We have taken our PC from Texas to cool Eagle Nest, NM (between Angle Fire and Red River) and are enjoying the weather and RV friends.  I have a few weeks before we return home...but...my power seat on E-450 doesn't work.  I checked the fuse and found it was blown.  I put in another one...and guess what?...   It blew!  Any ideas on where to start chasing down the electrical problem causing this? 

On the good side, the seat is at my normal driving position so that I can get home in late August if I don't solve it, but since you guys are so smart, I thought I would ask.

Thanks,

Richard

Richard,

I haven't heard of this problem before, so be sure to keep us informed in case it happens to someone else.

I would start by checking under the seat to see if a wire got pinched by the mechanism.  You might have to remove the side trim to get a good look.  If you find a connector under there, disconnect it and try another fuse.  If it doesn't blow then the short is after the connector, and vice versa.

Bob

Isn't the power seat base supplied by Ford and covered by their guarantee. Call the 800 for ford motor home that you were given and they will set up an appointment wherever you are.

I would start by checking under the seat to see if a wire got pinched by the mechanism.  You might have to remove the side trim to get a good look.  If you find a connector under there, disconnect it and try another fuse.  If it doesn't blow then the short is after the connector, and vice versa.  Bob

That was my thought.

With my own power driver seat, the cabling seems vulnerable to abrasion damage, not cleanly dressed as I would have expected, but I couldn't come up with a better method either.  I once considered protecting the wires with split loom, but never followed through with that idea.  Now I got something else to do before we leave on our trip.

Here is what split loom looks like.  It is sold at all auto parts stores & Radio Shack, offered in different diameters.  It is sliced all the way through so it can be slipped over an existing cable with connectors already attached.  The general practice is to use the smallest diameter that works and electrical tape the ends to prevent it from moving around.




Keelhauler,
The power driver seat is an aftermarket feature supplied by Phoenix USA, not Ford.

Thanks for the comments.  Bob, I did look under the seat and couldn't spot anything easy to check out.  John, I forgot that the Ford warranty was longer than the one on the coach.  Even though Ron is probably right, I will still attempt to check it out with Ford when we get back home.  Meanwhile we will just enjoy this cool weather and the beautiful mountains. 

Richard

The power seats are supplied by PC thur a vendor they utilize, the units are not Ford and therefore would not be covered.  I got a new power unit from PC and it did not come thru Ford.  Like others, i would look real closely at where the wires go thru the floor deck and double check again all around underneath since there are many moving parts connected with the meganism and the wires are very loose under there.  To blow that rapdly something must really be grounding out big time. 

The Ford chasis is delivered with a plastic seat bolted in place for the driver and no seat in the passenger side.  PC puts the final seats in, so they're not covered under the Ford warranty.

Again, thanks for the additional comments.  I am back in Texas now, and I will take the time to follow up on possible causes for the short.  Man...it is HOT here compared to northern NM.    


By the way...I pulled into TreeTops RV park in Arlington today and there is another PC here.  Don't see that often out here.  I'll have to check to see who it is.
Richard

Well, I finally got around to looking into my seat problem.  Turns out that the control wires were routed through the opening that the control cog travels.  The cog cut through the wire loom and shorted things out.  My solution was to cut the wires (about 6 or 7 of them) on both ends, pull the severed ones out, re-route them, and splice them back together.  IT WORKED!!! 

Oh...the reason it took so long to get to???? It finally cooled down here in Texas to do things on the PC.

Richard