1957 6-way seat repair

[TommyO]

Many Thanks  Walter for your input on the bumper issue.  I have a Series 62 Convertible.  Another Quick Question--who out ther in Caddy land rebuilds seat mechanisms for a six way power seat same vintage??  Again, Thanks...

[Walter Youshock]

Don't know.  Buick and Olds should be the same as Cadillac, but far rarer.  What's wrong with your seat mechanism?

[TommyO]

My 1957 six way power seat, responds sometimes as it should, and other times just slips and makes funny noises!  I have Not  removed the seat from the cart as I do not want to open a kettle of fish that I do not know how to put away!  I am however in the process of reupholstery real soon, and would like to have the seat issues corrected at this time!  Many thanks beforehand for any insight!  thanks,

Tom O

[Walter Youshock]

We're going WAY off the original topic here.  My guess is that it is a sticky solenoid or, the seat is actually hitting the end of its travel.  Do you have the Shop Manual?  The seat mechanism is one motor that turns a jack screw that turns in 3 different solenoids that move one of 3 torque rods depending on what part of the switch is activated.

The only way to fix it is to get the seat out of the car.

[J. Gomez]

Tom,

Walter is correct, the only way for you to ascertain on finding and fixing the problem is by removing the seat.

I just finished working on my 1956 6-way seat the seat adjuster assembly, the electrical (motor and solenoids) and redoing the wire harness. As Walter states, the motor and solenoids work in conjunction with each other to provide the correct seat adjustment; this is all controlled by the individual switch positions.

Moving the switch to any position will active the motor and at the same time will activate the particular solenoid to perform the function.

Good luck..!

[Coupe]

If the motor is working chances are it's either one or more of the solenoids are not activating due to a broken wire or the old grease is binding them up. My '57 suffered from both issues when I bought it. I soldered the wire back on and cleaned and greased the entire assembly, solenoids, jack screws and linkage etc. Works fine now. My guess is the wire broke when the previous owner tried to fix the problem without removing the seat.

[TommyO]

Apologies to all for going off topic.  Still searching for my original issue!@  Need a shop manual.  Thanks to all for help and insight!

Tom

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The best place for a Shop Manual is firstly, Crank'n Hope Reproductions in Blairesville, PA, or ebay.

The ones from Crank'n Hope are just as good as the original GM publications.

Bruce.

[kelly]

Odly enough, a company in my home town of North Branch, MI, produced the worm screw/gear used in many '57 Cadillac power seats. They are still in business! I had a problem with the 2 way power seat in my '57 75 series, but it wasn't the unit itself.  The wiring harness that feeds power to the seat motor runs aft beneath the left hand floor/rocker cover panel. The connection that splits off to the seat motor is a twist/solder/tape arrangement, and upon inspection, mine was all nasty green and corroded. Simple fix in my case.
  If you find that the steel worm screw/gear is FUBAR, let me know. I will see if M.K. Chambers can make replacements for you from old specs/prints.
Kelly Martin

[Dan Koser]

Tom,

Walter is correct, the only way for you to ascertain on finding and fixing the problem is by removing the seat.

I just finished working on my 1956 6-way seat the seat adjuster assembly, the electrical (motor and solenoids) and redoing the wire harness. As Walter states, the motor and solenoids work in conjunction with each other to provide the correct seat adjustment; this is all controlled by the individual switch positions.

Moving the switch to any position will active the motor and at the same time will activate the particular solenoid to perform the function.

Good luck..!

I've been gone for a long time, but am back at the '57 Series 62 2-Dr. HT, and would like to know if there is a tutorial or some such on removing/repairing/reinstalling the seat solenoids on this car? Any information would be appreciated. My son and I lifted this seat out and I tore my rotator cuff in the process, so BE CAREFUL...this seat weighs a TON!! Dan

[Dan Koser]

I found this great link describing in detail the functioning of the power seat:

http://www.eldorado-seville.com/files/tag-6-way-power-seat.php

What is not here is how to repair a solenoid, so that remains my question for the moment....my seat works except for the fore and aft adjustment.  Dan

[J. Gomez]

I found this great link describing in detail the functioning of the power seat:

http://www.eldorado-seville.com/files/tag-6-way-power-seat.php

What is not here is how to repair a solenoid, so that remains my question for the moment....my seat works except for the fore and aft adjustment.  Dan

Dan,

Not clear from your post if you have done any troubleshooting on the solenoids.

