Today I finally finished the installation of my overhead console on my 1998 Dakota. I bought a 1999 console of ebay for 40 bucks shipped two months ago and I this week I finally had time to put it on.
I red a lot on the forums on how to install it had plenty of information before I started, however the installation went with much problems that were not expected from the beginning.
I mainly based on Anthony#8217;s thread that documented his installation
from : localhost//forum/...erhead+console
WIRING AND TESTING
Since my truck did not have the original harness I had to make my own. I couldn#8217;t even use the wires from the existing dome lamp to the console lights because the wire colors were not the same.
What I did was to cut the connector that was in the overhead console. This connector has three wires for the lights (red, black and yellow) and six black wires that goes to a connector on the overhead computer
The six black wires that goes to the connector on the computer have the following pin-out, (I took this picture from Anthony#8217;s original thread)
I used a connector that is on the back of the fuse panel to connect most of the wires I needed.
This is the diagram of the back of the fuse panel, the connector I used is the one of the bottom, is named C3
The pink wire of the overhead console lamps goes to the C3 6 position
The black wire of the overhead console lamps goes to the C3 13 position
The yellow wire of the overhead console lamps goes to the C3 8 position
The overhead computer connector was wired in the following way
The #1 ground wire was wired to a bolt that I found near the fuse box where other ground wires were connected
The
The #2 positive wire was wired to the C3 connector in the position 14
The #3 and #4 wire were connected to the ambient temperature sensor that I installed on the front passenger side and ran a wire thru the firewall to connect it
The #5 wire was connected to the white/black wire behind the OBDII port on the drivers side
The #6 wire was connected to the purple/brown wire behind the OBDII port on the drivers side
The #5 and #6 wires must be twisted together, here are some pictures of how did I twist them and where did I connected it on the OBDII port
Here is also my assistant I wrapped all the cables with tape before running them
I placed the wired console on the passenger seat and tested it for a week to make sure that everything was working fine before going with the actual installation
CONSOLE INSTALLATION
The first thing was to remove the headliner.
First remove the rear coat hangers, just press them on the sides and push it down to unclip it..Remove the sunvisors, they are held by 3 screws.
Remove the sunvisor clips, these were a pain in the ass to take off, I ended up sliding my pliers to unclip them.
Removed the A-Pillars, just sided my hand underneath by the window side and they came right of. The passenger side handle have a couple of torx screws that have to be taken of before removalContinued removing the back quarter panels.
First removed the seatbelts, they have a big torx screw that holds them, just undo this and take them off.
Then removed the panel that is on top of the rear seat to uncover two bolts that holds the rear quarter panel to the frame and removed the bolts
Opened the rear window to allow the quarter panel to come off
Starter prying the rear quarter panel from the top and then just pushed my hand in until all the clips were undone
.After this the headliner comes offThis shows the front of the roof where the console clip bolts on
This is where the problems started. The console clip has two pieces of plastic that I think were supposed to be placed on some sort of holes in the roof, however my roof did not had this holes. I ended up just cutting them with a heated knife.Also installed some 3m double sided tape to the back of the clip to hold it to the roof
After this I installed the console clip back in the roof, cut the headliner to roughly allow the console clip to pass thru the headliner and installed the console. Then I realized that I had a BIG PROBLEM, the console, when installed, partially blocked the headliner holes where the sunvisor clips where mounted, so the sunvisor clips could not be installed with the console in
At this point I had already done a BIG hole on my headliner so there was not a way to abort the installation. I was so pissed off that I didn#8217;t took any pictures of this, however the following pic shows the sunvisor clip holes that I am talking about
After investigating this situation I realized that all of the overhead console installations that I found on the forums showed that the sunvisors clips held the sunvisors at about the middle and had plenty of room for the overhead console to be installed. However my sunvisor clips hold the sunvisors on the edge and did not allowed the console to be installed.
The only thing I could come up to solve this problem was to move the complete clip and console further back to allow them to clear the sunvisor clip holes. I drilled two holes 3 cm in front of the original mounting holes on the console clip
Then I installed the clip back on using the new mounting holes
.Then I resintalled the headliner and make the adjustments to the hole required due to the new mounting position of the overhead console clip
After this I ran the wires to from the bottom to the A pillar (with zip ties on the existing wiring) then to the top of the roof and into the console clip
Since I am planning to change my gauges and AC control lights to blue, I took the opportunity to change the computer display to blue as well. I removed the computer lenses and place a blue lighting gel on it to change the display color
Here is the finished productThe sunvisor clips are still very close to the console and were a pain to install, they still hit the console sides but it is not very noticeable. I guess that I should have gone with installing it not 3 but 4 cm further back.
Fortunately the hole that I made on the roof in the first try was almost not noticeable at the end, this is the only place that can be noticed.
.nice work....
It's weird that the front roof brace is completely different
.I think the reason it didn't match up right was that the 98s used the older different shaped console and sun visors. Still good install.
Here is the one I'm talking about.
.
Originally Posted by jmaack727I think the reason it didn't match up right was that the 98s used the older different shaped console and sun visors. Still good install.
Here is the one I'm talking about.Yes, you are right!
Today i checked the owners manual and it shows the older console, just like the one on this link.
.HEY quick question. where did you get that blue film? I've been looking all over for something like that and the closest thing I've found is blue headlight tint. I'm doing the same thing by changing the overhead gauge to blue, so I only need something the size of yours. thanks!
.You can get the blue film as well as any other color film from most art supply stores, like PEARL or Utrecht. Check out your local art supply place...
Also, really good write up. But yea the roof brace area you dealt with varies between the years 97'-04'. Also, from the factory that overhead console is about 1cm from the edge of the headliner, real close to the windshield. The way you have it placed is actually real far back.
Great job though, good write up, you made it look easy. Rep to ya
.anyone have any idea what that blue film would be called? I looked around an entire art store today, and instead of finding anything that would work, I just looked like a homo lost in an art store
.nice id like to change my consol to blue too would this take very long or would i jsut have to mess with a few screws and be done
.Rep to you! Wanna come and do a swap for me?
.
Originally Posted by reiddizzlenice id like to change my consol to blue too would this take very long or would i jsut have to mess with a few screws and be done
very easy. remove the one screw, pull the console down, unbolt the 4 small torx heads holding the gauge on, grab a flathead screwdrive and take the cover off the gauge. throw a piece of blue film in there, and throw everything back together.
.
Originally Posted by spastic88anyone have any idea what that blue film would be called? I looked around an entire art store today, and instead of finding anything that would work, I just looked like a homo lost in an art store
Some people have reported that quot;cello-wrapquot; can be used, this is a kind of plastic translucent paper that is used to wrap gifts, perhaps you can find it in a gift store.
I personally used a blue lighting gel that is used to change the color of the light of a flash (i am also an amateur photographer)
This is the one i used,
from : localhost/www.adorama.com/ROSK.html
I just tested some of the gels i had until i found one that i liked.
If you want to go with the gel route, i think that you can also find them in almost any DJ (disc jockey) store.
.I recently bought a console off of craigslist but it doesnt have the black mounting bracket that I need to attach it to my roof... Any ideas on where I can find one?? |
Post at 2011-5-24 08:29
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