First off I have to say Thanks to Russellabjr :rck: ,
These instructions are for a 2004 Ram 1500 SLT other models may vary,
after seeing his thread I decided to do this mod, I ran into a few snags so I was able to call him for clarification,
First I went to the Dealer and got the 3 parts I needed for this mod,
I got my parts 10% over dealer cost.
The Harness Part # 56042934AA List $24.50 (I paid $16.17)
Left Switch Part # 4685728 AB List $14.10 (I paid $9.30)
Right Switch 4685729 AB List $16.45 (I paid $10.84)
There were a few things that Russ didnt outline until I called him and asked him a few specific questions about the install.
I took a piece of card board and seperated it to use as a template, I also took the switches apart carefully not to break any clips and made the cardboard fit snug around the switch piece.
1- First things first, take the ground off of the battery and let the truck sit for 10 minutes, to allow the capacitor for the Air bag to drain.
2- Then I took apart the dash pieces, took apart the clam shell around the steering wheel shaft,
3- then used a 10 mm socket to take the air bag off of the steering wheel, make sure you touch the truck with bare hands to make yourself the same so you dont make any electricity between you and the truck,
4- then carefully take the airbag out and un-clip the connector and the horn and set aside.
5- now you will see two philips screws for the cruise control modules and then you will see two more philips screws for the back cover to prepare for the dremel of the holes for the switches,
6- Now with a marker take your piece of card board that you are gonna use as a template for the switch holes and trace out the holes so you have an idea where you are gonna dremel your holes for the switches.
7- Use the dremel and carefully cut out on your lines, this is where patients comes into play, take your time and dont rush this part, you may need to take the piece and check it a few time before you get this part right.
8- Now comes the fun part Hooking up the wires, once you take the Harness apart that you bought from the dealer carefully take the harness apart you will need to save the pieces you dont use for later in the install. the piece you will be using for now has 3 connectors on it for the Radio control harness,
now you will need to modify the connectors and snip the tops piece off and the switch ends need the center bars cut to make them mate together, after you are done with all the wiring it may be a good idea to put a small dab of silicone over these two connectors to keep them from coming apart and possibly shorting to anything.
9- you will see a white connector next to the neon yellow connector .. you are gonna use the white connector on the under side of the steering column, there will will be two empty holes for you to plug the cable ends into,
10- this is where you use the pieces from the harness that you were to put aside, the outer connector will go to ground (I used the red with green stripe for this wire)
11- you will need to gain access to behind the cluster so pretty much the dash needs to come apart and allow you access to the back of the gauge cluster.
12- the inner connector goes to C2 (smaller of the two grey connectors) pin12 (should be empty) behind the gauge cluster.
13- you will need to shove something in the hole next to it to push the white bar down to allow you to insert your wire from the saved harness, I used the blue with black stripe for this one cause I was able to keep it long enough to reach back to the Clock spring harness connector. Watch to make sure other wires dont come out of the connector while inserting this wire end.
14- I had to use a splice connector to lengthen my red with green stripe for the ground wire, I added a lug connector and placed it under a screw that had a metal tab under it for a good ground.
15- plug your harness'es back into the back of the gauge cluster,
16- next I put the ground wire back on the truck to test the switches,
17- put the key into the accessory (pulling back not forward)
18- if it doesn work get a multimeter and set it to VDC and check the clock spring in the center of the steering wheel where the radio control harness plugs into.. ... the ground lead should go to a good ground or piece of metal under the dash and the red lead should go to the connector on the clock spring there should be +5vdc (cant remember which side but I think it is the left side) if there isnt take the battery cable off and recheck your plugs in the back of the gauges to make sure they are seated properly ( imade this mistake)
19- it should be working now for the radio controls if not refer back to prior steps to make sure your wiring is correct.
20- it should be working now so you need to unplug the ground wire on the battery.
21- resecure your gauge cluster and the plastic pieces on the dash.
22- now you will need to reinstall the air bag
23- now you will reinstall the clam shell that goes around the back half of the steering.
24- button the rest of the panels up if you havent already
25- re-connect the negative battery cable and tighten the clamp.
Now you are ready for steering radio controls.
Well worth Mod IMO and this mod took me 4.5 hours from start to finish including cleaning up tools and extension cord since I did half in the dark I needed a light to see.