If you disconnect them and apply a direct +12V source at the connector, do they energized?

If they do you may have a problem at the switch.

You can check the following thread as it has some details that could help you, PS the ’56 and ’57 are similar.

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=141542.0

Good luck..! 

[BillR. CLC # 29203]

Dan,
Super information and graphics associated with that link.
Thanks for sharing.
Bill Rodwick

[Dan Koser]

Dan,

Not clear from your post if you have done any troubleshooting on the solenoids.

If you disconnect them and apply a direct +12V source at the connector, do they energized?

If they do you may have a problem at the switch.

You can check the following thread as it has some details that could help you, PS the ’56 and ’57 are similar.

http://forums.cadillaclasalleclub.org/index.php?topic=141542.0

Good luck..!

The only trouble shooting I've done is to note that, thought the motor energized, the seat will not move forward or backward. What is the procedure for accessing the internal parts of the solenoid? I will apply the voltage to test, but I still see the need to disassemble, clean and reassemble and that's where I'm stuck. Dan

[J. Gomez]

The only trouble shooting I've done is to note that, thought the motor energized, the seat will not move forward or backward. What is the procedure for accessing the internal parts of the solenoid? I will apply the voltage to test, but I still see the need to disassemble, clean and reassemble and that's where I'm stuck. Dan

Dan.

If you have a ’57 shop manual Section 17 has details on the 6-way seats starting on page 17-44. The steps on the shop manual should give you additional details on troubleshooting yours.

Good luck..!

[Dan Koser]

Dan.

If you have a ’57 shop manual Section 17 has details on the 6-way seats starting on page 17-44. The steps on the shop manual should give you additional details on troubleshooting yours.

Good luck..!

It does, but it does not answer the question "What is the procedure for accessing the internal parts of the solenoid?" Section 17 talks about replacing the solenoid under certain conditions...this thread is about cleaning and repairing them and putting them back in service. To do that, the internal parts must be accessed, and that is my question: how? Dan

[J. Gomez]

It does, but it does not answer the question "What is the procedure for accessing the internal parts of the solenoid?" Section 17 talks about replacing the solenoid under certain conditions...this thread is about cleaning and repairing them and putting them back in service. To do that, the internal parts must be accessed, and that is my question: how? Dan

Dan,

The solenoid internal is straight forward and only a few pieces can be removed such as the plunger, the spacer, trip plate and the metal ball bearing. The rest electrical coil and spinning nut that rides in the worm screw are non-removable.

Attached is the previous page from the Delco bulletin for the 6-way seat motor from the one I’ve attached to “1956 six way electric seat - solenoid replacement” post.

HTH

Good luck..!

[Coupe Deville]

If the motor is working chances are it's either one or more of the solenoids are not activating due to a broken wire or the old grease is binding them up. My '57 suffered from both issues when I bought it. I soldered the wire back on and cleaned and greased the entire assembly, solenoids, jack screws and linkage etc. Works fine now.

x2

Same thing on my 57'. Cleaned up the transmission and solenoids, re-greased, and it worked like a charm. I also added a ground wire directly to the seat trans. case. That solved some problems as well.
Sometimes the ground gets overlooked on old cars.

Best of luck

-Gavin

[Dan Koser]

Dan,

The solenoid internal is straight forward and only a few pieces can be removed such as the plunger, the spacer, trip plate and the metal ball bearing. The rest electrical coil and spinning nut that rides in the worm screw are non-removable.

Attached is the previous page from the Delco bulletin for the 6-way seat motor from the one I’ve attached to “1956 six way electric seat - solenoid replacement” post.

HTH

Good luck..!

Very helpful...thanks. Dan

[Dan Koser]

x2

Same thing on my 57'. Cleaned up the transmission and solenoids, re-greased, and it worked like a charm. I also added a ground wire directly to the seat trans. case. That solved some problems as well.
Sometimes the ground gets overlooked on old cars.

Best of luck

-Gavin

Gavin, you say you cleaned up the solenoids....did you have to remove the seat from its frame in order to get to the parts in each solenoids? I have been able to get to most of the parts of the front solenoid, but the middle and rear ones look very tough without the seat being removed from the frame.  Dan