Thread: 1990 Vogue Electric Seats

Hello, and welcome to the best part of the forum!

I know what you mean, as I have just been trying to remove some electric seats from a wreck and without power it has so far proved impossible. That's the problem with these things, as you've found, once something is wrong it's a tough one to fix. I read up on these and it sounds like some people have been able to undo the drive cable from the motor and used a cordless drill to turn the cable and move the seat. However, this hasn't worked for me as I can't get the cables off. For you, this is the only thing I've come across that may work.

Have you removed the seats from the car ? - And, are your door mirrors working?

IF your seats don't have a 'memory' function, you're miles in front! But.....

- There is, (maybe not as far back as 1990...) a Little Black Box attached under the driver's seat, and this infernal device contains the wizz-bang stuff that operates the two pre-set memory positions of both seat and mirrors. The NiCad memory battery is way past its' use-by date, and may have leaked over the circuit board, often eating away some tracks...

Good news is, replacement batteries are available, mine from evilBay UK. If no tracks are damaged, then average competance with a soldering iron is all that's required.


And patience.

PS, Seat switches can be cleaned and re-used.... lots of patience, dexterity and care. Same with window switches.... though the fault may well be a(nother...) 'dry' solder joint inside the Little Black Box that controls the Auto functions of the FRONT windows, the rears are straight-forward electrics....
Box in the 1995 Vague is located behind the glove box, but I understand that some earlier models had them elsewhere. RAVE manual will tell you. (available from this forum Shop)

And, if you're unlucky, we'll let you discover the TWO different types of fixings that bolt the seats into the car...

You can move them by applying current directly to the pins of the connector which goes to the motors. I used jumper cables connected to the battery and some speaker wiring.

Originally Posted by NigelChisnall

Hey guys,

New on here and not even sure if this is where I post a question. Any who worth a shot.

Just wondering if there is any way to mechanically adjust the seats? Both mine work with the other two adjustments but I can't get them to go back and forth. Had a sparky look at them and he wanted big money to fix them. Do they really cost that much?

What's the general go with them?

Also does anyone know the best place to get the front switches for the windows? My switch from the front for the rear left window is buggered. Hoping it's just a dirty switch and once replaced it will work from the rear also.

Thanks in advance guys. Have loads of other questions about the truck too. It's a 1990 Vogue SE 38D

Regards, Nige

Try these Nige, I just recently did this to my electric seats and the problem was very dirty contacts.

Power Seat Switch Repair - Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum

Seat Switch Reconditioning

Seats work great now, I used a small dab of grease (dielectric was within reach of me at the time) to hold the tiny ball bearings onto the springs for reassembly. Straightforward job if you are mindful of delicate plastics and also of the numerous parts inside the switches, placing them in a large ice cream container or similar before popping the actual switch open is an absolute must. Take your time.

Components are very simple but there is 16 ball bearings, 16 small brass contacts, 8 springs, 3 switches and 3 brass rods that are all likely to fall out when you open it. You can take the middle post (for and aft movement) out to easily access the tracks and contacts underneath, it is held in with small brass plates, I gently pulled them up with a hooked pick. However it is also possible to work the contacts out while the post is in place.

I recently found a pair of electric seats to put into my 1988 RRC which is a non-electric seat car.

The seats are currently in position but unpowered.

I am making the (large) assumption that getting the passenger seat to work is just a case of wiring the existing harness to the 12V supply.

The driver's side seat is a different matter since it has a memory switch which can't be wired in directly. I have found and purchased a full non-memory harness. What I don't know yet is whether that can be used with the memory type switch (bypassing the memory functions) or whether I will need to track down a replacement switch too. Would anyone have any advice.

I have actually purchased two complete seat wiring harnesses so if anyone needs one (and I don't have to use it for the passenger side seat), do let me know.

AFAIR the window switches are the same as Mercedes around the same age.
I never had trouble with mine but the switches are full of little ball bearings and springs which can go walkabout.
A good flood with contact cleaner can bring them back to life.

Regards Philip A