DIY: 2013-2014 OEM Steering Wheel Audio Control Install

[Mpgrimm2]

Hi. Nice write up. I have a 2009 dodge ram 1500 v6 , no steering weel controls at all, no cruise control either, its a plain steering wheel , i just put in a nice double din radio in, and i love to have steerng wheel controls, this will work for me? After i put the switches in, i have to wire them to the radio harnness? I realy apresiate it if you can help me. Thanks a lot. [email protected].

This will not work for your year of truck and not with an aftermarket radio.

Even if you are able to find a correct factory wheel with controls for your year, you will still have to get it through to the bottom of the column (or locate the wires at the radio) and add a converter to make it compatible with you aftermarket radio (i.e. PAC SWi, I think).

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[Mpgrimm2]

FYI...

Steering Wheel Switch Control Harness - 68163713AC $15

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?t=77735


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[vors]

Joined to say thanks for this thread and thanks for those that kept it updated and relevant. I've had it bookmarked for months but money was tight so I put the kit on my Christmas list. Thought I'd post a few things that might help future folks. First, I had no problem with the airbag besides a bloodied knuckle when my screwdriver slipped. I used my mechanic mirror (adjustable mirror on a stick) and it worked great. I tried the smartphone approach but the video wasn't life size and the exposure was too dark even cranked up all the way. I used a flathead screwdriver on the spring clips and it worked easily. Used both hands to guide it under the clip then twisted it to lift it off the stud.

I've had the recall done and also found that my main wiring harness cable was zip tied to the airbag wires. Along with that there was a plastic plug holding the wires to the bag of the airbag. The kind you see holding plastic interior panels in place. Very easy to pop out by sliding some needle nose under it and lifting.

I'm sure you all already know, but to save yourself some effort getting the center nut loose put a pipe over your socket wrench and pull from the far end of the pipe. I braced the wheel between my knees, steadied the socket end with my left hand and lifted the far end of my 2' conduit with my right and it came loose easily.

I did not use a puller on the steering wheel. I tried to bang it off from behind naughty but just ended up bruising my hands. Ended up googling it and doing what this guy does: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gtI7UQGQh9g and it was off in less than 10 seconds with little to no effort. To prevent it from coming off suddenly and spinning the clock spring or pulling on the cables I left the center bolt in place half screwed in. Didn't end up being necessary, the wheel was noticeably loose after a couple seconds and I could gingerly take it the rest of the way.

Also used a silver sharpie to mark the clock spring position and had no issue with it being off when I put it back together.

When taking the covers off I recommend taking a pic or video of the wire runs before you pull them out of place. I thought it looked straightforward but when it came time to put it back together I didn't remember the exact details in some parts.

The rest is straightforward, but thought I'd share that I too pinched the horn wire and had to take it all apart again. I recommend before you screw the covers back together to give all the wires a tug from different angles to make sure they slide back and forth and aren't pinched where you can't see. Then checking it again after screwing the covers on. Leaning under the hood to hook the battery back up isn't a good place to be when the horn starts going off.

 

[R.L.K.]

Nice read . I used the smart phone reverse feed , found it benificial . The tangs , I used a Snapon cotter pin extraction tool . Simple really .
The rest imo can be figured out easily ,but as stated above ^^^^^ take photos ! I did and it helps .
Also like stated above be careful with all wires upon going back together .

 

[Solej]

I installed mine and everything worked great. I set my cell phone to the "selfie" mode, set it up in by the instrument cluster, and I was able to watch the pick location to remove the air bag in real time, worked great!! Thank you for the tutorial.

 

[ogutierr66]

I installed mine also and it's awesome! I got a black leather wheel with audio for my 2016 Ram 2500 Tradesman. The wheel came from a 2016 Longhorn and it looks new out of the box for $150 from car-parts.com! I followed this thread for weeks till I got the courage for that airbag removal.

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[adurm]

I just ordered a 2014 caravan wheel for the price of one switch. We will see how that works out for me. Plugged in the part number and it says its a match for the caravan and the ram amongst other vehicles. Cant wait to stop having to look at the receiver to change tracks and volume.

