Lately my power driver's seat does not move. None of the 8-way positions work at all. But I hear the relays under the seat clicking away.

But then if I drive the car for a few miles it starts working again.

Any ideas?

I'm thinking it might be a bad connection between the relays and the seat motor? Or the relays themselves are bad? Any way to test them? Are they located in that black plastic box under the seat with the wires running to it? How do you remove them?

Any help appreciated, thanks.
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2001 S80 2.9 (non-turbo), 150K miles

Is your battery original? Because the seats work after a few miles, could it just be a low battery charge?

Klaus
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Two great Volvos, a 1967 220 and a 1998 V70R

Battery is only 2 years old (original one lasted 7 years!). So I know it's not the battery. I have come to learn that the black plastic box under the seat with the wires running to it is the "power seat controller". By the clicking I hear when I try to move the seat each way (front up and down, rear up and down, seat back up and down, and whole seat forward and backward) it sounds like there are multiple relays in this box (or at least one!)

I would like to know if I can test the controller, and/or test the individual relays inside it, or anything else I can do to help diagnose this problem.

I would hate to replace that controller (mucho $$$ I'm sure, plus software download at the stealer) if there is a simpler fix.

I'm thinking that because the seat usually starts working after driving the car a short distance, that this is caused by the vibrations/movements of the car that cause some bad connection to "connect again." Just a guess...

Also, has anyone come across a vendor in the US that repairs seat controllers?

Any ideas welcome, thanks.


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2001 S80 2.9 (non-turbo), 150K miles

Some other BB'rs have found that a code reader that can read Volvo specific codes can clear 'seat' codes. One party with an S80 also had seat problems, when the codes were cleared, all of the functions came back.

Sorry to say, the European company that made these controllers for us to buy, stopped selling them! Perhaps you can search the www and find one or a Chinese program that plugs into a laptop.

Klaus
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Two great Volvos, a 1967 220 and a 1998 V70R