DIY: 2013-2017 RA3/RA4 8.4" Radio Upgrade/HVAC Conversion

[cswift]

Big shoutout to MPGrimm2. I upgraded my tradesman 2500 to an RA4 with Single ATC. I had a fully manual mirror and used his guide for the mirror (harness pn for clearance lights, mirror pn). Mike made me the necessary harnesses and provided the appropriate bezel, with a 4 day turnaround time (with shipping). He knows his stuff and stands out for his knowledge base and customer service.

Thanks Mike!

 

[DrewFire]

Hey, Mike. I was wondering if you could help me here. I may have screwed I may have not, we shall see!
I'm running a Canadian Ram Sport with the factory VP3 8" UConnect screen and it works great, I purchased a 2019 8.4" screen with carplay off of a friend and he included the media hub for his 2017. To my understanding I need the wiring for dual usb to work and to work the carplay/android auto feature.
I tied it all in to try and the radio/sat/bluetooth work perfectly. The backup camera doesn't and I don't think it will from now on. Unless you know of a fix.
Can you point me in the right direction to get the media hub working with the android auto. The original hub is the sd/usb/aux hub about 1.5" tall and 2.5" wide.
If needed I'll be buying the wiring off of you to get it all working properly.
Thanks for any help!

 

[Mpgrimm2]

Hey, Mike. I was wondering if you could help me here. I may have screwed I may have not, we shall see!
I'm running a Canadian Ram Sport with the factory VP3 8" UConnect screen and it works great, I purchased a 2019 8.4" screen with carplay off of a friend and he included the media hub for his 2017. To my understanding I need the wiring for dual usb to work and to work the carplay/android auto feature.
I tied it all in to try and the radio/sat/bluetooth work perfectly. The backup camera doesn't and I don't think it will from now on. Unless you know of a fix.
Can you point me in the right direction to get the media hub working with the android auto. The original hub is the sd/usb/aux hub about 1.5" tall and 2.5" wide.
If needed I'll be buying the wiring off of you to get it all working properly.
Thanks for any help!

I'm send you a message to get things started.

 

[Style61]

Converting a 2013+ (thru 2016) RA1/RA2 MTC bezel
with 4 speed blower
to a RA3/RA4 MTC bezel and Radio. ​

** POST 17 : Important note/Caution about using cheap cloned blower resistors **




It’s been quite a journey developing this harness along with Getupkid, Duneflyer, Mondo myself and several others. We now have a complete DIY solution for upgrading to the RA4 or RA3 from the RA1 and RA2 radios. The basic Radio is PNP now that we can use the 8.4 bezel and HVAC controls.

There are currently two factory setups for the hvac blower: the 7 speed and the 4 speed.

This is how I understand how the trucks were built, if they were equipped with the RA1 or RA2 radios.

2013 1500's have the 4 speed blower setup. (Fixed Displacement Compressor)
2013-2018 2500/3500's have the 4 speed blower set up. (Fixed Displacement Compressor)
2014-2018 1500's have the 7 speed blower set up (Var. Displacement Compressor)

NOTE:
The conversion for the 7 speed factory fan set up while similar is different and involves not only a different HVAC module but the pinouts for the conversion harness are also slightly different, see Post 2.​

Parts Required For MOD:

01. 8.4 Uconnect Radio (VP3/RA3 - Non-Nav) or (VP4/RA4 - Nav)
** For Compatible RA4 Radios see here. **Check car-part.com, Schram, ebay, etc.

02. SINGLE ZONE OEM 8.4" (MTC) BEZEL: 1UJ96DX9AF (AC, AD, AE, etc)
** Optional: DUAL ZONE 8.4" (ATC) BEZEL, while not preferred, will work. See POST 15

03. Base to 8.4 Radio Conversion Harness (4 speed Fan specific):
. . See below to make your own in standard or extended length
. . (or get an extended one from: M² Mods )

04. HVAC CONTROL MODULE: 68105017Ax (AA, AB, etc) (4 to 7 speed Fan specific). Replaces 68186216Ax, 68236773Ax, 68268187Ax.
. . ** If you use the wrong/incompatible module (ie xxxx8186Ax = No A/C & 6 vs 7 fan speeds)

< 10/4/19 edit > 2018 2500/3500's w/UAx = 68366553Ax HVAC module. See post 89.
** UAx Radio Upgrade has very high likelyhood of HVAC Blend door issues that are fixed by adding the ATC wiring mod with conversion. See links in UAQ/UAS Upgrade thread. **

05. Fan Motor Power/Resistor Harness: 68048906AA (Req's Modification)
. . (or see DeereGuy's write-up of 00R/T's notes to make your own at roll-up posts 1765-1766 or get the plug-n-play version at M² Mods ... watch out for poorly made ones elsewhere)

06. 7spd Blower Resistor: 68048901AA (same as Denso PN 499300-2121) See ebay ad and Post 51 )

07. 911 Error Fix/Cell Bypass Plug: (or SharkFin Antenna mod)
. . See note 1 (below) to make your own or get one from M² Mods.

View attachment 417864

Mpg2's Instruction Sheet References:
- 2013-2017 8.4 Conv for 4 Speed Fan Trucks 7-6-17.pdf v1 <----- RECOMMENDED READING
- 2013-2016 Ram Radio Removal 6-27-16.pdf
- 2013-2016 Ram RearView Mirror (w/mics) Upgrade & Harness install 7-8-16.pdf



Optional parts
- PLEASE SEE POST 2

NOTE 1:
You can omit the Antenna body cable, Antenna jumper cable, and shark fin antenna if you get the Bypass Plug from M² Mods

Or you can make your own using the following parts (search ebay and amazon for these)
Farka D connector/Pigtail with 2 to 6 inch lead
10k Ohm Resistor with 5% tolerance, 1/2 watt.

