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Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

July 16, 2022, 12:29:50 pm

This morning while having morning coffee we smelled burning wiring near the dashboard seat area.  Frantic scrambling and checking everything we knew was energized let us to discover the Flex-steel drivers seat motor was very hot to the touch as was the wiring and the seat adjustment switch.  We quickly disconnected the 12v 2 wire connector and everything has cooled off and the burning insulation smell is dissipating.  As far as we can tell this was a spontaneous failure of the rearmost motor that I think is for seat bottom raise/lower.  The motor burned my hand when I touched it and was probably very close to causing a fire (unless there is a fuse somewhere - still have 24v so this circuit may not be fused).  This was a fire drill we did not need and will not reconnect the seat adjuster except for a couple second seat adjustment.  If this happened when we were not present who knows what the consequences could have been (!)

While under the seat I noticed that there may be a provision for adjusting the seat up/down  and fore/aft using a small socket (and maybe a drill)....has anyone tried this?  The seat is all the way up which is fine and we rarely adjust it so we are leaving it (and the passenger seat) unplugged from this point forward.

Are there other cases of this kind of problem?

Carl and Kathleen
Killeen Texas

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Re: Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

Reply #1 – July 16, 2022, 12:36:38 pm

Likely 12 VDC, not 24.

And, a bad switch would be the likely root cause-- keeping power on full time to the motor and the motor stalled with seat all the way in the direction the motor ran it.

Pull out your voltmeter and verify the root cause.

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Re: Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

Reply #2 – July 16, 2022, 01:15:54 pm

Just checked it and you are right....13VDC on the feed.  As the seat is in the normal position for driving, as a precaution I have taped the plug over and will leave it unplugged.  What is surprising is that we did not hear the seat motor but perhaps there is simply a short inside the housing or the switch (which was warm but not as hot has the motor).  We have not used the seat adjuster in months and rarely move it so not worth fixing right now (same with the passenger seat).

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Re: Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

Reply #3 – July 16, 2022, 01:24:55 pm

If the switch is defective (sending power to the motor), as soon as the seat reached the extent of its movement in the direction the motor was moving it, you would NOT hear the motor.  It would be stalled.

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Re: Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

Reply #4 – July 16, 2022, 01:40:15 pm

Could you have moved something and it activated the switch

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Re: Burning wiring on Flexsteel drivers seat

Reply #5 – July 16, 2022, 02:49:09 pm

The seats are on the salesman circuit on our coach, your may or may not be the same.
Scott

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