I am also including pictures and please feel free to ask any questions.
These instructions are for a 2004 Ram 1500 SLT other models may vary,
after seeing his thread I decided to do this mod, I ran into a few snags so I was able to call him for clarification,
First I went to the Dealer and got the 3 parts I needed for this mod,
I got my parts 10% over dealer cost.
The Harness Part # 56042934AA List $24.50 (I paid $16.17)
Left Switch Part # 4685728 AB List $14.10 (I paid $9.30)
Right Switch 4685729 AB List $16.45 (I paid $10.84)
There were a few things that Russ didnt outline until I called him and asked him a few specific questions about the install.
I took a piece of card board and seperated it to use as a template, I also took the switches apart carefully not to break any clips and made the cardboard fit snug around the switch piece.
1- First things first, take the ground off of the battery and let the truck sit for 10 minutes, to allow the capacitor for the Air bag to drain.
2- Then I took apart the dash pieces, took apart the clam shell around the steering wheel shaft,
3- then used a 10 mm socket to take the air bag off of the steering wheel, make sure you touch the truck with bare hands to make yourself the same so you dont make any electricity between you and the truck,
4- then carefully take the airbag out and un-clip the connector and the horn and set aside.
5- now you will see two philips screws for the cruise control modules and then you will see two more philips screws for the back cover to prepare for the dremel of the holes for the switches,
6- Now with a marker take your piece of card board that you are gonna use as a template for the switch holes and trace out the holes so you have an idea where you are gonna dremel your holes for the switches.
7- Use the dremel and carefully cut out on your lines, this is where patients comes into play, take your time and dont rush this part, you may need to take the piece and check it a few time before you get this part right.
8- Now comes the fun part Hooking up the wires, once you take the Harness apart that you bought from the dealer carefully take the harness apart you will need to save the pieces you dont use for later in the install. the piece you will be using for now has 3 connectors on it for the Radio control harness,
now you will need to modify the connectors and snip the tops piece off and the switch ends need the center bars cut to make them mate together, after you are done with all the wiring it may be a good idea to put a small dab of silicone over these two connectors to keep them from coming apart and possibly shorting to anything.
9- you will see a white connector next to the neon yellow connector .. you are gonna use the white connector on the under side of the steering column, there will will be two empty holes for you to plug the cable ends into,
10- this is where you use the pieces from the harness that you were to put aside, the outer connector will go to ground (I used the red with green stripe for this wire)
11- you will need to gain access to behind the cluster so pretty much the dash needs to come apart and allow you access to the back of the gauge cluster.
12- the inner connector goes to C2 (smaller of the two grey connectors) pin12 (should be empty) behind the gauge cluster.
13- you will need to shove something in the hole next to it to push the white bar down to allow you to insert your wire from the saved harness, I used the blue with black stripe for this one cause I was able to keep it long enough to reach back to the Clock spring harness connector. Watch to make sure other wires dont come out of the connector while inserting this wire end.
14- I had to use a splice connector to lengthen my red with green stripe for the ground wire, I added a lug connector and placed it under a screw that had a metal tab under it for a good ground.
15- plug your harness'es back into the back of the gauge cluster,
16- next I put the ground wire back on the truck to test the switches,
17- put the key into the accessory (pulling back not forward)
18- if it doesn work get a multimeter and set it to VDC and check the clock spring in the center of the steering wheel where the radio control harness plugs into.. ... the ground lead should go to a good ground or piece of metal under the dash and the red lead should go to the connector on the clock spring there should be +5vdc (cant remember which side but I think it is the left side) if there isnt take the battery cable off and recheck your plugs in the back of the gauges to make sure they are seated properly ( imade this mistake)
19- it should be working now for the radio controls if not refer back to prior steps to make sure your wiring is correct.
20- it should be working now so you need to unplug the ground wire on the battery.
21- resecure your gauge cluster and the plastic pieces on the dash.
22- now you will need to reinstall the air bag
23- now you will reinstall the clam shell that goes around the back half of the steering.
24- button the rest of the panels up if you havent already
25- re-connect the negative battery cable and tighten the clamp.
Now you are ready for steering radio controls.
Well worth Mod IMO and this mod took me 4.5 hours from start to finish including cleaning up tools and extension cord since I did half in the dark I needed a light to see.
I am also including pictures and please feel free to ask any questions.