The wiring really isn't that bad - just be sure to solder all of the connections and cover them with heat-shrink insulation. And also use wire that is at least as big as in the original car - these option draw a lot of current and you could very easily get a fire if the connections aren't good or if you go cheap on the wire.
As for the details - I don't have my manual here but basically the deal is this:
The power comes from a power distribution module which is right inside the drivers door straight above the fuse box. The pw circuit was (I think) a thick pink wire and I just cut it and spliced into the correct conductor that ran back to the switches which are mounted on the little recessed panel that is on the tunnel just aft of the gearshift. This is also where the pm switch (and I think the pdl switch) goes as well.
NOTE: This is the only place where I had to cut an existing wire on the car.
The pink wire referred to above is fed from the fuse box through a circuit breaker (little silver coloured block about 3/4 inch x 3/8 inch) that plugs into the "pwr wind." spot on the fuse box. The circuit breaker is a 30 amp unit and is available from auto supply stores for about $5.00. You will usually need to trim the "prongs" on the breaker. Just pull out one of the exisiting ones to see how long the new ones need to be. I think that I trimmed mine to about 1/4 inch long.
The ground side is just attached to any handy spot where there is GOOD ground (remember the high current draw).
I would imagine that the pdl and pm circuits are similarly wired.
The wiring to the pw motors then goes through the sides of the car into the doors. On my car there are a big rubber plug about 2.5 inch dia. which I just popped out with a screw driver. The wiring passes through a rubber hose which has an accordian style surface and flexes so that the wiring is never exposed to the open air even when you have the door open. This hose is pretty important - check you local just yards - any pw equipped car of any make is going to have them and you need them.
The pw motors are attached to the door with huge pop rivets (ie. special GM tool required much $$$$$). I just used short 3/8 inch (10 mm) nuts and bolts with some Loctite on the threads.
I did not have to remove the glass or the window slides (the vertical ones).
I also did not have to remove the out door panel - just the inner one.
Do not rip the heavy paper vapour guard - you need it to seal the door when you are done the job.
You can get the manual winder (regulator is the correct name) out and the power one in, if the window is UP and you use some body English on it.
The window should be held up by clamping it with a c-clamp using a towel to protect the glass. Careful - the glass is heavy and fragile.
You should remove BOTH inner door panels at the same time but only work on ONE door at a time so you have the other one as a reference.
Work slowly and carefully and be sure to clean and lube the pw motors BEFORE you put them in. Also stare at the electrical connector on the motors - it is invisible once the motor is installed and you will need a mental picture of it to get it reconnected inside the door.
The manual yammers on about removing some other part of the regulator - I didn't understand this and so I didn't do it and the pw have been working perfectly since I put them in 2 months ago. The whole job took me a day including wiring, playing with kids and drinking a couple of beers.
From: Peter Frise
If for some reason you want to use your door panels rather than the one off the donor car, but still want the map pockets off of them, here's how to get them off.
I disconnected the original wire harness that connects the door ajar switches to the wiring junction box on the driver side. This white plastic junction box is tucked way up on the side of the vehicle in the corner of the front firewall and the side of the car (underneath all that insulation that may fall away from the front firewall.) There are two plugs on the driver side as well that need to be unplugged prior to removing the original wire harness. The harness is routed through a vinyl sleeve in the middle of the firewall. I removed the harness from the sleeve and prepared to connect the new harness from the donor car.
(Note: most all of the under dash items I am referring to here are visible with the dash in place by lying on your back and peering up into the dash.)
I then took the power window/lock wiring harness and routed it through the sleeve. The relay that operates the door locks screwed right into the frame in the existing screw hole on the passenger side. (Note: While getting the doors/wiring from the doner car it's not a bad idea to abscond with as many of the the white plastic wire holder clips as you can.) My 84's clips were very brittle and I broke 3 of them in the process of routing the new wiring. The ground wire on the passenger side also had a factory pre-drilled hole. I used 7mm screws on both the relay and ground wire. The knockout plugs for the door wiring are fairly easily removed by simply pushing them out from inside the car, prying them with a large flatblade if needed.
The secondary reason I opted for complete dash removal to install the new PW/PL wiring was to "clean up" the aftermarket stereo power amp wiring I had installed several years prior. (An assortment of wire ties came in real handy throughout this process.) After tidying up all the wiring under the dash and connecting the new wiring harness to the junction box and several other under dash plugs. I took a coathanger and shaped it into a bow (like a bow and arrow.) inserting the coat hanger into the opening next to the shifter I located the other end of it behind the radio and heater controls. Using some black electrical tape I secured the window switch section of the wire harness and gently pulled it through the center tunnel. (I had cut through the wire harn ess in the shifter area prior to removing the wiring from the doner car so I wouldn't have to pull the switch plugs through the center tunnel.)
Next I spliced the six wires back together that connect the window switches to the rest of the wiring harness (thank God for color coding) and wrapped the splices all together with black electrical tape. This spliced section fit snugly over the existing wires just to the right of the shifter. Before re-installing all of the trim, instruments and dash I brought the doner doors out and wedged them into the cab with both my original doors wide open to test the windows and locks. Both doors were working perfectly so I re-installed everything and the entire job took me about 6 hours.
I have only the passenger door installed currently. (Seems I forgot that installing both doors without switching lock cylinders would leave me locked out of my car.) Which brings me to the only question I ended up with after this mammoth project. Why doesn't my lock cylinder install flush with my exterior door side trim?
From: Mark W. Mumma