Hi folks. I'm a newbie here even thought I bought my Liberty new in '02 and just sold it last week. I've searched the forum but I haven't a clue where to start with a certain problem. I hope someone can help.
As part of prepping the car for sale, I needed to repair upholstery damage to the left bolster on the driver's seat. 91,000 miles of my bony butt sliding over it had worn a big hole in the cloth. It also had a burn hole in the crotch area. I don't remember when that happened but I'm sure it made a big impression at the time. I found and bought a scrap seat from a rolled Liberty. It was a power seat (my original seat was not power), but it had an identical hole in the seat bottom so it was dirt cheap. I took both seats to an upholsterer and had him remove the center panel from the back of the scrap seat, use that to repair the seat bottom and put that seat bottom in the car.
With me so far? Anyway, the upholstery guy and I couldn't get the power seat to work when we tested it, so he took the seat cushion off the power seat and mounted my original frame and runners to it. After it was installed, I noticed that the AIR BAG light was on but I hadn't plugged in the wires yet so I wasn't surprised. On the morning when I sold it, I plugged it in and - the light stayed on. Normally, I would just explain the situation to the buyer and let him decide whether to take it or leave it, but I sold the car to a very close neighbor and a good friend. His kids play with mine. I felt that I had caused this problem and I really want to fix this.
First of all, I'm assuming that something about the seat swap caused the problem. I just don't know if that error would cause a malfunction of the airbags should they need to be deployed before I can fix it. Any ideas on that?
As to fixing the problem - I'd like to have at least a Plan A before I yank the seat. Has anyone had any experience with the pressure mechanism (I assume that's what is in the seat) is attached and wired? Is it likely that the upholstery guy left something unplugged or snipped a wire?
As a Plan B, I still have all the cushions and frames left over from the seat swap.
Thanks for reading all this from a newbie stranger. I'd really appreciate any advice or hints. I'm determined to make that car as safe as possible. It's strange how it changes your perspective when you've met the buyer's children.
As part of prepping the car for sale, I needed to repair upholstery damage to the left bolster on the driver's seat. 91,000 miles of my bony butt sliding over it had worn a big hole in the cloth. It also had a burn hole in the crotch area. I don't remember when that happened but I'm sure it made a big impression at the time. I found and bought a scrap seat from a rolled Liberty. It was a power seat (my original seat was not power), but it had an identical hole in the seat bottom so it was dirt cheap. I took both seats to an upholsterer and had him remove the center panel from the back of the scrap seat, use that to repair the seat bottom and put that seat bottom in the car.
With me so far? Anyway, the upholstery guy and I couldn't get the power seat to work when we tested it, so he took the seat cushion off the power seat and mounted my original frame and runners to it. After it was installed, I noticed that the AIR BAG light was on but I hadn't plugged in the wires yet so I wasn't surprised. On the morning when I sold it, I plugged it in and - the light stayed on. Normally, I would just explain the situation to the buyer and let him decide whether to take it or leave it, but I sold the car to a very close neighbor and a good friend. His kids play with mine. I felt that I had caused this problem and I really want to fix this.
First of all, I'm assuming that something about the seat swap caused the problem. I just don't know if that error would cause a malfunction of the airbags should they need to be deployed before I can fix it. Any ideas on that?
As to fixing the problem - I'd like to have at least a Plan A before I yank the seat. Has anyone had any experience with the pressure mechanism (I assume that's what is in the seat) is attached and wired? Is it likely that the upholstery guy left something unplugged or snipped a wire?
As a Plan B, I still have all the cushions and frames left over from the seat swap.
Thanks for reading all this from a newbie stranger. I'd really appreciate any advice or hints. I'm determined to make that car as safe as possible. It's strange how it changes your perspective when you've met the buyer's children.
