Electrical rear window upgrade

[bellaireroad]

So this project is moving along. I had the rear window glass installed in a shop yesterday . It took about 1 1/2 hours .

I bought the new sliding glass from a guy on eBay. It is original Mopar, and was $400. After I bought the glass I got worried that my standard cab would not have the correct mounting location for the motor, but luckily after taking the rear trim panel down, everything was there . It essentially looked just like the picture Rick posted earlier.

There was no wiring present under the overhead console in my standard cab. With Rick’s help, I found an overhead console on eBay that had the appropriate wiring, connector, and switch. I have routed the wiring for the motor the rear of the truck, and found switched power with ground in the cigarette lighter in the front floor console.

The switch is also lit when the panel lights are turned on, and there is a panel light connection on the headlight switch I am going to tap into.

Waiting on the repair kit that has the connector for the motor before I get everything running. Will try to post pictures showing locations,when I get the wiring done.

This project has grown into another project, as projects sometimes do. I’m going to lay down some dynamat below the back window, and on the B columns. Might as well while I have everything off

Big shout out to Rick for all the help and guidance he has provided. He has basically walked me through all the steps, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without his help


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[bellaireroad]

So here’s a couple pictures where taps were made .The switch has five wires. All five get routed along the headliner to the A column.
Then the power, ground, and panel light wires get routed down the A column and the open\close wires get routed along the headliner to the B column. When at the bottom of the A column, the ground and power get routed behind the dash down into the console

This is the headlight switch connector. The wire dangling runs up the A column and into the window switch. It is for the switch light. The wire separated out of the headlight connector is for the panel lights. I Tapped into it






This is the cigar lighter connector in the console. It is on switched power. I pulled two wires from the switch, through the back of the dashboard. The wires from the window switch were not long enough and I had to splice two wires to the switch wires, white and black.. They then got spliced into the cigar lighter. I will get labeled to show what they are for future work.

These connectors are on a short leash, I was worried if I cut the wires and spliced it would shorten the connector and be difficult to plug back in. So on the connector wires, I stripped some of the insulation off, and teased the wire open. I then put the splice wire through the opening and wrapped it around the connector wire. Then everything gets soldered and wrapped. This lets your connector harness stay the same length so it will be guaranteed to plug-in

Still waiting on the connector for the motor. The switch does light up when the headlights are turned on, as it should


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[big daddys house]

So here’s a couple pictures where taps were made .The switch has five wires. All five get routed along the headliner to the A column.
Then the power, ground, and panel light wires get routed down the A column and the open\close wires get routed along the headliner to the B column. When at the bottom of the A column, the ground and power get routed behind the dash down into the console

This is the headlight switch connector. The wire dangling runs up the A column and into the window switch. It is for the switch light. The wire separated out of the headlight connector is for the panel lights. I Tapped into it






This is the cigar lighter connector in the console. It is on switched power. I pulled two wires from the switch, through the back of the dashboard. The wires from the window switch were not long enough and I had to splice two wires to the switch wires, white and black.. They then got spliced into the cigar lighter. I will get labeled to show what they are for future work.

These connectors are on a short leash, I was worried if I cut the wires and spliced it would shorten the connector and be difficult to plug back in. So on the connector wires, I stripped some of the insulation off, and teased the wire open. I then put the splice wire through the opening and wrapped it around the connector wire. Then everything gets soldered and wrapped. This lets your connector harness stay the same length so it will be guaranteed to plug-in

Still waiting on the connector for the motor. The switch does light up when the headlights are turned on, as it should


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Super nice! Thanks for the pics. How much time do you think you have in this at this point?

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[bellaireroad]

Haha .... It’s all about the journey.

No seriously, probably 5 -6 hours, But I work slow, and my first time to take off the trim ....etcetera.... so learning as I go. The subscription at Alldatadiy helped tremendously to show how to disassemble without tearing stuff up

Also, make sure your AC is working before attempting this. [emoji6]I am doing a automatic temperature control modification at the same time. I sent the bezel off to Mike so my AC isn’t working.
When they put the rear window in, you have to have all windows rolled up for two days to keep the cabin pressure low. Not fun when it’s 106° outside[emoji15]


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[bellaireroad]

This is the worst part of the whole project


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[Ricks Ram]

This is the worst part of the whole project


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So did you get her all done?

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[bellaireroad]

So did you get her all done?

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Hey Rick, all done and working perfectly! Laying down some Dynamat before I button it up. Thanks for all your help, especially helping me source the wiring....would still be thinking of doing it if not for you[emoji1303]


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[Ricks Ram]

Hey Rick, all done and working perfectly! Laying down some Dynamat before I button it up. Thanks for all your help, especially helping me source the wiring....would still be thinking of doing it if not for you[emoji1303]


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No problem glad to help and glad you got it done! You now probably have the only Ram R/T around with a power slider.

