Headrest cable repair oddity?

This weekend I had to repair a passenger side seat that had become twisted. No problem. I also had to balance out the rails that had gotten out of wach due to the seat. No problem. After getting the seats back in the car I decided to repair the headrest. I can hear the motor running but no movement in either driver or passenger seat. So I removed the back of the seat as instructed. Removed the 8mm screws (what a PITA). I could barely get the motor off the cable because the cable was sticking into the motor a good inch and a half. Really no need to repair. The issue was that there was no cable in the portion of the mechanism that made the seat move. so i pushed the cable back and placed it back in the motor and secured the motor to the bracket. Yes! Finally after three years the headrest operated properly.

Filled with pride over my accomplishments of the day (I had also completed my application of Leatherique), I returned to play with the headrest once more before repairing the driver's side. Nothing... well I be darned (not the exact word I used at the time but you get my drift). So I removed the screws, tilted the motor enough to remove the cable and like a bad magic trick, the cable had returned to the original length making the headrest inoperative. Well I'll be a son of a gun. Has anyone else experience this oddity? Anyone have a solution?

Thanks in advance,

David

shorten the cable sheath.

Yes, i had the same thing happen to me.

I just snipped a small section of coat hanger (~1/4") and inseted into the motor socket before putting the cable back in.

This keeps the cable from slipping back out of the other end.

The sheath, you remove the cable end from the motor like sohttp://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/im...lheadrest1.jpg

Then you take the cable out of the housing like sohttp://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/im...lheadrest2.jpg

Then you take the end off of the cable, i use a 8 mm open end wrench to push against the metal end of the cable jacket to remove it... you can heat it slightly with a lighter to get it off easier if you want. http://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/im...lheadrest3.jpg

Then you cut off about 3/8 of an inch off the black jacket end and reassemble , when you do this the ends of the cable will stick out of each end further, allowing the drive end to engage more solidly in each end. You may have to heat the metal end up slight to push it back onto the black jacket all way before you put the cable back in.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dternst

This weekend I had to repair a passenger side seat that had become twisted. No problem. I also had to balance out the rails that had gotten out of wach due to the seat. No problem. After getting the seats back in the car I decided to repair the headrest. I can hear the motor running but no movement in either driver or passenger seat. So I removed the back of the seat as instructed. Removed the 8mm screws (what a PITA). I could barely get the motor off the cable because the cable was sticking into the motor a good inch and a half. Really no need to repair. The issue was that there was no cable in the portion of the mechanism that made the seat move. so i pushed the cable back and placed it back in the motor and secured the motor to the bracket. Yes! Finally after three years the headrest operated properly.

Filled with pride over my accomplishments of the day (I had also completed my application of Leatherique), I returned to play with the headrest once more before repairing the driver's side. Nothing... well I be darned (not the exact word I used at the time but you get my drift). So I removed the screws, tilted the motor enough to remove the cable and like a bad magic trick, the cable had returned to the original length making the headrest inoperative. Well I'll be a son of a gun. Has anyone else experience this oddity? Anyone have a solution?

Thanks in advance,

David

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There is also the optional method used by BMW dealers, cut the sheath somewhere handy in the middle, shorten and reassemble with 2 clamps and a piece of hose.
The method Bill suggests is much more professional.

had this problem myself, hadnt got around to looking for a fix. thanx for the info. now have somthing 'fun' to do on the w'end

I figured since there was so much of the cable exposed, that removing more was not necessary. Also there seems to be a three inch splice in the middle of the cable. The person responsible placed a peice of tubing with a few clamps to hold it in place.

I'll go out and give the cable a little snip snip.

Thanks everyone for the help...

David