456 Seat Potentiometer | FerrariChat

456 Seat Potentiometer

Discussion in '456/550/575' started by [email protected], Dec 27, 2016.

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  1. mxstav@comcast.net

    Nov 24, 2005
    199
    Green Oaks, IL
    Full Name:
    Mark Stavropoulos
    My passenger seat back would no longer tilt forward, only backward. I removed the seat and found the seat potentiometer to be in pieces. It appears it was glued together at one time, but the glue gave up and it fell apart. I purchased an expensive, 355 pot. with which to replace it. It appears identical except for the connector (same housing, same resistance). However, I cannot figure out how to get the shaft out to remove the remains of my old pot. and insert the new one. Any hints?

    Thanks,

    Mark
     
  2. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
    Hi,

    Ahh, an old topic, and it looks like you did not get too many hints or new ideas.

    On mine the driver's seat has been doing this for a year or two. Turns out it does tilt forward when the seat is almost as far to the front it goes and it will only tilt rearwards if I find the right spot which is maybe 1/4 way to the back. :?

    I thought it could be the wiring or the switch. Nope, the I took the seats out and took out the switches, cleaned them with contact spray etc they work well now, and all the cables look fine, but the same problem persists.

    Any good ideas? Maybe I need to locate the seat potentiometer and see what it looks like. Anything I could measure or test once I take the seat out again? Oh, the seats are VERY heavy, if you ask me.
     
  3. ross

    ross Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Mar 25, 2002
    36,210
    houston/geneva
    Full Name:
    Ross
    had this same issue.
    located a new potentiometer, but when they took the seat apart they found a small nut in the track, and once removed it all worked again, so we sent the potentiometer back. best to just get a new one, swap it out, and then try to repair the old one and keep it as a spare - they are hard to find
     
  4. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
    Hi,

    Thanks. This seems a bit delicate, I had the seat out and somewhat stripped for testing, switch cleaned snd working well, potentiometer ok, all the microswitches ok, but still the driver's seat did not move at all if the seatback was tilted etc. Then when I found the problem again with the seatback not tilting and heard some clicking noises I noticed they came from the seat ECU. It's easy to take out and then I notice it's made in France (Actia) and easy to open, so what do I find inside? A few capasitors, some transistors and ROM's...


    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Now I don't know what it's supposed to look like, but that one large red capasitor don't look right to me...

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    Time to get the soldering iron out again, or maybe I need to send this to an electrician, it does look rather simple...
     
  5. Gizzi

    Gizzi F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Dec 3, 2011
    5,182
    Brisbane, Australia
    Full Name:
    Gezim
    One of your relays will be stuffed. I had to replace one in mine because the passenger tilt wouldn’t work.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  6. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
    Hi,

    Sure, that's one of the problems I have with it on the driver's seat ECU, works fine of the passenger side. I will cross change them so I can verify all the problems and symptoms and hope a repair guy can get this one on the driver's side fixed.

    Cheers,

    Pekka T.
    Fin.
     
  7. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
  8. jimveres

    jimveres Karting

    Oct 31, 2003
    68
    I'm just about to tackle my seats. They move fine using the front/aft & tilt switches but don't do the automatic move forward then backward when the seat back is moved forward. Is there any update on this thread? Did you get your seats to work? Thanks in advance for the info.
     
  9. Fennicus

    Fennicus Formula Junior

    Apr 10, 2015
    592
    Helsinki, Finland
    Full Name:
    Pekka T.
    Hi,

    Nope, sorry for late reply, l have been doing other things. In my case everything else is fine, but the driver's seat horizontal POT is faulty. The driver's seat works otherwise 100% but id does not automatically move forward and back. It does however manually (using the switch) and the tilting of the seatback also works in all positions except when the seat is too back to the back. So if I want to adjust the rake of the seatback I need to move the seat forward a bit, then the controls work normally and then once it's done I can move the seat as far back as I like. I can live with that.

    Cheers!

