Cab lights

[JB1]

I did quite a lot of research on install. Found the best info on the Cummins forum.

do you have any other tips for this?

 

[G. Mcpherson]

I used a Step bit 7/8 for the large hole and 6mm for the inserts. Left the Template in place for drilling.Set the Arrows about 1/8th back from the edge of the front roof line. Maybe a bit more. There was a Multi pin Connector below the right hand pillar . Right behind the end cap of the Dash. White wire with green stripe on one end. Open on the other to insert the wire. Mine is a 2500.

 

[JB1]

I used a Step bit 7/8 for the large hole and 6mm for the inserts. Left the Template in place for drilling.Set the Arrows about 1/8th back from the edge of the front roof line. Maybe a bit more. There was a Multi pin Connector below the right hand pillar . Right behind the end cap of the Dash. White wire with green stripe on one end. Open on the other to insert the wire. Mine is a 2500.

do you have a sunroof?
did you remove the entire headliner?

 

[G. Mcpherson]

I have a sunroof. It made it easier. The headliner comes down easy. Front and side pillars gives you more room. Remove the visors and visor holders. I used a big piece of plastic to catch the shavings. Velcro holds up the headliner mostly on mine. Only lowering the headliner from the side pillars forward is needed.

 

[Machria]

Here is a few helpful tips:
1. After laying out the template and taping it down (which I found really easy?? not sure why everyone thinks it's hard? It's clearly marked...), use a nice sharp punch to punch a mark into the paint/metal where each hole will be drilled (per markings on template). Do NOT be shy with the punch, hit is pretty good to make a nice dimple in the roof so the drill bit will stay there when drilling.
2. BEFORE drilling the large proper size holes, FIRST use a 1/8" drill bit, and drill each hole location where the punch mark is. The 1/8" drill bit will go thru nice and clean and easy, dead on your spots since you have a nice punch mark to keep the bit from wandering.
3. Now and only now, take the proper size bits and drill each hole to full size. With the 1/8" holes, the bit will go in nice and easy and straight again without wandering.
4. For the large center holes for the light, (I forget, 3/4"?? whatever they are...) I used a HOLESAW, not a regular type drill bit. This made for much less shavings, and just one big round piece after the cut. So just a bit of light vacuuming cleaned up all very nicely. A regular bit would leave much more junk up there...
5. I have the sunroof, which made ALL the work much easier since I stood in the truck with one foot on the passengers seat and the other foot on the drivers seat with my head and shoulders/arms out the sunroof with nice easy access to the roof.
6. I only removed the A pillars, and the sun visors and very carefully and lightly pulled down the headliner about 6" along the top of the windshield. This gave me about 3 or 4" to reach in back by the sunroof. Do NOT pull it down more than that because it will start to bend on the sides which will leave a crease in it. When I was pulling it down, I noticed it started to crease a little so I simply pushed it back up an inch to stop that from occurring and kept vigilant about letting it drop anymore. I have nothing visible on my headliner now.
7. When screwing the light covers down onto the plastic inserts, if they are spinning (as reported above by "Maligator"), just put a bit of sideways/angled pressure on the screwdriver while turning. It makes the insert kind of get stuck on the side of the metal hole to keep it from turning.

Here's a few pics during my install, you can see how far I pulled the headliner down. I had no issue at all with any of this part. Finding the right power was another story.


Oh, lastly somebody was asking about the height of the lights installed, "how much height did it add to the roof for clearance...". Well, NONE. The tops of my lights are actually below the highest part of roof (toward the back) because the roof dips down toward the front where these get installed.

 

[JB1]

Thanks for the tips, I don’t have a sunroof so I’m not sure what all I’ll have to remove to gain access, the headliner issue is the only thing I’m Leary about. I don’t want it sagging or making noises afterwards.

 

[G. Mcpherson]

There should be no issues with sag or anything. It's held up also with Velcro. Visors and Holders along with the rubber trim hold it up. Nothing else to remove.

 

[Solid State]

@ Machria, curious were did you end up tapping your power lead? I assume you got them running?

