power seat - smoking

[Keith Cooper]

Came back from running some errands and DW was in a panic. Apparently, the 6 way drivers seat had been smoking . No smoke but in checking found an electric motor that was as hot as a $2 pistol with a very strong burnt electric smell. Disconnected  the hot lead from the power bus in the electric bay (terminal 4) as a temporary work around. Is there anyone in Bend who may have parts or works on these units? We will be there in a about two weeks.
2000 patriot thunder

[Roy Warren Co-Admin]

I am sure Beaver Coach Sales will have the necessary parts, but if not, Red Hot Interiors who reupholsters these seats might have the necessary parts.  Ask for Darryl.
Roy Warren

[Bill Johnson]

Check with Tom Halter (Advantage Rv).  He is located right across the street from BCS and will serve you well.

[Joel Weiss]

There is an inline connector in the wire bringing power to the seats.  There's no reason to have to disconnect at the bay.

On my driver's chair the switches nearest the front that control the lumbar support will stick in the "ON" position and I assume this could result in motor overheating as you have reported.  Fortunately, there is a fairly loud buzzing noise that indicates the motor is running, so we know pretty quickly if the switch is stuck.

[Keith Cooper]

Originally checked the inline connector and found both hot and ground feeds had crimped the connector to prevent connector coming apart. dumb idea but it is what I am dealing with.
As to which motor is impacted it is not lumbar support it is actually the drive motor associated with the rear switch in the 6 way control panel. the motor function is to tilt the seat front to back. Plastic cap on the end of the motor actually melted away and separated from the metal casing. The motor is the center motor of the three inline units. If we are unable to locate a replacement for a reasonable price I will remove the center motor assembly. I really don't use the function so it wont be much of a loss.

[Joel Ashley]

Villa and Flexsteel seats are common across coach brands, Keith.  I'd think you could shop online or locally at any coach parts or seat supplier for such a motor, and not just in Bend.  Though you are likely to find the part there, you may just as readily find it elsewhere for less.  Check online or by phone Northwest RV Supply in Eugene as well.

If you do replace the motor, be sure to examine for any mechanism jamming or stuck switch that may have caused the motor to overheat.  You don't want to fry another.

We've had trouble with our passenger seat as well, but it is entirely an iffy harness connector that, if not routed optimally, gets abused when the seat is fully rotated to facilitate extra living room conversation seating.  

Joel

[Keith Cooper]

When Villa was contacted they advised the seats are manufacture discontinued and the parts are no longer available. Beaver Coach had an acceptable replacement for the original motor but they did not have the associated 6-way power seat switch (root cause of the problem) . Jeff at Bend RV Repair dug into the issue and found out the part number for the 6 way power seat switch was actually a  1999 GMC P/U part.
On a separate note, the recliner function on the passenger seat has never worked properly, in our coach. The motor and wiring were fine the Jeff identified the issue. It was caused by soap based lithium grease  being used in the power recliner gear box. over time the grease had hardened to the consistency of a  rock preventing proper operation of the worm gear Once the grease was replaced the chair functioned properly

[Joel Ashley]

Thanks for the update, Keith.  That's an interesting cause and resolution on the recliner function.

Joel