F'in Gremlin

[BlackBurb]

No, not the old AMC! The one in my '03. My driver's seat doesn't always return forward on the easy entry key-in. It also doesn't move forward when the memory 1 button is used. All other memory functions and the easy exit slide back work as they should. The seat works fine when using the seat switches. It is only the moving forward part of the easy entry or memory 1 that doesn't happen. Yes, I know I can disable easy exit/entry, but I've gotten kinda used to it and like it. WTF??

I read the stuff here, but it doesn't help me:
http://deneau.info/ls/s6x~us~en~file=s6x1a003.htm~gen~ref.htm

 

[joegr]

The seat position sensors get dirty and cause the auto movements to not work like they are supposed to. My 04 does this sometimes.

 

[1LoudLS]

The seat position sensors get dirty and cause the auto movements to not work like they are supposed to. My 04 does this sometimes.

is this something that can be cleaned, or does it have to be replaced? and if its the latter, is it as big of a PITA as everything else is?

 

[joegr]

is this something that can be cleaned, or does it have to be replaced? and if its the latter, is it as big of a PITA as everything else is?

Unfortunately, I don't know. I keep intending to get around to looking at it, but something else always gets priority. Also, I need to update my scan tool first. The newer version allows you to recalibrate the seat position sensor, which will probably be required after working on it. The mirror position sensors seem to be subject to the same issue.

 

[mtggtmmtg]

Here are pic's of what the seat sensors look like(at least for the Gen 1 LS) and as you can see they are sealed (plastic lip is heated/melted over the top cover) and no dirt can get in. If the sensor was bad the memory seat activation should stop in the same spot going rearward as well as forward as long as the seat was moved forward past the stall area. The memory seat module will stop movement of the seat if it does not read the sensor and store that as a stopping point and will not let the seat move past this point, so if you can move the seat with the side controls past the point where it has stopped during memory activation or easy enter/exit activation than I would bet your problem is the DSM(Driver's seat module).

 

[joegr]

Have you ever had an old radio with a rotating knob for volume control? The cheaper ones will get to where they are scratchy sounding as you move the volume control. That's because the resistive material will wear off in places or the leaf contact will get dirty or corroded. I think that is what is happening with the seat and mirror sensors. The electrical signal gets noise in it and it causes the seat or mirrors to stop a random places. With the mirrors, you can hit the memory button (one or two) several times and the mirrors will eventually get to the right positions.

I've also thought about adding some small capacitors to the analog signal lines to see if that would smooth out the noise enough for it to work correctly, but I haven't tried it.

While the sensor assemblies are tight, they aren't air tight. Dust does get in there. Some zero residue electrical contact cleaner might be able to get in too.

 

[mtggtmmtg]

Have you ever had an old radio with a rotating knob for volume control? The cheaper ones will get to where they are scratchy sounding as you move the volume control. That's because the resistive material will wear off in places or the leaf contact will get dirty or corroded. I think that is what is happening with the seat and mirror sensors. The electrical signal gets noise in it and it causes the seat or mirrors to stop a random places. With the mirrors, you can hit the memory button (one or two) several times and the mirrors will eventually get to the right positions.

While the sensor assemblies are tight, they aren't air tight. Dust does get in there. Some zero residue electrical contact cleaner might be able to get in too.

If this was the case, the DSM would not allow the manual seat controls to move the seat past the stall point. Once the values received from the sensors has gone beyond recorded parameters learned during calibration, the DSM will not allow any seat movement beyond that point, but the OP says he can still move the seat forward after the easy exit/enter stall. Pop one of yours off and you will see there is no way dust or contact cleaner is getting in to the contacts.