 

[Maligator]

Here is a few helpful tips:
1. After laying out the template and taping it down (which I found really easy?? not sure why everyone thinks it's hard? It's clearly marked...), use a nice sharp punch to punch a mark into the paint/metal where each hole will be drilled (per markings on template). Do NOT be shy with the punch, hit is pretty good to make a nice dimple in the roof so the drill bit will stay there when drilling.
2. BEFORE drilling the large proper size holes, FIRST use a 1/8" drill bit, and drill each hole location where the punch mark is. The 1/8" drill bit will go thru nice and clean and easy, dead on your spots since you have a nice punch mark to keep the bit from wandering.
3. Now and only now, take the proper size bits and drill each hole to full size. With the 1/8" holes, the bit will go in nice and easy and straight again without wandering.
4. For the large center holes for the light, (I forget, 3/4"?? whatever they are...) I used a HOLESAW, not a regular type drill bit. This made for much less shavings, and just one big round piece after the cut. So just a bit of light vacuuming cleaned up all very nicely. A regular bit would leave much more junk up there...
5. I have the sunroof, which made ALL the work much easier since I stood in the truck with one foot on the passengers seat and the other foot on the drivers seat with my head and shoulders/arms out the sunroof with nice easy access to the roof.
6. I only removed the A pillars, and the sun visors and very carefully and lightly pulled down the headliner about 6" along the top of the windshield. This gave me about 3 or 4" to reach in back by the sunroof. Do NOT pull it down more than that because it will start to bend on the sides which will leave a crease in it. When I was pulling it down, I noticed it started to crease a little so I simply pushed it back up an inch to stop that from occurring and kept vigilant about letting it drop anymore. I have nothing visible on my headliner now.
7. When screwing the light covers down onto the plastic inserts, if they are spinning (as reported above by "Maligator"), just put a bit of sideways/angled pressure on the screwdriver while turning. It makes the insert kind of get stuck on the side of the metal hole to keep it from turning.

Here's a few pics during my install, you can see how far I pulled the headliner down. I had no issue at all with any of this part. Finding the right power was another story.


Oh, lastly somebody was asking about the height of the lights installed, "how much height did it add to the roof for clearance...". Well, NONE. The tops of my lights are actually below the highest part of roof (toward the back) because the roof dips down toward the front where these get installed.


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Good write up, my template issue stemmed from it being folded up and trying to get it to lay completely flat was tedious. Wanted to make sure the measurements were spot on. Also I did it outside and any slight wind gust tried to use it as a parachute. I'm glad this thread has taken off, alot of Info about this mod was kinda hard to come by

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[JB1]

don't have to remove the upper overhead console?

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Nope

 

[Solid State]

don't have to remove the upper overhead console?

He might not have had to since he has the sunroof. The liner around the sunroof is attached with some velcro and plastic. Not the same without sunroof. A plastic putty knife pops the upper console down very easily. There are a few videos on youtube on how to do so. I would recommend doing this on yours. Very easy, and will give you more room. I suppose you could always do the A pillars and door seals first, and then decide if you need to drip the upper console for more working room.

 

[matt.davidson09]

Selfless plug, selling a set of smoked Recon lights in the For Sale section [emoji847]

Gen 4 Ram 1500 parts
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sh...ads/Gen-4-Ram-1500-parts.114326/&share_type=t


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[Machria]

@ Machria, curious were did you end up tapping your power lead? I assume you got them running?

Yes, I did finally get on. I was waiting for my replacement grill (a deer hit me and broke my grille), so I could take it off, remove the headlight and then put back together with the new grill and a light bar I installed on the new grill.

So I ended up tapping off the back of the headlight on the drivers side.

 

[JB1]

I do not have a sunroof on my crew cab.....with that in mind, if I just removed the A pillars, visors and upper console, would that give me enough arm space to install the harness etc?


Anyone have a picture from the side door showing how much arm space you have to access and install the harness?

 

[G. Mcpherson]

It has been done that way. If you should have trouble getting in there then you could remove the other two. Just be careful to not Bend or crease the headliner.

 

[JB1]

Well I thought if I put plastic liner up above like a drop cloth to catch the shavings, then used the upper console hole for access to the center connectors and access others from sides I might not need all the extra room. Of course having never done this I’m not sure

 

[G. Mcpherson]

Your on the right track. I used a large sheet of plastic to catch most all of the shavings. Just take your time with everything.

 

[Machria]

I'm not sure why you guys are so concerened with the "shavings". Use a hole saw type bit and there really aren't many shavings, and if you leave a few shavings in the headliner, who cares, there's nothing up there to worry about....

 

[S0CAL]

There should be no issues with sag or anything. It's held up also with Velcro. Visors and Holders along with the rubber trim hold it up. Nothing else to remove.

Maybe this changed after 2010, but I completely took mine down, no velcro anywhere. @JB1, this is not going to sag on you, the headliner is rigid foam, and is secured by the visors, A pilars (B and C for that matter) and the door seals. That badboy won't sag. BUT... while you are up there, consider taping down the cabling. When I took mine down, the console harness and associated wiring was making a "scratching noise" so I taped it. No more problems.

I have a DIY video on headliner removal in 4thGen Forums if interested (insert shameless plug).

I am tempted to get back up there and do these cab lights (May do the smoked recon white ones).