mechanic

Hi all,<br><br>I was just wondering if any one else has done any wiring changes to their truck, and what they are. I have cut the feed to the power windows and<br>connected it to the power seat feed, and cut the feed to the lighter/power socket and wired them to the power door locks. Using logic like &quot;I'll never<br>be using both of those at the same time.&quot; Now, windows and sockets are hot all the time. It's nice to have the GPS stay on now when I shut down<br>the truck, and I can roll up and down the windows without the key.<br><br>Any other mods I should be thinking of doing?<br>

redramnc

You could try the split taillight mod - orange bulbs for blinkers in the backup lights tied to the front blinkers and the rear brake lights are then just for the brakes/running lights. Of course, you have to add another set of backups and a relay (also wired to a switch inside for optimum convenience).<br><br>There is the bed light / cab light switch also. First click left gives you bed lamp vs. stock cab lamp first. Cab lamp mod depends on year of your truck - I think later years already do this.<br><br>There is alo the BriteBox that lets you run hi/lo beams at the same time. This is a commercially available box so it is a little pricey. I prefer the homemade mods - makes me think a little and costs a lot less.<br><br>Anybody else think of anything?<br><br>

98rammer

i hate how in order to get my cargo lamp on, the interior lights have to be on. so, at night time i can't see anything in the bed due to the lights inside the cab being on (when i'm inside the cab of course ).

Ryan

I installed a set of 55W back up lights in my headache rack and a set under my back bumper. They are on a switch in the dash and wired to come on when the truck is put into reverse. They also work well to remove pesky tailgaters at night. They work well to light up the bed unless the lid to the toolbox is open.

RATTLINRAM

I did the 55w halogen aux BU lights with relay to come on when in reverse and then put the amber bulbs in the stock BU light sockets and wired them for turn signal only. I also removed the relay that allows the driving lights to be on only when on low beam and put a jumper in its place so that I can run the driving lights with just the parking lights or with low or high beam. With the Sport headlights on high and the addition of the driving lights too,,,, they light up the road and shoulders rather well. ;D

RCW

Here is a procedure for swapping the dome and cargo light switch functions on the 94-98, and it may work on the newer models.

Remove the two screws that hold on the cup holder assembly, and the two screws that fasten the ash tray.

Remove the instrument panel bezel. It is a snap-in fit, and you may have to drop the steering wheel and take the automatic selector (if you have an automatic) out of park to get it enough clearance to pop the bezel out.

Pull the screws holding the headlamp switch to the dash, and remove the headlamp switch. Then use a small screwdriver to release the tabs and remove the large connector from the switch. The small connector will pull right off. Take a small screwdriver and remove the plastic wire guide on the large
connector. You will find eight (8) wires on the primary side side and two (2) wires on the secondary side.

Use a small pin punch or awl and insert into the bottom of the connectors to release the wire terminal catches on the pink and blue, and yellow wires. Remove the pink and blue stripe wire (8 wire primary side) and the yellow wire (2 wire secondary side) from their nests in the socket.

Swap the pink and blue for the yellow connectors in their respective blocks and press them back into the connectors so the catches snap in place.

Reassemble the switch and dash panels in the reverse order they were removed.

The door switch will still work properly, but you will be able to select the cargo light without lighting up the interior.

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Here is a simpler way to do the power windows so that they are hot all the time. Again this if for 94-98's, but I would expect the newer trucks to be the same.

Pull the fuse panel cover off and near the top right of the panel there are 2 circuit breakers, CB1 and CB2.

Take a short piece of #10 wire and attach a male spade terminal on one end and strip about 1/4 to 3/8&quot; from the other end. Use pliers to flatten out the strands of the stripped end.

Pull both circuit breakers out and push the stranded end
into the left side of CB2, the bottom one. Carefully press CB2 back in its socket so it is capturing the flattened copper wire. It is also a good idea to put a spot of dielectric grease on the wire so it does not corrode.

The wire is now hot so be careful not to touch the spade end to any grounds at this point.

Take the spade end of the wire and plug it into the left side of the circuit breaker #1 socket.

The window switch will now work without the key being in the on position.

Store the circuit breaker #1 in a safe place in the event you ever want to pull the wire and switch it back to the factory configuration.

Put a note in the owner's manual as to what you did to change the wiring.

