1995 960 here with 86,000 miles.

A while back, the passenger seat stopped moving correctly forwards and backwards. This seems to be a common problem. On ours, the right side seems stuck. The left side moves several inches one way or the other, but the right side remains firmly stuck while it moves, then suddenly it seems to reach its limit of twisting and stop. So the motor works, the switch works, but something has it stuck there. My first thought was that something was stuck in the rails, but seeing several places that this is common and might be caused by a drive rail that goes across the seat width and slides one way or the other, thus disengaging on the one side. This makes sense to me.

To remove the seats, and fix this, I started reading this guys page on it: Front Seat Removal - Volvo 960 - S90
He suggests that the problem is a cable,

My question, is with regard to the SIPS and the orange plastic clip he is showing in his first photos. I don't have any such orange clip. The cover is no longer attached, but I have it in the garage. I also don't have the words SIPS printed on the plastic near the controls like his pictures. So does the 1995 have the same SIPS, including an airbag sensor or whatever the needs the safety clip he's talking about? Or was this added on later models? I certainly don't want to trigger the air bag while fixing this.

My understanding is that the term SIPS was used for a number of years, and includes technologies such as the seat anchoring system and crush zones, as well as the side curtain airbags as those were introduced.

 

Just realized that the video I had seen earlier is at the top of this sub-forum: https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...k-video-80450/ In it, Robert @rspi skips the seat removal step at 2:45 mark. It's so tight under there, I don't think I can get to it or work on it without removal. He then goes back at 3:45, his video also shows the orange air bag safety latch and shows sliding it into the air bag trigger area.

 

Not quite sure what you'd like to know but: Yes, you problem is the cable sheathing. The "orange plug" is for later models, 1995 don't have a side airbag.

 

Basically, I tried to bold my main question, and that was whether I should be looking for the orange thing. You answered that. I also confirmed in a review of the 1996 960 where they mentioned that the side air bags were new in the '96 model, so that helped me.

Secondarily, how exactly does this fix the problem, does it allow more of the cable to go into the motor housing somehow?

 

You'd have to shorten the cable's sheathing. You have to take the seat out, and cut may be 1/4 of and inch of the covering. I then put a clamp around the cut area so the sheath doesn't move, essentially lengthening the cable. This fixes the problem.

 

Thanks for your reply. Was hoping to get on this this weekend, but other things prevented me from working on the cars. Will let everyone know how it goes.

 

Oooph. I decided today was the day I would tackle this. I was unsuccessful. I first examined whether I could do it by raising the seat and loosening the motor. I cannot fit the torx driver in there with the seat the way it is. Then I started to remove the seat. I got the front 14mm bolts out. I removed the back carpet. I started to work on the carpet bracket, and got stuck. I thought maybe I could remove the back seat bolts with leaving the carpet bracket in there, but it was a no-go. I cannot get the plastic covers off with the bracket right over the bolts. So then I started working on the bolts on the carpet bracket, and the hanging point is the fact that I don't have a 10mm wrench that can fit up to the 10mm bolt between the seat and the console. I simply cannot reach it with my 5 1/2 wrench and still turn it with my finger tips. I'm trying to find/borrow a longer 10mm.

I'm not giving up. I'm just not where I had hoped to be this afternoon.

 

In the past I have had to bend those brackets to get to the back bolts.

Another way you may try: With the seat raised up as high as possible, reach under the bottom cushion and manually move the offending cable one way or another while operating the switch for the back and forth movement of the seat. This should work as the idea is to push the cable's end into the slot which it now it doesn't reach. Cutting off part of the sheathing (the purpose of the exercise) is to in effect lengthen the cable.

 

This weekend may be the weekend I may get back in there. Have a friend who has a ratcheting 10mm that is a little longer than my regular one, so I may try that, but definitely going to see if I can first manually move the offending cable as you mention.