 

[ICEChargerRT]

I'm hoping to do this mod soon to my 2016 Express which has the Uconnect 5.0 radio. I got a deal on a 2013/2014? leather covered, heated, steering wheel with radio controls (see below picture.)

I have a few questions.

I noticed that the unheated and heated steering wheels have different clock spring part numbers. I live in Florida and have no need for a heated wheel : ) can I use my current unheated wheels clock spring with the new leather heated wheel or do I need to get a heated wheel clock spring?

The leather wheel does not have 8 speed shifter buttons on it, can I just install them? Does anyone have the part number so I can do it before removing the other wheel?

Will I need to get and install a new steering wheel wiring harness to add the shifter buttons?

I prefer the current matching black bezel/cover that's on my stock plastic steering wheel can I switch that one with the leather wheels silver cover?

Thanks for any and all assistance.

Tony

 

[clifford15]

I'm hoping to do this mod soon to my 2016 Express which has the Uconnect 5.0 radio. I got a deal on a 2013/2014? leather covered, heated, steering wheel with radio controls (see below picture.)

I have a few questions.

I noticed that the unheated and heated steering wheels have different clock spring part numbers. I live in Florida and have no need for a heated wheel : ) can I use my current unheated wheels clock spring with the new leather heated wheel or do I need to get a heated wheel clock spring?

The leather wheel does not have 8 speed shifter buttons on it, can I just install them? Does anyone have the part number so I can do it before removing the other wheel?

Will I need to get and install a new steering wheel wiring harness to add the shifter buttons?

I prefer the current matching black bezel/cover that's on my stock plastic steering wheel can I switch that one with the leather wheels silver cover?

Thanks for any and all assistance.

Tony

This is an easy swap. FIRST THING THOUGH check out the RECALL for the steering wheel on the 14s. It is easy to wire tie the harness as instructed with the wheel on the bench. Also your 16 air bag will already have the protective caps on the screws. I think I found a link on this forum to the actual MOPAR recall instruction sheet.

Now to your questions. I am 99.999% sure you can simply swap out your 8 speed switch and keep the harness that is in the wheel. When I did mine I left the 8 speed switch in even though I have a 6 speed. There are the same number of wires in the plug 6 or 8. You will need to remove the front plastic so you can put on your black one when you do the switch swap.

The heated wheel plug can stay tucked away in case you feel like doing a project someday. It does not need to be hooked up to anything.

And here is a link to CPTWINGs post about the recall: http://www.ramforum.com/f75/diy_201...ontrol_install-54449/index26.html#post1125609

 

[jvoid4]

great write up!!!

 

[68Malibu383]

Thanks for the write up. I purchased the kit months ago but have not gotten around to installing it. Will be easier now!

 

[ICEChargerRT]

This is an easy swap. FIRST THING THOUGH check out the RECALL for the steering wheel on the 14s. It is easy to wire tie the harness as instructed with the wheel on the bench. Also your 16 air bag will already have the protective caps on the screws. I think I found a link on this forum to the actual MOPAR recall instruction sheet.

Now to your questions. I am 99.999% sure you can simply swap out your 8 speed switch and keep the harness that is in the wheel. When I did mine I left the 8 speed switch in even though I have a 6 speed. There are the same number of wires in the plug 6 or 8. You will need to remove the front plastic so you can put on your black one when you do the switch swap.

The heated wheel plug can stay tucked away in case you feel like doing a project someday. It does not need to be hooked up to anything.

And here is a link to CPTWINGs post about the recall: http://www.ramforum.com/f75/diy_201...ontrol_install-54449/index26.html#post1125609

So to be clear... I don't need a different wiring harness to add my current wheels 8 speed shift buttons onto the new leather one? Just want to be sure I have everything ready when I do this.

 

[clifford15]

Your 8 sp switch should plug right on to your leather wheel harness. These trucks operate on multiplexed controlls over canbus network so the wiring between points is minimized.

 

[JSVT3]

Great write up on removal. I replaced the entire wheel but this helped a lot. MPGrimm also has. YouTube video showing him popping off the ring clips that was a good watch prior to tackling this. Thanks again!

 

[JSVT3]

Ugh! Forgive the sideways picture. I'm posting from my phone.

