The drivers seat that got away

Bru · 02-18-2015, 10:44 PM

There was a beautiful gray checker cloth drivers seat in a 87-88 Supra at a local upscale parts yard that I've been trying to get out for several years. The Supra was front end wrecked and had low miles. There were no flaws at all in the cloth and when you sat in it the foam felt new like the passenger seat does. The problem was that there was no power to move the seat to expose the bolts to remove it even with a battery connected in the engine bay, which was smashed. After all this time, I remembered there is a wiring harness that comes up through the carpet under the seat and when I checked mine there's a plug at the back in the lower right corner of the seat. It's a 3 pronged plug and when I tested it with a volt meter I found 12 volts across the 2 connections parallel to each other with the top one being positive. I found the same plug in a spare engine wiring harness and rigged up a mobile power source using a used 12 volt battery out of a computer UPS power supply. It worked like a champ. I could move my seat back and forth. So I called the parts yard and asked if the Supra was still there? The guy said that they had crushed it 2 crushes ago. Bummer. Well, least I solved the problem and this may help someone in a similar situation. I have rebuilt my seat before using hog rings and pair hog ring pliers to take the seat apart to mend the tear that happens on the right lumbar support. When your seat motor reaches the end of its travel don't force it any further because the little white plastic blocks will break. I know. I did it and had to fix it.

Busted Knuckles · 02-21-2015, 02:59 PM

Good to know, thanks. I had to strip out my interior to replace my heater core, and wound up doing a complete interior deep clean. I took the fabric panels of the seat bottom of the front and rear seats and put them in the washing machine, then using a hog ring plier kit to reattach them. I managed to move the seat with the in-car connectors, but your solution may come in handy someday.

02-18-2015, 10:44 PM	#1
Bru Bone Stock w Upgrades ;-) Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 210	The drivers seat that got away There was a beautiful gray checker cloth drivers seat in a 87-88 Supra at a local upscale parts yard that I've been trying to get out for several years. The Supra was front end wrecked and had low miles. There were no flaws at all in the cloth and when you sat in it the foam felt new like the passenger seat does. The problem was that there was no power to move the seat to expose the bolts to remove it even with a battery connected in the engine bay, which was smashed. After all this time, I remembered there is a wiring harness that comes up through the carpet under the seat and when I checked mine there's a plug at the back in the lower right corner of the seat. It's a 3 pronged plug and when I tested it with a volt meter I found 12 volts across the 2 connections parallel to each other with the top one being positive. I found the same plug in a spare engine wiring harness and rigged up a mobile power source using a used 12 volt battery out of a computer UPS power supply. It worked like a champ. I could move my seat back and forth. So I called the parts yard and asked if the Supra was still there? The guy said that they had crushed it 2 crushes ago. Bummer. Well, least I solved the problem and this may help someone in a similar situation. I have rebuilt my seat before using hog rings and pair hog ring pliers to take the seat apart to mend the tear that happens on the right lumbar support. When your seat motor reaches the end of its travel don't force it any further because the little white plastic blocks will break. I know. I did it and had to fix it.

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02-21-2015, 02:59 PM	#2
Busted Knuckles 12psi boost Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Atlanta Posts: 300	Good to know, thanks. I had to strip out my interior to replace my heater core, and wound up doing a complete interior deep clean. I took the fabric panels of the seat bottom of the front and rear seats and put them in the washing machine, then using a hog ring plier kit to reattach them. I managed to move the seat with the in-car connectors, but your solution may come in handy someday.