Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Hey everyone,

I installed my new 4th gen power seats into my 84 Trans am and I wanted to post how I did it. My car came with factory power driver seat and the 4th Gen seats I bought didn't have the factory harness that goes between them. So, if you have new seats, but don't have the correct cable bundle that is supposed to be there, this post is for you.

Now, first things first. If you are not into making your own harness, go to your nearest dealership and shell out the $130.00 that it's going to cost to get the correct harness. This way you'll only have to splice two wires instead of 12. However, since I didn't think of that until after I started, I went out and spent $85.00 on wires, splices, and connectors.

Here is what I bought.

1 each, 6ft roll of 14 gauge wire. I color matched for ease of splicing. Purple, Black, Orange, Grey, Pink, and Hot Pink.
I also bought one package of male connector ends and the corresponding female connector ends.

I then bought a set of 2, "Y" connectors, that allowed me to run my orange (power) and black (Ground) to both seats and the main power connector coming from the car, and a 30-amp fuse to put inline with the power connector before it gets to the seats. The last thing I bought for the wiring was a wire protector sleeve.

Finally, I went to Lowes and got a set of water hose, I believe it was 5/16. one clear and one black, that will allow me to hook up the two power lumbar on pumps together on the drive and passenger side. To connect them, I got a set of vacuum connectors from Advanced Auto Parts.

The wiring itself was pretty strait forward..

Orange (Power), comes up from the floor, then splits off, one side going to each seat (Hence the "Y" connector).
Black (Ground), comes up from the floor, and splits off, one side going to each seat (Hence the second "Y" connector).
Then, going from seat to seat...it's a one-for-one connection. Pink-Pink, Grey-Grey, Hot pink-hot pink, and purple-purple.

For the vacuum lines, you need to hold the connectors so they are facing the same direction and have the same side up. I then cut off the right side hose and using the vacuum line connectors, hooked up the "right" line to the "Right" line and the "Left" line to the "left" line.

I will post some pictures that I took once I get them sorted and labled.

The first picture is what the original connector looked like. The second is the best one I could get of the passenger seat with the new connectors on it while showing the wires. The third pictures is me putting the wire bundle together. I cut each wire to 52 inches in length after measuring the mid point of each seat and up and over the center hump area. Next post will show more.

88-I.R.O.C.

iTrader: (3)

just got my seats, i'll be using this post......thanks!
mine are dual front power, you see any more problems other than what you already explained?

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Ok, in this section you will see the fully assembled harness, a closer look at the "Y" connectors and fuse set up, as well as the Passenger seat power connected to the harness.

In case you are wondering, the fuse itself gets hooked to the power lead coming from the car. The empty slot on the "Y" connector will be hooked to the orange and black wires respectfully on the seat itself. Also, to make it clear, there is only one orange(Power) and one black (Ground) wire coming from the car on the drivesr side.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

In this section, you can see the drivers seat wires are wired and connected. The second picture is a wider shot that includes the power and ground coming from the car hooked into the harness. In the third shot, you can see how the "Y" connectors are wired in. Remember, on the orange and black...one side of the "Y" goes to vehicle power and ground, the other side goes to the seat.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

This part shows the hook up of the vacuum lines. I used vacuum adapters that I bought from Advanced Auto parts. The first picture is of the drivers side. Note how both lines are black on this one. Now, the third picture is of the passenger side. One line is clear and the other is black. Don't let this confuse you.

If you will look at how I'm holding the adapter in the third picture. It is "Facing" to the left. Both adapters are identical. If you turn the connector so it "Faces" away from you, you'll see that the "Clear" hose, is on the "Right" and the black hose is on the "left" relatively speaking. it's easier to see if you hold it so the ends are facing away from you. Anyway, It's as simple as connecting the "right" hose, of the passenger seat to the "right" hose of the drivers seat and then the "left" hose to the "Left" hose...it's a lot easier when you see it for yourself.

To actually connect the lines of course, you have to cut the connector off each side, insert the adapter, and plug your new line onto it. I did this one line at a time so I didn't get them mixed up.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Here are the last two shots of this. The first of of how I test ran the wires. I simply ran them around the center console to make sure everything worked.

Once I knew everything worked, I had to take the seats back out and remove the console to run the wires under it. There is room if you run it just in front of the seat belt clips but under the storage box on the console. It's a little tight going down but that's mainly because the carpet is there. Once everything was tightened down it was gravy. Then all I had to do was put the seats back in, hook up the connections and poof, power front seats with functional lumbar controls.


The hardest thing about the install, was moving the seats around. DO NOT tighten down the drivers seat before you start this process. That way you can hook everything up with the seat loose in the car. I had mine installed and only the power part hooked up before I started the wiring for the lumbar... That probably added an hour to my work. Make sure your drivers seat is all the way "Back" other wise do all your wire work when you have that seat out. The passenger seat you can do in the car as it's fairly easy to access the wires and vacuum lines.

