Power seats... not too long ago I installed power seats in my 87' Chief. Not too hard to do. Seeing as how I didn't start with power seats at all I had to rig it up. This is what I did and what I used...
1.Fuse block
2.10gauge wire
3.12guage wire
4.Posi locks
5.Spade terminals ( I believe that's what they're called)
6.Wire strippers
7.Pliers
8.Drill
This is what I did... (disconnect neg. side of battery for safety reasons)
1. I found a good mounting location for the fuse block that would be fairly easy to reach, something out of the way and wouldn't be easy to get wet in the rain or playing in the water. I mounted mine on the driver's side, near the window washer tank. There was actually a couple holes in the wall there so I didn't have to drill anything, which was nice. Mounted it up and sat perfectly.
2. I ran the 10gauge wire from the positive side of the battery to the grounding post on the fuse block. You can see the post in the picture above. I ran the wire right where the thing that holds the hood up goes (can't think of the technical term) It is out of the way of any moving part that could catch it and cause problems.
3. I found a place in the firewall where I would run the 12gauge wire from the fuse block to the seats themselves. Drilled a hole near the driver's side under the dash... be careful where you drill down there.
4. I ran 2 wires of 12 gauge wire from the fuse block through the firewall to the driver's seat and passenger's seat. The wire connects to the fuse block with spade terminals. On the opposite side that will connect with the power seat wires strip off some plastic from the wire to have exposed wire... about __ that much is needed give or take that you should have exposed of the actual wire for a good connection. * Note, you will need to cut a little hole in the carpet near or under the seat where you want the wires to come out. I just took a knife and cut an X right under the carpet for the wire from the fuse block to come out of...I ran the wire under the carpet so it's not noticeable.
5. With the power seat, I took off the plastic connector that usually would connect with the factory connector + wires but mine didn't have those. I even pulled the wire from the donor vehicle but didn't want to try and figure out how to hook it up... Snip off the plastic connector/housing and leave as much of the black ground wire and hot red wire as you can (this is the wire connected to all the wires ON the power seat base) Then you will need to trim off some of the rubber plastic on the ground and hot wires so you have some free wire strands.
6. With the exposed wire on the power seat base you will need to insert the red (hot) wire into one side of the posi-lock. Screw it down so it's secure. Take the 12 gauge wire coming from the fuse block through the firewall with it's exposed wire and insert it into the other side of the posi-lock and screw it down. You now have a connection for your hot wire. I used a bristle brush attachment on my drill to clean up the power seat base + screw so I could then ground the black ground wire to the seat base itself between the base + bolt that goes in. You do this exact thing for the other side.
7. I used a 20 amp fuse in each of the spots on the fuse block for the power seats. I wasn't sure how much ampage was needed so I figure stick a 20 amp in there.
8. Hook up the negative battery cable again and test out your power seats.
*Another note, since you cute off the wire from the plastic connector the ground wire will be shorter and when you ground it to the base of the seat, there is less wire to be moving around so be careful when you move the seat far back or far forward. I actually cut the zip tie holding all the wires together to get more slack for the wire, no problems with it now.
This is a basic set up of what I did... I made this in paint before I actually hooked everything up... but that's pretty much how mine looks.
Red wire is the 12 guage.
Blue wire is grounding wire.
Pink wire is 10 gauge going from fuse block to battery Pos. post
Green box is fuse block
Adding power seats was... awesome! Not as hard as I thought it would be and my fiance loves it! Easier for her to change the seat around when she drives. You can take the seat, back, forward, up, down etc... I can adjust it to a good DD height/angle and a good off-roading style if need be. As long as you don't do any deep water stuff you'll be fine. This is just one of the many things i've done to my interior and love it. I used to have nasty bourgandy interior but have been slowly changing EVERYTHING to grey + black. Adding these power seats just adds to how sweet the interior will be once it's done... Nice modification in my opinion.
If you need pictures, I can get them..
I hope this has helped! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Also... costs for this..
10 gauge + 12 gauge wire = $5 a roll at AutoZone, you will need 2 rolls of the 12 gauge (longer going to passenger side + it only comes in about 10ft increments unless you buy the larger roll then you should only need 1 roll)
Connectors = $5 for a box of various connectors
Posi-Lock = $6 if I remember correctly
Fuse block = $10
All of this you can get at AutoZone or I imagine a sister store...
That's about it as far cost goes... other than buying the actual seat and what not.
