Sport Seat Problems

[clay5769]

Hi all
New guy on this forum, I just bought/traded for a garage kept black on black 1994 rag top
I traded my 09 Hemi Challenger.. The dealer I got it from gave me some cash and the C4 in trade... This will be my 4th Vette, The last one I traded in was a 96 C4 CE I had to get rid of it..I did not want to but it had to go... But thats another story..

It has 23,500 miles and it was well taken care of it looks and drives GREAT...and it supposedly has never seen the rain, the dealer is one of those that sell nothing but high end cars, Vettes ,Jags, old hot rods..


Now for my problem I have checked all the fuses they are good, I lifted the seat bottoms, nothing to see as far as cut wires things unpluged..

The sport seats do not work , When you switch it to the passengers side and hit the switch to inflate the lumbar or any other function, you hear the pump hum for 3 or 4 seconds but it does not fill the bladders then it stops.. When you try to deflate it nothing happens which of coarse is because theres nothing in the bladder..

Then when you switch it to the drivers side and hit the switch for any of lumbar or other functions, it does the same thing it comes on for 2 or 3 seconds and it stops..Any Ideas or anyone runs across this problem??

Thanks in advance
Clayton .......................P.S. Hi everyone

 

[clay5769]

Hi Again

I kind of have it narrowed down I think..
I checked under the passengers seat again I found a wire that
was cut a bit but not all the way though, I taped it up...

I tried disconnecting the hose that goes to the the black box in the front part of the seat..

when I did that I tried the switch and it worked no problem..
I put my finger on the hose and it had a strong pull on my finger..
I tapped on the box on the front and put the hose back on and the system seemed to work for a little while then it quite again..


So I'm assuming that the box in the front part that the clear hose goes to is the problem, I think its some type of relay.. It has a clear hose
going into it and a plug with about 8-10 wires on it..

Does any of this sound like I may have found the problem??

Thanks
Clayton

 

[John Robinson]

With the low mileage on the car it yells out that it has a lot of storage time. With that much storage I would start looking for vacuum lines or wires that were eaten by the rodents that probably created a neighborhood in the nooks and cranny's of the car. A long with them spiders have a habit of building. nest inside of hoses and other places like contact switches etc. So my suggestion is to visually inspect every thing you can to see if it has been chewed of blocked off. As nice as it is to find a really low miles car these are the things you have to do to bring them back to life. Just because they were in storage the clock did not stop running on the deterioration of wire insulation and rubber hoses. But then when you get all that inspected and cleaned up you will have a very nice car that should be good for many thousands of miles.

Oh and as for that plug with the wires look to see if it has corroded and the pins are not making contact.

 

[clay5769]

Hi
Thanks.. No critters in this one to eat wires this thing is spotless inside and out was supposedly in a garage taken out on sunny days for weekend ride and put back up..

I think its the box in the front passengers side under the seat the one with the clear hose and plug into it..

 

[clay5769]

Pump

Another question..
When I pulled the rubber line off the pump seems to be sucking in shouldn't that be blowing out??

 

[John Robinson]

I give you spotless but I still would not discount the spiders and mice. I have had motorcycles in storage in a heated garage and the next spring I have found mice nest in the air filter and the air ducts for the carb. Had spider nest plug up a fuel line were they came through the carb to the fuel line to nest. If that black box has vacuum going to it I would be sure it was not plugged and don't forget if you are fiddling with it and there is an electrical connector on it you are also moving it. Unless the garage the car was in had a moisture control in it the natural humidity in the garage can cause the electrical connectors to get corroded and not make good contact inside the plug. As many of us have found out the C4 lives only with good clean grounds so the first place to start is to get some electrical contact cleaner and clean all the connectors and plugs that are a part of the seat electrical system. And include the fuses in that they also will loose contact with corrosion.

 

[clay5769]

Hi
Well it do not think its electrical the pump comes on when you push the switch then it stops right away.. If you disconnect the hose from the black box and try it the pump will continue to run no problems...

As soon as you put the hose back on and try it ... It will only run for a second or two then stop...

without the hose connected to the black box the pump will run non-stop...

 

[John Robinson]

Hi
Well it do not think its electrical the pump comes on when you push the switch then it stops right away.. If you disconnect the hose from the black box and try it the pump will continue to run no problems...

As soon as you put the hose back on and try it ... It will only run for a second or two then stop...

without the hose connected to the black box the pump will run non-stop...

If the pump works without the hose then something is blocking the hose and the pump is not getting air. Trace the hose all the way back to were it starts and disconnect and then bow air through it to see if it is open or blocked.

 

[clay5769]

Hi
I might have explained it wrong..


The pump works when the hose is disconnected from the small black box ..meaning the pump and hose are fine
I think its that box that has the problem and not working... it sits under the passengers seat toward the front
the box has 1 hose going to it from the pump and it also has a plug going into it.. I wish I knew what it was called and what it did..

when ever I unplug the pump from that box is when will will continue to work..

