QuestionQUESTION: I am adding a power drivers seat but my car is not wired for a power seat. The seat is a six way power seat out of a dodge and it does not have heat. So I do not have to mess around with the cars electronics/wiring
I was planning on running a positive wire, fused, directly from the battery to the seat along with a good ground from the floor.
Will this work? How can I tell which wire on the seat harness is positive? Do I need to disconnect the battery during wiring? Any additional ideas are welcome.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris in PA
ANSWER: Hi Chris,
I enjoy this type of modification. It is like a slight customizing.
I would have liked to know if the car these seats are going into, is similar to the one they came out of. Is this a Dodge to a Dodge? Is this a newer car, they are going into? Would have this car the seats are going into had the option for power seats?
The main reason I ask is there may be a harness already there. You see, they make one harness, not different ones for same car with different options. If your car could have had power seats, but didn't for some reason, the harness is probably there under the carpet.
6-way seats have 3 motors. You need to power up all of these. That could be accomplished with one power wire, if the seats are wired that way. If the plug on the seats is one positive and one negative, then you are all set. As to which is which, you should have checked that prior to cutting out the old harness. Now you will want to get a schematic, from the library; to be sure.
Did you get both sides of the harness? If so, you can solder the new connector in place and then plug in the seats using a factory connector.
Good luck with this.
C J S
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: The seats are out of a 2005 dodge stratus and going into a 2005 dodge stratus ( i know you were listed under the chevy repair section but I noticed your vast experience). I do not have the power seat yet -it is on order from a salvage yard. They were unable to send the plug from the cars wiring.
I just got back inside from removing the seat and lifting the carpet-no luck on any harness or wires anywhere. I also checked the fuse panel and there is an open space where the "circuit breaker" (I thought this would be a relay but the book says "circuit breaker")would be.
I guess I will need to run a fairly significant 12 volt fused wire from the battery-I am mechanically inclined but I do not wish to tinker with the cars electronics.
Any suggestions going this direction?
Thanks again for your help!
Chris in PA
AnswerHi Chris,
I am surprised that the wiring was not there. You need to run the power. Not hard at all. Remember: This is not A/C or house power. Electrocution is not likely. Just don't cross 'hot' and ground wires to avoid sparks. Don't hook up red 'hot' wires to any orange wires. Orange is usually computer input current and max. out at 5V. 12V into an Orange wire can fry the computer. Not all orange wires are computer wires, but computer wires are usually orange. That means, if you see orange, think twice before tapping it with 12V.
In your fuse box, you may have a couple of spaces that say 12V. It will look like a place for 1 prong to plug in. This is a source for constant 12 volt power for anything you may need it for. You may also see a couple of places in the fuse box that say Ign. That is 12v power that is turned on and off with the ignition switch. You should have these areas for sure. If not though, you need to run power from the battery.
A car circuit breaker is similar to a relay. It is smaller and cheaper. Anything with a motor that can be overrun has one. That means, you push forward on the seat button, and the seat moves as far forward as it can. The power will still run to the motor and overheat. A fuse would pop quite often. A circuit breaker may trip, and reset and you won't even know it. These circuit breakers are also usually on the window motors.
When you recieve your seat, it will have 1/2 of the harness. Most likely the 'male' end. Since you don't have a 'female' side, you need to replace the end you will get. I don't know off hand how many wires will be in the plug. Could be as simple as a 'hot' and a ground. Could be as complex as 4 wires per motor (12 wires). Sometimes one 'hot' wire is present and the rest are all grounds.
Here is my sceanario, based on the simplest of wiring. You recieve your seat. You see red and black wires. Black is ground or negative, red is power. Run to the auto parts store, and buy a connector and an inline circuit breaker. This will be both ends to allow plugging and unplugging of the seat. Using red 10ga wire for the 'hot' side, solder the inline circuit breaker in place. Then, crimp a pronged end onto one end of this 10ga wire and plug it into the fuse box at a constant 12v source. Crimp a circle electrical fitting onto a black 10ga wire. Drill a small hole into the floor of your car, under the seat and under the carpet. Make sure you know what is on the other side of the floor. Drilling into the 'hump' in the middle of the car is a good place. From inside the car, scrape to the metal around the hole. Use a sheet metal screw that fits the hole, and attach the ground wire circle connector to the floor. Leaving a fair amount of wire sticking out from the carpet, solder one side of the connector to the ends of these wires. Now you are ready for the seat plug. On the seat, cut off the factory connector, and solder on the other end of the connector you bought. Now just plug them together when you install the seat, and you are ready.
Complications:
1. More wires on the seat. You need a wire diagram to determine which are power and which are grounds.
2. You don't have a 12v source in the fuse box. You need to run a wire from the positive side of the battery post. You need to fish the wire into the car somewhere.
So many times I answer these questions as to how to fix something properly. These modifications are actually more fun to me. If you have more questions, just write again.
Good luck with this.
C J S