Just solder one end of the resistor to the center wire and the other end to the wire shielding. Tape it up with electrical tape or heat shrink it.

Connectors & Pins to Make Conversion Harness
08. 24 Pin Connector 1: 1318917-1 TE Connectivity | Mouser
09. 24 Pin Connector 1 - (F) Sockets: 1123343-1 TE Connectivity / AMP | Mouser
10. 24 Pin Connector 2: 1376103-1 TE Connectivity | Mouser
11. 24 Pin Connector 2 - (M) Pins: 1376109-1 TE Connectivity / AMP | Mouser
12. 08 Pin Female - Connector: 30700-1081 Molex | Mouser
13. 08 Pin Female - (F) Sockets: 1393366-1 TE Connectivity / AMP | Mouser

Connector/Harness Reference:
- 8 Pin Center Stack HVAC Conn 0307001081 AS-30700-000 Series Instruction Sheet.pdf
- 24 Pin HVAC TEconn 025series Instruction Sheet 411-5928_G4.pdf
- Cptwing's harness making notes at Post 9
- Mpgrimm2 Harness Soldering Notes at Post 13

14. Wire 22 gauge 50.0 inches long QTY of 20
15. Wire 22 gauge 18.0 inches long QTY of 5
16. Electrical tape one roll should be enough
17. Wire ties
18. Heat Shrink
19. Solder/Soldering Iron
20. Split Wire loom or Nylon Braided Sleeving

Along with this you will need the following:
21. Wire strippers..
22. Crimpers double roll type recommend ratchet type
.... See post 12 for some notes on possible crimpers.
23. Heat gun
24. Small awl or similar tool to de pin connector

Here is a shot of everything needed except that some tools are not shown.
dscn0418 - 4spd parts layout.jpg
View attachment 417865

The diagram shown below details the conversion harness and pinouts of the various connectors, what is not shown and will be addressed later is how part 1 above ties into it, at pin 17 on the module side.

CptWing RA4 Conversion Harness layout - 4spd w/Mpg2 Edits 4-16-17.jpg


And after a bit of work and eye strain your harness should look something like this...

dscn0425 - Complete Extended 4spd Conversion harness.jpg
View attachment 417866

I hope you can help. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Tradesman that came with the 5" blue tooth radio and I installed a RA4 #68270661AF with Nav. I also installed a harness from CarplayNav with control module P68105017AE
My original 7 speed fan now only goes up to 6 but some times goes up to 7 with no difference between 6 and 7 speed. Im also getting the 911 error even though I installed the 911 service disabler, Also my bezel is a dual zone with auto and I would like to enable the auto function.

 

[Mpgrimm2]

I hope you can help. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Tradesman that came with the 5" blue tooth radio and I installed a RA4 #68270661AF with Nav. I also installed a harness from CarplayNav with control module P68105017AE
My original 7 speed fan now only goes up to 6 but some times goes up to 7 with no difference between 6 and 7 speed. Im also getting the 911 error even though I installed the 911 service disabler, Also my bezel is a dual zone with auto and I would like to enable the auto function.

... And any word from the folks you bought the harness from? (I have dealt with them before, and I won't again)

Is this a 2019 4th gen classic 5 lug truck or newer 5th Gen with 6 lug

 

[OutlawTrucker]

I did the RA2-RA4 upgrade with Mike's harness. Stupid easy plug n play. Even kept my heated seats and wheel control in the radio screen. I no longer have those buttons on the dash because I installed the factory aux switches and with the RA4 radio I can have my heated seats and aux switches. Talk about having your cake and eating it too

Headlights are from retroshop. 2015 ram 2500 6.7

 

[Style61]

... And any word from the folks you bought the harness from? (I have dealt with them before, and I won't again)

Is this a 2019 4th gen classic 5 lug truck or newer 5th Gen with 6 lug

Yes, I spoke to them but they were not much help. Yes its a 2019 4th Gen 5 lug

 

[reddawg67]

Hi , just completed the 8.4 upgrade with a 2017 ra3 non nav 225 hvac module used 145 8.4 bezel 150 with the atc buttonpractically new ! and the awsome wirring harness from @Mpgrimm2 and M2mods for 210 with the atc bulit in . grand total 730.oo alot cheaper than the 1400 bucks from infotainment peeps and works like a charm . Tanks again @Mpgrimm2 for the tech support . But the wife says i cant talk to you anymore lol to many mod ideas ! Also up dated the files from this post with no glitches and works flawlessly ! Thanks to all who keep this thread updated and put in the time working on these upgrades ! My 2017 ram 1500 express 5.7 hemi is coming around slowly . atc upgrade is next then heated and cooled leather seats if its affordable lol .... shhh dont tell the wife (wink)

 

[Mpgrimm2]

I hope you can help. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 classic Tradesman that came with the 5" blue tooth radio and I installed a RA4 #68270661AF with Nav. I also installed a harness from CarplayNav with control module P68105017AE
My original 7 speed fan now only goes up to 6 but some times goes up to 7 with no difference between 6 and 7 speed. Im also getting the 911 error even though I installed the 911 service disabler, Also my bezel is a dual zone with auto and I would like to enable the auto function.

Yes, I spoke to them but they were not much help. Yes its a 2019 4th Gen 5 lug

I've got another CarPlayNav customer reaching out with issues ...

 

[JKeeling1020]

I have a Ra2 system and bezel going in a 2015 that has cut harness it was a ra3 system b4 it was stolen I need a giagram for the 24 pin ra2 &the 8 pin ra3 HVAC can someone please help I've looked high and low an still no luck