So its not the hose going into the pump its the box (I guess its a valve or something) that is not working right I think..

I took a paper clip in gently stuck it into the black box inlet where the hose goes and it seems solid I don't want to force it
I do not know whats in it or what its supposed to do so I do not want to break it..

 

[John Robinson]

Ok Lets see if this is what you are talking about. In my FSM for my 93 it shows a lumbar adjusting pump that has two wire connectors one goes to the lumber control pod to in able you to pump up or release air pressure. the other wire connector goes to the wiring harness and it looks like the hose from the pump goes to the lumber control pod and is connected to the lumber inflate all cells switch. There is another hose that goes to the lumbar bladder from the lumbar control pod and looks like it has two hose connections so I think one is for the lumbar cushion and the other is for the seat cushion.

In my FSM it has a short section on how to connect the inner bolster wire.

1. Position cushion and insert cushion retaining rods behind holster drive shaft into retaining clips.

2. Fold seat back cushion up into position.

3. Lumbar hose connection.

4. Insert inner bolster wire into upper inner clip.

5. Push in on outer upper side of seat back cushion and with fingers ( suitable tool) push bolster wire past outer clip and release so it locks in clip.

6. Seat cushion

Let me know if this is what you were needing

 

[clay5769]

Hello

Now I'm totally lost???? I do not have any wires disconnected, theres noting loose or out of place..I'm not sure what you are trying to show me how to do..

My problem is that when I hit the switch to inflate anything in the sports seats the pump goes on for 2 or 3 seconds and quits..

If I disconnect the hose from the pump to the (little black box)
The pump continues to run without stopping no problems..

If I plug that same hose back into the the box the pump stops working..

Thats where I'm at..

Thanks for trying to help.

 

[John Robinson]

Hello



Now I'm totally lost???? I do not have any wires disconnected, theres noting loose or out of place..I'm not sure what you are trying to show me how to do..

My problem is that when I hit the switch to inflate anything in the sports seats the pump goes on for 2 or 3 seconds and quits..

If I disconnect the hose from the pump to the (little black box)
The pump continues to run without stopping no problems..

If I plug that same hose back into the the box the pump stops working..

Thats where I'm at..

Thanks for trying to help.

Try switching the two hoses in the lumbar switch

 

[clay5769]

Hi
Thanks for the help..
Now everything quit no pump nothing.. I'm just going to take it back
to the dealer.. I was hoping I could get it done and not have to wait..

Thanks
Again
Clayton

 

[Toms007]

The seats for the 93 and 94 are completely different....controls on the 93 are located in the thigh bolster, whereas the 94 is located in the console. So what John was telling you probably did confuse you. Those pumps are notorious for going bad, actually the diaphragm goes bad. Luckily for me the ones in my 94 worked perfectly.

 

[clay5769]

Hi


Thanks
I was hoping to avoid a long wait leaving it there,, but oh well..as I said its the dealers problem now..

 

[clay5769]

Here is the new money pit , in front of my other money pit...I sure do love vettes......
.I got this car and some cash for my 09 Hemi challenger

 

[John Robinson]

Here is the new money pit I sure do love vettes....I got this car and some cash for my 09 Hemi challenger
View attachment 3812View attachment 3813View attachment 3811
View attachment 3814

Very nice find. I came across a 91 zo1 this morning with 23K on it. The owner has had hip and knee surgery and can no longer get in and out with out a lot of trouble. He is toying with the idea of putting it up for sale. I will keep close tabs on it just in case the money fairy comes by and dumps a load on me.

 

[clay5769]

Very nice find. I came across a 91 zo1 this morning with 23K on it. The owner has had hip and knee surgery and can no longer get in and out with out a lot of trouble. He is toying with the idea of putting it up for sale. I will keep close tabs on it just in case the money fairy comes by and dumps a load on me.

Thanks its a clean one it was well cared for....

 

[clay5769]

Fixed

Dealer fixed it he said the wires were crossed and the pump was sucking in air instead of pumping up the bladders...

that was an easy fix .... thanks for the help guys...

Clayton

 

[fatbloke-dim]

I just came across this thread , due to having probs with the seats on my '93 , and I thought "sounds like it's sucking not blowing " . So - smugness all round , I was right !! Glad you got it sorted , these things all add up to satisfaction when they work sweetly . When they don't ,however............. that sucks. No , wait ,it blows .No ,wait it sucks AND blows . Or in my case does nothing .

I see your other money-pit ! I sold mine to get the 'Vette . A boat is a large hole in the water in which you throw money . A'Vette can be the same deal ,but a bit drier . I still miss me boat , tho' ! Congrats on scoring a tasty looking 'Vette .