Power Seats - Part 1 (Dash Wiring)

I have seen a few write ups on power seat installations, but nothing that I really liked.  I saw a few where people had run wiring from the fuse box in the engine compartment through the firewall and a really didn't want to do that.  I wanted to utilize the factory wiring as much as possible.

The S10 Pickup truck did not come with power seats.  It was not an option.  However, the S10 Blazer did and it shares wiring with the pickup.  So I went to the local junkyard and found a 2003 S10 Blazer that had power seats and went to work trying to figure this out.  I found a wiring diagram online that shows an orange wire in position B1 that provides power from the body relay block to the seats.

I found the body relay block.  It is located about halfway between side of the truck and the steering column.  I took a screwdriver and pried on the clip and pulled down on the block.  This released it from the clip.  The picture below shows an example of the clip along with the correct location of the screwdriver used to unhook the block from the clip.

Once out, I needed to identify the wire I need.  The block is not lettered or numbered, but I figured out the pattern in that Columns A-F are the short side of the block and Rows 1 through 12 are the long side.  The 10 gauge orange wire is found in position B1.

Yes, I completely cut the old harness out of the Blazer. I needed to for the purposes of this document. Note: DON'T CUT YOUR HARNESS IN YOUR TRUCK!!!! you don't need to.  Unbolt the harness from the body relay block using a 7mm socket.

Once removed, use a small screwdriver or pick to remove the blue clip that provides extra support for the wires in the harness.  Remove it completely.

At this point you can use a pick to pry up the terminal lock (circled) to remove the orange wire.

I removed the orange wire and inserted it into my existing connector in position B1, which was obviously empty since I had no power seats to begin with.  I reversed the processes outlined above to insert the wire into the connector.

Now this is the most important part.  I had to use the Blazer body relay block.  The S10 block will NOT work.  Even though there is a provision for the power seat circuit breaker, it is not connected to anything.  This is very noticeable.  The circuit breaker will just fall out of the hole if it is turned upside-down. Below is the S10 pickup body relay block with the power seat circuit breaker provision circled as well as the part number.

I made sure to use part number 15319605 (circled).  This is the correct body relay block for a truck using power seats, power windows, and power mirrors. It already had a 25 amp circuit breaker (circled) in place.

I slid the "new" body relay block onto the clip located behind the dash and bolted my connector to it. I bought some additional wire to use to power the seats and will discuss that in Part 2.

End of June Update

Well, it has been another couple of weeks since my last update.  I got the truck back from Tommy's. He did the fabrication of the seat brackets, throttle pedal bracket, and some other items.  I mounted the core support, radiator, and air conditioning components.  I was going to mount the radiator hoses, but I am still waiting for the right clamps. I installed the passenger side inner fender along.  I mocked up the battery tray so I could determine the right lengths for the 4 AWT wire.

It is starting to get a little tight in there.

I installed the 2010 Camaro starter.  I had to modify the wiring harness to use a connector rather than a ring terminal...didn't get any photo of that.  However the main terminal for the starter is about 5mm from the dipstick.  I am not too concerned, since both of the parts are fixed in place.

I attached the fuel line to the transmission using some clamps I had laying around and it looks pretty good.

The nicely modified crossmember.  I will try to get another picture today.  His notch was 1000 times better than mine.

I started working on the interior.  I put down some vibration dampening material (RAAMmat on the floorpan and back of the cab.

On the back of the cab, I put on some Ensolite along with the factory carpet backing.

Have a little more to do on the driver's side,  You can see the drive-by-wire throttle pedal here.

Radiator Support

It has been a fairly quiet two weeks since my last post.  The truck is off-site getting the brackets fabricated for the seats and the drive-by-wire throttle pedal installed.  In the meantime, I worked on the radiator support and documented the process.

The radiator support was untouched since I removed it from the car in Feb.

I made note of all the wiring clips and j-nuts.  The middle support needs to be removed in order to have room for the condenser.

I mocked-up the radiator/condenser assembly and determined the modifications I need to make in order for everything to fit right.  I have to drill two 1.5" holes (that is 38mm for you metric guys) for the A/C lines as well as to make a notch so that I will be able to install the fittings.

Also, in order for the radiator to fit properly, mounting holes need to be drilled in the base of the support slightly inboard from the factory locations.  Once again 1.5" holes.

Here is a shot of the base after the main support was removed.