NWDave

[quote author=RCW link=board=5;threadid=4260;start=0#35937 date=1030066217]<br><br><br>Here is a simpler way to do the power windows so that they are hot all the time. Again this if for 94-98's, but I would expect the newer trucks to be the same.<br><br>Pull the fuse panel cover off and near the top right of the panel there are 2 circuit breakers, CB1 and CB2.<br><br>In my 2001.5 CB1 is Pwr Wnd's and CB2 Pwr Seats so apparently true that it applies to later models. <br><br><br>Pull both circuit breakers out and push the stranded end<br>into the left side of CB2, the bottom one. Carefully press CB2 back in its socket so it is capturing the flattened copper wire. It is also a good idea to put a spot of dielectric grease on the wire so it does not corrode.<br><br>The wire is now hot so be careful not to touch the spade end to any grounds at this point.<br><br>Take the spade end of the wire and plug it into the left side of the circuit breaker #1 socket.<br><br>You might want to consider changing the attachment procedure to landing the spade first then landing the stripped end. This way, you're only playing with &quot;hot&quot; when you insert the stripped end. Picky? You betcha but being an old electrician, I plan on getting older and little things like this catch my attention. <br><br><br>Put a note in the owner's manual as to what you did to change the wiring.<br><br>[/quote]

Haulin_in_Dixie

Did the power window change to my truck today, works great. My truck does not have power seats so I did it a little different. The power seat wiring is under the seat and not used so I used the breaker circuit for the windows. I pulled the window breaker, jumped the window side to the seat side and put the window breaker in the seat socket. A big improvement ;D

rattle_rattle

I have another related question. I want to put in a relay for the B+ line going to the trailer connector. This is necessary in order to not have the RV discharging the truck batteries when doing an overnight. I need a circuit that is hot when the motor is running but dead when the motor is off. It needs to be capable of enough current for the relay coil. Someone suggested the cigar lighter circuit but I don't know the wire color. I really hate to add &quot;grapes&quot; to the fuse panel. Can someone give me a suggestion on what wire color the cigar lighter is or another circuit that will do the same thing? I realize that there are commercially available isolators available but a relay is a heck of a lot cheaper. $130.00 vs $13.00.

Tom Bolitho

I have done the window thing, changed the back up lights to to turn signals, added back up lights under the bumper, I have strobe lights in the the turn signals front and rear. I have also rewired my trailer connector. I used 14 gauge wire and each function is fused and relayed. That way no extra power is pulled through the switches and a short in a trailer will not have a negative impact on the truck.

Ryan

[quote author=rattle_rattle link=board=5;threadid=4260;start=0#38140 date=1030851224]<br>I have another related question. I want to put in a relay for the B+ line going to the trailer connector. This is necessary in order to not have the RV discharging the truck batteries when doing an overnight. I need a circuit that is hot when the motor is running but dead when the motor is off. It needs to be capable of enough current for the relay coil. Someone suggested the cigar lighter circuit but I don't know the wire color. I really hate to add &quot;grapes&quot; to the fuse panel. Can someone give me a suggestion on what wire color the cigar lighter is or another circuit that will do the same thing? I realize that there are commercially available isolators available but a relay is a heck of a lot cheaper. $130.00 vs $13.00.<br>[/quote]<br><br>I have several acc set up that way. I used the radio power wire. I don't know the color but it fairly easy to get to. let me look through my CD installation paperwork it may be there.

tlmkr

[quote author=Ryan link=board=5;threadid=4260;start=0#35898 date=1030050248]<br>I installed a set of 55W back up lights in my headache rack and a set under my back bumper. They are on a switch in the dash and wired to come on when the truck is put into reverse. They also work well to remove pesky tailgaters at night. They work well to light up the bed unless the lid to the toolbox is open.<br>[/quote]<br><br> I am going to wire backup lights thatare in my trailer to the truck, where can I get the power for them? I was told to tap into the wiring at he transmission as there is a 3 prong connector there, anyone happen to know which one is the right one to use? reverse lights on a 35 ft trailer are NICE!!!!<br><br>thanks!<br>

Thomas

What year is your truck?<br><br>The center pin on the newer Rams with factory tow package IS backup lights.

tlmkr

[quote author=Thomas link=board=5;threadid=4260;start=0#38285 date=1030921933]<br>What year is your truck?<br><br>The center pin on the newer Rams with factory tow package IS backup lights.<br>[/quote]<br><br> Yes after I posted that I went back out and found the lead on the truck wiring harness so I do now have BU lights working. Pretty neat to me as before this we had a (gulp) Ford and had to trace the darn thing down. really nice of Dodge to put it back there handy Oh truck is a 97 3500 flatbed and 4:10 gears. We just got it cand so far I can't find anything that has been done to it but after hauling tractors this weekend I can't see why anyone would change it ! Dang thing will HAUL A**!!!<br><br>

BigBlue

I am curious as to how to do that blinker mod. The way I've got aux back up lights set up is that I've got them wired into the power for the existing backup lights. So whenever I put the truck in reverse, the automatically come on. But I also have them setup to where I can throw a switch in the cab, and they come on without the truck being in reverse. I'd like to keep this feature yet run the amber bulbs in the tail lights. So, would I basically need to cut the power wire from the existing back up lights and hook that straight to my aux backup lights, and then run a power wire from the blinker to the backup light (now amber bulb) in the tail light housing?