456M seat tilt

Yes. Seat pots are a common problem. The part is identical to a Jaguar part but I do not have a part no for you. There is a tiny $0,10 ct part inside them that fails. The pots can be taken apart in situ which should reduce the labor of replacement considerably, as replacing just the internal part means that you do not have to take the whole seat apart to replace the whole pot unit.

Also the original $0,10 ct part can be repaired and/or modified so it does not fail again; which is probably best as the construction is a bit errrr... iffy...

 

You mean tilting the seat back for rear-entry? (...that's what she said?).

Nothing consistent comes up when I search but it sounds like you can avoid the kind of money to fix this.

@166&456, I remember seeing something about seat pots and seat position sensors related to the 355 Spider. Not sure how much of this applies to the 456

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/360181-seat-potentiometer.html

 

Hi Folks. It's pretty clear that the seat potentiometers are now very scarce. The part is now obsolete and i'm struggling to find them through Breakers (wreckers, for those of you in the US!) found 2, but need another one! It's been mentioned that these are the same as in a 355. Can anyone confirm this? Further, someone elsewhere has suggested they were also used in Jaguars, again, any clues?
Any help gratefully received.
Russell

 

Same here, hints would be welcome.

 

Each car takes at least four of these, indeed 355's included. I am not sure whether the 550 uses the same sensors. It is a common problem.
Used parts are not likely to give you a satisfactory solution for long as it is a bad design so they will all eventually fail.

The seat pot has a slip coupling that breaks in the spring area, losing tension and grip. The result is that the positioning sensor loses sense of the seat position, which can worst-case lead to rear passenger legs getting stuck, possibly painfully. Another (fortunately more common) result is that the sensor eventually gets de-synchronised with the seat and ends up on one end of its travel so the seat gets annoyingly stuck as the computer senses it is on one end of its travel while it really is not.

While you can attempt to glue the bits together, they are greasy and this grease also prevents a good adhesion in my experience. And if successful, it would lose the slip capability possibly damaging the potentiometer sensor.

Some people (like me) made collars so the thing would work again, but the plastic and construction remains of poor quality, the very best solution would be to modify the coupler. It just needs some parts made up, but the installation is still a bit of a challenge for the uninitiated, since the very heavy seat does need to come out and the sensor unit opened up in-situ. Then the gear installed, making sure sensor and seat are synchronised again so the system is restored to normal operation. If it is not in the right position the seat will still have issues. It is that installation part that will need very good instructions made up.

I could pick this up and have a look whether I can design something and 3D printed or otherwise produced and then installation and adjustment instructions made with pictures etc. This process would take a few weeks I think and I will have to see if it is worthwhile to take my own vehicle apart for etc. And then the question how many to be made in a series and at what cost - assuming low volume how many people have this issue right now and would be willing to plonk down say $150 for parts and instructions to fix four sensors?

 

Thanks for the feedback, it is very much appreciated.
Your feedback helped to point into the right direction.
Pots have been fixed, seats seem to work perfectly for now.
Looking forward to take the car on a spin.

Considering many face this issue with the seat pots and a custom fix might not be a permanent solution, I still think it is worthwhile to consider your printing solution for the future. $150 does not sound excessive to me if it reliably solves the issue.

Thanks again.

 

I'd be willing to make up the parts in CAD and 3d print a couple if someone can send me the originals or very detailed measurements.

 

why not change this thread to a poll - get people to vote if they have the problem and would be willing at say 150 - i know i would be voting Yes =then you could size the demand - if they are the same - post the same poll in 355 section?

 

Hello
Should the 456GT seat have the same memory of the position as the 456M as my GT keeps going back until I stop it (flick the lever) both seats are the same.

 

No. It goes all the way unless you stop it