    PS. But the POT and other parts are available, just make sure you know what the problem is first, it can be something very simple, like a nut in the track, a broken cable or microswitch. The ECU's can be refurbished if it happens to be a dead relay inside the ECU, or a cap or something else.
     
  10. Jaredsalinsky

    Jaredsalinsky Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2023
    381
    tampa FL
    Full Name:
    Jared salinsky
    Hey I know old thread....
    I'm in the same boat right now with my seats and no easy entry - auto fore/aft.
    Did you ever fix yours? was it the potentiometers?
    thanks...
     
  11. Jaredsalinsky

    Jaredsalinsky Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2023
    381
    tampa FL
    Full Name:
    Jared salinsky
    Hey did you ever get your Pot fixed and was it actually the Pot?
    thanks
     
  12. AMIRL

    AMIRL Rookie

    May 21, 2022
    9
    Full Name:
    Anthony
    I just fixed mine. Surprisingly easy, I bought the potentiometer repair kit on eBay for $30. All it is is a small plastic piece that has broken off, which needs to be replaced with the part in the kit. Very easy to pull out the seat and open up the potentiometer.

    I actually have some spare pieces if you are around the NJ area - feel free to message me.

    Alternative is to pay over $1K for an old 456 potentiometer which may not even work. The part has been discontinued and doesn’t overlap to other cars (jaguar used to make but that also was discontinued).




    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
  13. Jaredsalinsky

    Jaredsalinsky Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2023
    381
    tampa FL
    Full Name:
    Jared salinsky
    Hey I really appreciate the offer. Problem is... I'm missing 1 Pot on the driver side, and missing both on the pass side!
    I am correct that there are 2 per seat?
    unfortunately I think I need 3 new (or old / use) Pots....
    cheers
     
  14. AMIRL

    AMIRL Rookie

    May 21, 2022
    9
    Full Name:
    Anthony
    Have you taken your seat out to confirm that is the case? One potentiometer under the seat is all that is needed to control the automatic forward/back movement upon moving seatback forward/back.

    I doubt you are missing a potentiometer. It’s probably just the piece that is broken.

    The seller on eBay is nileseh - you could reach out to him and see if he could sell you a repair kit if that’s easier.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
  15. Jaredsalinsky

    Jaredsalinsky Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2023
    381
    tampa FL
    Full Name:
    Jared salinsky
    So I am completely missing the Pot on the pass side. there's a little remnant of plastic left on the splined shaft!
    But I was under the impression there were 2 per seat? one on each fore/aft splined shaft?? incorrect?
    This pic is from me - I incorrectly/reverse labeled the plug that is suppose to go to the Pot and the open plug that is suppose to go to the seatbelt receptacle
    if you look closely you can still see the small screw in place that held the Pot!
    [​IMG]
     
  16. AMIRL

    AMIRL Rookie

    May 21, 2022
    9
    Full Name:
    Anthony
    It looks like it was removed alright. So your best bet is sourcing a replacement potentiometer. I have a contact who has sourced two of them, you can message me if interested in putting you in touch.

    Once you have the new one installed you can see if it works.

    On my car I saw one potentiometer per seat, and when I fixed each of them my seats moved forward/back automatically.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
    Qavion likes this.
  17. Jaredsalinsky

    Jaredsalinsky Formula Junior
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2023
    381
    tampa FL
    Full Name:
    Jared salinsky
    Yes please I’ll take that contact info! Ty
    So if it is only one Pot per seat then wondering why it would only work in one direction?
    Maybe I should remove and clean/check my existing one and see if it make a difference…
     
  18. Qavion

    Qavion F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 20, 2015
    11,484
    Sydney
    Full Name:
    Ian Riddell
    I have a theory.... see the other message thread...

    https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/149470463/

    The fully forward position may not be important to the easy entry system. The pot may simply be there to memorise the original position of the seat prior to using the system so the ECU can drive the seat back to that position.

    When the system is fully operational, can you keep your finger on the easy entry lever and force the seat to move back beyond its previous position?
     

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