Here is a shot of the notched area along with the 2 - 1.5" holes.

I smoothed-up the holes and notched areas and sent the radiator support to Edmunds Metal Works for powder coating.  I ended up drilling three holes in the base of the radiator frame (had to be careful not to puncture the radiator) so that I could use some factory wire clips.  I also took this opportunity to replace the 6 AWG factory wire with 4 AWG along with some new copper ends.

Here is another view:

Opposite side.  You can see the A/C lines and their relationship to the holes in the support.  Also, what looks like a mark on the condenser is actually the background...you can see through the radiator/condenser at this angle.

Another view:

Power steering

The power steering was quite a pain in the ass.  I am using Russell Powerflex hose that is designed for power steering systems.  It has a PTFE liner that has a 2500 PSI rating.  I couldn't get the Powerflex hose to fit on the return line fitting that is located on the reservoir, so I had to use standard #6 fuel line for that.  The good news is that line is not pressurized so I don't have to worry about any hose failure.

The second issue was the fitting on the pump.  It was an NPT female fitting that I had to use a NPT to #6 AN adapter.  This made the assembly length too long and I could not get the hose fitting to thread on without hitting the pump pulley.

I purchased a new pump outlet fitting from Detroit Speed.  This fitting is designed with a #6 AN male end and is about 1/4" shorter.  It was a very close fit and I ended up having to grind the top corners of the hose end fastener to get it to thread on (see circled area below).

Once on, I was able to tighten it and I have clearance (about 1-2mm).

I cut the other end of the hose and routed it to the power steering box.  Not sure I like the routing.  I may change it to be more direct, but it does give me some flexibility in that I don't need to remove the line when removing the pump.

I began the installation of the engine harness along with the coils.  There is not much room on the passenger side, but the AC box looks like it was designed to work with this setup.

The driver's side is even closer.  It is kind of a weird angle here, but it looks closer that it really is.

I ended up grinding a notch in the brake booster flange to clear the plug wire.  Better view here:

A couple shots of the engine (getting closer!):

Memorial Day Updates

I took Friday off and spent all day assembling the CR125 engine for my kart.  I was going to do a post about that, but didn't want to clog up the S10 info with karting stuff.  I went karting on Saturday so that left Sunday and Monday for truck work.

I pulled the cab off again.  I figured it would be easier to work on the crossmember and to install the insulator between the trans and the cab.

I had to notch the crossmember in order to get the transmission to sit properly on it.  I just cut a square in it to get it to fit.  Will weld it up later.  I didn't get any pictures of the notch.  Just got busy notching and forgot about photos.

After I got the notch made and the crossmember fitted, I installed the headers.

While I was there, I installed the clutch master cylinder and line. You can also see in this photo the forward (technically middle) location of the shifter.

I also installed the fuel line.

I put the cab back on with new bushings.  I cleaned-up and installed the steering shaft, cowl seal, and windshield wipers.

Cleaned-up and installed the wiring harness for the AC box, blower motor, and wiper motor.

A shot of the shifter insulator.  This provides some heat and noise protection from the shifter hole. Shifter mocked-up.

Progress

Today, I made a lot of progress.  I repainted the firewall the correct color and riveted in the new heat shields.  The color is the correct color for the truck.  I feel much better about that now.

I also installed the BRP transmission crossmember.  It looks pretty nice as well, but the transmission hits it.  More on that later.

Oh, I also installed the engine and transmission, and put the cab back on the frame.

I had to move the shifter to the middle of the three possible positions.  It is actually quite easy to do.

The transmission is hitting the tunnel though.  It appears to not be sitting flat on the crossmember. Will take a look at that next.

Had to throw on the Corvette fuel rail covers just to see how it looks.

Tomorrow will probably be a quiet day with me just focusing on cleaning up the garage.

Steering components

I talked to the body shop and they are pretty swamped so it looks like it will be a month before I can get that moving forward.  Below is a picture of the transmission tunnel after I painted it last week.  I used leftover paint provided by the painter.  It appears that he did not spray enough base coats, because the color of the transmission tunnel is what the color of the car should be.  It is a notable difference.

In the meantime, I installed all of the steering components.  They are from a company called ProForged and are pretty beefy.

I installed the motor mounts loosely.  Will tighten after the engine is installed.

Bad Iron Machine dropped off the engine today.  Looks great.  I installed the flywheel and the dual disc clutch.