I was just wondering if my car ('89 Firebird) would have provisions for power seats, like the wiring harness is right under my stock manual seat but just isn't connected to anything? There has been a lot of flaming on this site for people who don't use the search feature for some reason. I did try to search for my answer because i figured my question has been asked before and here is the message i got; "Sorry. Search has been disabled until we can figure out how to keep it from killing the server!" So there's no need to flame me...

 

I'm pretty sure that the wiring is there. Starting in '88 it seemed like GM was putting a standard wiring harness in the cars. I have a buddy with a '91 T/A that had the wiring there.

 

Derek best way to do this is take out your driver seat.Unbolt the iwhole seat with the tracks,if you haven't already done this.The power feed for the seat will be 2 wire,comon orange + and black - .If it's there it may be tucked up under the carpet.You may have to take out the door sills to lift up the carpet.On my '83 it comes up through slit in the carpet under the seat but mine came from the factory with the pwr seat.

 

Even if the car dos NOT have the provision its pretty easy to install...

Here is what you do:
Take a #2 Phillips Screwdriver and remove the LH Threshold, and the kick panel on the Left side where the Hood release is. You should probably also remove the trim piece that is under the dash (3) 7mm screws and possibly 1 10 mm nutby the firewall.

- remove the seat foot trim pieces, usually a #2 screw as well

- Remove th seat nuts, 13mm IIRC

- unplug the seat, remove from car

Follow the wire as it goes under the carpet, remove the screw (7mm or 1/4") for the Ground (under the carpet) and then remove the wire from the loom, (open the loom first) easiest way is to take a small blade screwdriver and once you start it just run it the length towards the front of the car.

- remove loom and follow the wire to a panel on the LH side of under the Dash, there it will plug in. remove the plug, and reinstall in your car, makes a clean neat job

You may have to install a fuse into the fuse panel as well, its been a long time since I did the conversion.

When you find the Donor car you will follow the power wire to the Left Loom that runs from the front to the Back of the car. Its close to the Door Threshold.

 

Does this include Camaros too?

Because I noticed behind my dash, there was a plug for fog lights, but my car didnt come with fog lights.

And there was no wiring going to where the fog lights sit so I dont know why that plug was there.

 

Yes Camaros of the same period are included.It seems for a certain time GM saw fit to use one harness for all vehicles in a model line.To me this would be a less expensive/quicker way of doing things.But when you're talking 10's of thousands of vehicles across the different lines it could get expensive.Then that policy changed and the extra harness/connectors for an option/accessory were only added as needed.

 

cool beans, i havent seen the car in a while (hibernating) but from my memories of cleaning it i thin i member seing two wires under the seat or sumthing, although im not too sure... i definitly wanna take another look at it when i get the chance. As it stands tho i do not have any seats to go in, although i am on the look out for a set that will match my grey interior.

 

I KNOW it depends on the year, but sometimes they encorperated option harnesses in with the main harness, and some years they just added a seperate harness.

When I got Power mirrors from an 85 Trans AM the harness was completely seperate, it was wraped in its own tape and when I pulled it all I had to do was unplug it.

On the other hand when I pulled the harness from an 89 Formula for the Power mirrors, It was incorperated within the main harness and I had to do a little more work to get it out.

I suspect that in the beginning they had seperate harness for different options and they would run them side by side. Later on they would have different harness for different cars, so if you got power mirrors, power windows etc the harness was all put together before assembly. Instead of running a harness for rear defog, a different harness for power hatch release, a different harness for power mirrors, a different harness for power windows, if they could simply pull off the correct harness from the shelf, install it on the car you would speed up production and save money on Tape and labor. Therefore they could give discounts for option groups in the later cars.

Thats my theory.

John

 

thats why i asked, because i thought of an assembly line... and as cars are movin down the line its not the option they were thinkn about, they were probally thinkin well now i gotta grab a part from bin #3... so if the harness i there all they have to do is plug it in if they are installing pwr seats, if not they they jus leave the harness there...