singingcamel.com/html/seatswitch.html | ||
| Walter T Lewis (Tedlousailing) New Member Username: Tedlousailing Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2004 |
http://www.rangerovers.net/rremedies.htm Before you give up, take a look here. I was able to remove and clean both switches in my 89 Rover in about 2 hours. Good luck. | ||
| Gordon Turner (Gordo) Member Username: Gordo Post Number: 75 Registered: 07-2003 |
Try using a little grease to hold the balls in place. It makes the rebuild much easier. Clean the contacts well and do not get grease in them. Really pretty easy. Gordo | ||
| Chris Lehn (Chris_lehn) New Member Username: Chris_lehn Post Number: 8 Registered: 11-2002 |
I've gotta agree with Gordo, use grease, it makes the job much easier, I did this two years ago and it still works great. Oh and taking it apart inside an inverted frisbee kept all of the parts local. Chris Lehn | ||
| Gordon Turner (Gordo) Member Username: Gordo Post Number: 79 Registered: 07-2003 |
never thought of the frisbee though!! Nice tip. Gordo |
