Installed new battery 48 hours ago. Car started up and ran fine. Today: totally dead. MY best guess is the 12 cd changer. It made noises when installing battery... but I thought that was "normal". Now I wonder.

Installed new battery because the old one was (shot) dead for the same - whatever - reason(?)

 

Yank CD player fuse, charge battery, try again.

 

found it!! #36 circuit breaker was intermittently humming... working pretty hard. That breaker is for the passenger(?) lumbar motor.... at least maybe I found my problem. Seems maybe the switch is stuck?? Pulled that breaker and battery is charging now.

Comments? switch stuck in "on" or "activate", ever heard of that?

 

the 12 cd changer always makes noise when you re-connect the battery

 

Yup, figured that out (or knew that) about the cd player...

But made a mistake in my haste to post: #36 is for "passenger power seat" and that breaker was humming/tripping. I had pulled #3 (lumbar support) too. So same question but for passenger power seat: why would that be stuck in one of it's "on" positions. Another guess here: I think it's stuck in "back", not "forward". When the new battery is charged I'll plug in the breaker and try the thing "back" & "forward" to unstick it....

 

Do you happen to have your interior light on and not really know it because of the coup cover?

 

Checked for interior lites... all were off. No, my problem is in the switch(?) that moves passenger seat forward and back. I think it's stuck in the "back" position. Motor strains for 5-10 seconds then breaker trips. Automatically resets after another 5-10 seconds and motor strains again, etc, etc.... until the battery is dead. Cool huh? The good news is that the seat is all the way to the rear!

 

By the way, my car is a 98 convertible made for Canada, 70K miles. I'm in Eugene Oregon. Thanks for the help(s) you guys. Will be diddling with that seat switch tomorrow... wish me luck.

 

Eugene, Or. is a nice town. I was there overnight almost two years ago. Wouldn't mind moving there. Seems like a real nice place.
The Seat switches seem to have issues from time to time. I think most are replacing them. I would imagine they can be repaired and Bill Curlee might have some input on that.

 

The seat switch [contacts] have malfunctioned. Maybe from water dripping from window seals above especially on a conv.
The switch can be disassemabled and cleaned.

 

It seems to be a common failure and I've heard of quite a few over the years. One of the lower quality parts on the Vette.

I wouldn't try to fix it as its an easy replacement. You'll need to pull the seat which takes 5 minutes. The electrical connector under the seat is fiddly to disconnect but apart from that its straight forward.

I'm sure one of the Forum parts vendors will fix you up.

Some pics here:
http://www.vetteessentials.com/instr...r_removal.html

Seat Switch Replacement - Power
Removal Procedure

1. Remove the seat back recliner handle.
1. With a suitable blunt ended tool inserted between the cushion and the handle push the handle retaining spring clip down.
2. Pull the handle from the shaft.

2. Remove the screws attaching the seat side trim panel.

3. Rock the panel side to side working the barrel post clip (1) out of the seat frame.
4. Reposition panel away from the seat.
5. Disconnect the switch harness.
6. Remove the switch.

Installation Procedure

1. Install the switch to the side trim panel.
2. Install a new barrel clip (1) to the trim panel upper barrel post (2).
3. Connect the switch harness.
4. Install the seat side trim panel.
* Push the barrel post with clip through the hole in the seat cover and into the seat frame.
* Install the front and rear trim panel attaching screws.
5. Install the seat back recliner handle.
1. Position the handle retaining spring clip into the lock position.
2. Snap the handle onto the reclining mechanism shaft.

 

YES! The seat multifunction switch is a very common failure. I have NOT had one apart but,,,I would guess that there’s a couple copper springs that center the switch and those are weak. I bet ya you can remove the spring and re-bend it to provide a nice positive neutral return and while your in there clean the switch contacts.

BC