I purchased a nicely optioned parts Trans Am but it has no engine. Is there an easy way to test power items to see if they work before removing them: power seat, Radio, headlight motors, power windows, etc...

 

If the harnesses are still intact just hook up a battery. Just connect the starter wires to the positive terminal and ground the battery terminal to the body - done. Electrical accessories don't care if the engine is in there,... they just want power and ground.

 

Might want to ground the ground wires that would be at the back of the cylinder head, and of course the negative battery cable.

 

I wouldn't spend much time on testing electronics, either it's a good deal or it's not. If the owner can't prove anything or everything works you use that as a bargaining chip. Unless everything is there and hooked up you could spend an entire afternoon checking grounds and continuity. Is there even a key to check the switched power items?

 

You can use a multi-meter on the connections for various components under the hood to make the needles bounce in the cluster, but that's about it.

Same goes for the power windows/etc. Just unplug them and hook up a power source (battery, etc.).

 

The car is complete accept the engine is gone. All of the engine bay wiring is just hanging there. I got the car to help me restore another car and wanted to see what items work before spending time to remove and install them on the good car.