 

[maple]

Thanks for this write up it help me a lot also mpgrimm' s YouTube video help out so much I must say taking off the air bag was super ez, this install took about 30 mins in total. Also this was my 1st time taking off any steering wheel ever

 

[adurm]

Did mine today. The video helped a lot too. Just confirming: 15 express can use volume buttons from a 14 caravan. Wiring harness is slightly different so buy the ram one. Axxess swc1 works great with a pioneer deck. Many thanks guys. Forgot how much I missed the buttons.

 

[stretch78681]

Awesome write up! I have asked the dealer several times if I could do the steering wheel controls and no one could give me an answer. I'll be doing this ASAP!

LOL, my local stealership couldn't help me one bit. Parts thought that each truck had a model specific wiring harness, so I couldn't add a microphone mirror. Parts and Service said that I couldn't add a dome light or an overhead console. The service department couldn't replace the RA1 with my RA2.

IMHO knowledgable educated deanships could increase their revenue stream if they could learn from the guys at the motorcycle shops, making customer requested improvements that utilize OEM equipment.

 

[R.L.K.]

LOL, my local stealership couldn't help me one bit. Parts thought that each truck had a model specific wiring harness, so I couldn't add a microphone mirror. Parts and Service said that I couldn't add a dome light or an overhead console. The service department couldn't replace the RA1 with my RA2.

IMHO knowledgable educated deanships could increase their revenue stream if they could learn from the guys at the motorcycle shops, making customer requested improvements that utilize OEM equipment.

Very well said ! LOL , When I bought my Express I asked if I could get a backup cam like another truck I drove with an RA2 , I had the RA1. They said it couldn't be done .
Then I seen a back up cam in the mirror . I went back and asked about one in the mirror , he said sure & quoted me $750.00 ! I asked again about the 5" radio and camera , he said impossible.

Then I found this Forum . Ha ! I installed the RA2 5.0 &audio controls , mirror with microphones , VR/Phone button & OEM back up cam ( got it flashed @ a diff dealer) then I went back and showed this service mgr & salesman that said it was impossible! How funny ! The look on their ******* faces was priceless !
I asked for a quote for an automatic start , they quickly said no problem aprox $750 !
I answered with really , is everything you quote $750 ?
I said no thanks I can install it myself for $140.00 .
I've gone through several dealers now , I'm convinced most salesmans , SVC Mgrs and service writers and most techs have very litle knowledge of the vehicle they sale and service . And yes I agree dealerships could boost their bottom line considerably and attract more customers for vehicle sales if they just had more knowledge on the products they sale .

Just my .02

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[cptwing]

Very well said ! LOL , When I bought my Express I asked if I could get a backup cam like another truck I drove with an RA2 , I had the RA1. They said it couldn't be done .
Then I seen a back up cam in the mirror . I went back and asked about one in the mirror , he said sure & quoted me $750.00 ! I asked again about the 5" radio and camera , he said impossible.

Then I found this Forum . Ha ! I installed the RA2 5.0 &audio controls , mirror with microphones , VR/Phone button & OEM back up cam ( got it flashed @ a diff dealer) then I went back and showed this service mgr & salesman that said it was impossible! How funny ! The look on their ******* faces was priceless !
I asked for a quote for an automatic start , they quickly said no problem aprox $750 !
I answered with really , is everything you quote $750 ?
I said no thanks I can install it myself for $140.00 .
I've gone through several dealers now , I'm convinced most salesmans , SVC Mgrs and service writers and most techs have very litle knowledge of the vehicle they sale and service . And yes I agree dealerships could boost their bottom line considerably and attract more customers for vehicle sales if they just had more knowledge on the products they sale .

Just my .02

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In a battle of wits between your average Ram Tech or Service Manager/Writer and a rock, I'd wager heavily on the rock.

But to be fair, Fiat ties the dealerships hands when it comes to upgrading, in many cases they outright forbid it, in others they only offer half assed piece part connector kits instead of the proper harnesses, add to that the fact that they deliberately make the trucks difficult to upgrade by not building them with a common body harness. Ram offers very few DIO kits for these trucks, which in prior days was a good source of income for sevice depts.