94 to 96 wiring harness swap??

Hello Forum, this is my first post and I have a few questions that I have not been able to ascertain online and I have heard conflicting views from people here on the street. Soooo...here I go. I recently acquired a 94' Dodge RAM 1500, 318, V8 magnum. The truck is in awesome shape, no rust, strong, quiet engine, good trans, great interior...etc. The issue I ran into is that the truck stalls...not a bogged down, sputtering, engine stall. I am cruising along and the RPM'S just drop. I pull over and start it back up. It could be 30 miles or 30 inches before it does it again. I know this problem is covered extensively online, and I am not asking for advice on this. I have buddy of who is a mechanic and has a garage, he and I replaced the fuel pump, coil, crank sensor, cam sensor, cap, rotor, plugs and wires. I even bought a new computer to no avail. So after all this, the conclusion that I have a serious electrical problem on my hands was where we ended up. I have a 96' Ram...nearly identical...1500 , 318, V8 magnum, for parts...we already disassembled the whole 96' and I kept everything worth keeping. My ultimate question is, is the computer and wiring harness going to be compatible with my 94?? Both are automatic, btw...forgive me if this is a foolish question, but I really haven't found a definitive answer as of yet. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks...

Absolutely not a 94 is OBD I and the 96 is OBD II the connectors on the fire wall to the engine harness are also different. Stay with the same year truck.

We found the incompatibility within 5 minutes of our project. Good news is the truck is and has been running for 400+ miles, so my problem was solved without the hassle of a new harness. Thanx for your feedback.

Actually you can swap harness, pcm and cluster and get a tune that'll allow you to continue using the 46rh trans.

96 is tunable and 94 is not

As dapepper said. Largely the harnesses will be a direct swap. You'll run into a couple issues regarding emissions, and perhaps O2 sensor plugs, and coolant temp sensors (I don't remember which years used only one sensor and which used 2)

A tune will allow you to use the 46RH trans without throwing codes, it will fix any O2/Emissions related codes. The main harness connectors are the same.

dudeman2009 said:

As dapepper said. Largely the harnesses will be a direct swap. You'll run into a couple issues regarding emissions, and perhaps O2 sensor plugs, and coolant temp sensors (I don't remember which years used only one sensor and which used 2)

A tune will allow you to use the 46RH trans without throwing codes, it will fix any O2/Emissions related codes. The main harness connectors are the same.

Click to expand...

The connection on the fire wall where the dash harness plugs into the engine harness is different

Post the resolution to the stalling problem for future readers.


"Talk is cheap. Whiskey costs money."

alanack6795 said:

The connection on the fire wall where the dash harness plugs into the engine harness is different

Click to expand...

I was under the impression that he has both the engine and dash harness, the 'main' connectors I was referring to was module connectors. Namely ABS, CTM, and the one that sits where the shift lever is on a manual.

If he only has the engine harness then it's a different story. It isn't much of a problem though. You can either cut and splice the 96 harness into the 94 engine connector, or pop the terminals out of both connectors and put the 96 wires into the proper spots on the 94 connector.