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[bellaireroad]

The Dynamat is almost impossible to work with when it is over 100 degrees outside. It is like flypaper and sticks to everything when trying to manipulate into position. I thought I’d try putting in the freezer for 15 minutes after cutting the shape needed....works great[emoji1303]


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[mjf6175]

No problem glad to help and glad you got it done! You now probably have the only Ram R/T around with a power slider.

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Well I finally took the plunge. After more than several PM's with RicksRam, Bellaireroad and MGrimm, I installed a power slider in my 2017 regular cab (SLT) 2500. A power slider is an option that you CANNOT get in an RC heavy duty. The ********* basically told me "Stop being a P***Y and install the damn thing.".....lol. Not easy to do when you have a severe case of OCD. Taking out a perfectly sealed manual sliding window and dropping the headliner without borking it up was not an easy decision for me. So with their encouragement, as well as several shots of Jack Daniels, I went ahead. While this thread already has pics and photos of how to add a power slider I thought I just add some more info and pics, in this way if there is somebody else who needs a push (like I did) to do this they have a good thread to reference.

I obtained a used overhead cab harness ( out of a wreck) that had a power slider. My main goal in getting this harness was to get the connector ( its red in the photos ) that goes to the power slider switch as well as a nice starting point of making up my own harness. After separating the power slider wires out of the cab harness I extended all the wires long enough to route through the cab. After dropping the headliner a couple of inches I snaked my harness from the overhead console to the rear driver's side "B" pillar (for those who have a CC or QC it would be your "C" pillar). Then down the inside of the cab, then over to the middle of the cab where the harness I made split into a "Y". One leg of the Y went into the console for power and ground (the switched 12V outlet that is in the console and I used a pass through harness to connect to it). The other leg of the Y ( the yellow and blue wires ) continued on and went to the power slider electric motor. That makes four wires out of the 5 needed. The fifth wire needed is for illumination of the power slider switch ( orange wire that can be seen in the second pic along with the red connector for the power slider switch ). As luck would have it, my HD has the exterior cab lights on the roof. The harness for those cab lights is immediately above the overhead console and was simple to tap the power lead ( white wire with green tracer) for the cab lights.

Since I am an older guy with an annoying rotator cuff the power slider is a welcomed addition. You may think a power slider is not needed in a RC, but you have to be doubled jointed with arms like an orangutan to open a manual slider while driving.

The power slider itself was installed by Safelite.

The harness I made up...
434740[/ATTACH]']

Power Slider Switch Connector and Illumination wire...
434742[/ATTACH]']

Closeup of that red connector.....
434744[/ATTACH]']

The 2 orange wires with the gray connector are from the repair kit (5161926AA) needed and mentioned above in one of RickRams posts. I eventually connected those 2 orange wires to the yellow and blue wires of my harness....
434746[/ATTACH]']

The power and ground leg of my harness that I connected to the 12V outlet in the console using the pass through adapter on the left....
434748[/ATTACH]']

Finished.....

https://i.imgur.com/LICyTkol.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/LICyTkol.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/LICyTkol.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/LICyTkol.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/cBYNYgOl.jpg[/img]']

 

[Rado]

Thanks for the update !

 

[bellaireroad]

Looking good. Weather is perfect for windows open[emoji1303]


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[Veritas726]

What gauge wire did you all use to make the harness?

 

[misfit77]

So are you guys tapping into the cigarette lighter as a power source?

I figured these motors can draw a lot of current. i didnt think cigarette lighters were fused for a lot of amps.

 

[Ricks Ram]

So are you guys tapping into the cigarette lighter as a power source?

I figured these motors can draw a lot of current. i didnt think cigarette lighters were fused for a lot of amps.

If you have a Quad or Crew Cab usually the power wire for the power sliding window is behind the trim panel on the drivers side C pillar. Its pink with a yellow stripe. Check it with a multimeter before you start your install. The wire should only have power only when the key is in the "Run" position.

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[misfit77]

I have an express. So everyone is saying no harness.

Still trying figuring where to spend 500 amazon gift card. Its this or tesla radio.

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[Veritas726]

Just wired mine up yesterday. Had the pillar power wire in my crew but opted for the center console cigarette lighter for power and ground as it was less length of wire to run. To answer my own question from a few posts up, I used 18 gauge wire.


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[Ricks Ram]

I have an express. So everyone is saying no harness.

Still trying figuring where to spend 500 amazon gift card. Its this or tesla radio.

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My truck is also an Express. It had the correct pink/yellow wire behind drivers side C pillar cover.

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[bellaireroad]

So are you guys tapping into the cigarette lighter as a power source?

I figured these motors can draw a lot of current. i didnt think cigarette lighters were fused for a lot of amps.

No problems or blown fuses here


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[DoughRat19]

The wiring is not present on the Express and Tradesman. It doesn't matter what options it has. The harness is actually part of the headliner and not available separately. It is standard equipment in the SLT/Bighorn and higher trim level trucks. The heated rear window wiring is also not present on the Express/Tradesman.

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@Ricks Ram, is this the wiring? If so, looks like it is available in my Express. I just gotta check the overhead console now.