I also forgot to add, I wrapped the bundle in a protective sleeve which I also bought from Advanced Autoparts. It's one of those engine bay sleeves that's supposed to protect wires from hot engine components.

And I think that's it. If you find any errors or flaws, please point them out and I'll edit the post.

last thing...This is for a FIREBIRD only. I do not know if the Camaro wiring is different or has different color coding. However, it should be similar in the way it's hooked up.

Peace!!

P.S. Is this post worth stickying or do I need to clean it up and make it better first? I just wanted to make a walk through on how to do up the wiring for the seats if you don't have the connecting original wire bundle.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

No, it's really pretty strait forward. I would suggest trying to get the correct harness from GM if you can. It runs about $130 at the dealership unless you're connector ends on the seats are already beat up.

novatuc

Hi Ozz, quick question
My car is also an '84 and I put the exact same seats in. Mine are from a '97. Do you find the seats sit a lot higher than the stock seats? I am not a tall guy and found the hood hump annoying to see over with the old seats. With the leather, I find I don't have to raise the seat all the way to top to see well. Also a tall person in the pass seat will have thier head stick out of the roof.

By the way good job on the post.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

Actually, if anything, I feel like I sit lower than I did before. One thing I do know is that these seats do raise higher than the old ones.

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

This is the best and clearest post on this subject I have seen. Everything that you need is here. Please make this into a sticky. Well done.

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

This is just what i was looking for thanks for posting. Any issues with your "Y" connection after a few years? Did you just a screw and a nut or did you use a external or internal loch washer?

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

I finished up the wiring harness yesterday. plugged the wiring harness and air lines in with the seats outside of the car ran two 14 awg wires from the battery to the seat wiring and everything works like it should. buy making the wire and airline harness saved myself about $100. after i bench tested the seats and everything worked i didn't know weither to shout YES! or giggle like a school girl. i think i did alillte both love when a plan comes together.

hardon85

actually I bought a harness off of ebay for $20 I would think that would be the way to go

RyanEricW

Yeah I am not a fan of individual crimping connectors. They are not very reliable unless you get the ones that adhere to the wire and seal out moisture. Just my

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

I would agree with this, except that being inside the car, I'm not terribly worried about having to seal out moisture. Had I known about buying the harness before I hacked up the harness, be sure that I would have picked one up. I chalk it up to a learning experience. hehe

stang69

hey ozz,

i have question about the vaccuum line. where do they go? or did you tee off the vaccuum line for the cruise control?

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

They are not vacume lines and they run from the driver side to the pass side only.

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

the wire and airline harness was made of 14 awg wire cut about 6' long and 2 6' long 3/16 clear vinyl tubing that i got from lowes. marked all my wire color for color. marked the airline as to which side went where. tied all of this together with wire ties. cut open a small slit in the carpet on both sides and fed the harness through around the back side of the center console.

aqualordx93

great post, i just have one question. i have non power front seat tracks, and i just bought a new 4th gen seat set, but the front driver is power, and the track i have is none power...what do i do?

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

I guss i'm alittle confused
if you bought a set of power seats why would you need the non-power tracks?
Are the seats that you bought 4th gen? If so they will bolt in your car with a any swapping of seats to tracks. Take old seat out and put in a new seat.

aqualordx93

i dont believe they came with seat tracks. ill have to look when i get home. but per say they didnt come with seat tracks, what would i do?

wildmon69

iTrader: (1)

Im looking at a pair of gray leather seats out of a 1997 firebird without the power lumbar stuff. Are they worth upgrading to i'm considering waiting for lumbar one's but im not sure. Any suggestions? They're $200 obo.

57vette

I know this is a really old thread and hope that some of the original posters are still around or maybe some newer guys who have installed the 2000-era Trans Am seats in a 1st Gen Camaro or Firebird. Those are the seats I just had recovered/rebuilt and I'm in the process of wiring everything up. Getting 12v power and ground to the OEM Firebird harness is pretty easy. The harness has to go from under the DS seat under the carpet, over the hump, then connect to the PS seat. The DS seat is full power with power lumbar, the PS is just power lumbar with a manual track. The PS seat also has the compressor that serves both seats. I have the correct hoses & connector and when powered up the seats work great, held air pressure overnight. So I'm just wondering where is the best location for the 12v harness & dual pneumatic hoses to exit the front seat, go across the hump, and connect to the PS connectors for power and air? Here's my PS seat not inflated LOL. Also curious about whether anyone put a spacer in the front mounts of the PS as it seems very tight to the seat support under the carpet.

91banditt2

iTrader: (1)

I’m still here 😉
I cut a slit in the carpet about 1” long I think approximately center towards the back side of the seat mounting and routed the wiring and airline under the carpet just behind the center console.
No spacers on the seat mounting, I’ve had my seats out a number of times with no noticeable damage to the wiring or air lines, probably because my seats never move?

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

I ran my hoses under the carpet immediately behind the center console, hugged up against it under the ashtray. No one ever steps there and I left enough slack for the seats to slide on each end.