Late 3rd gen dash in early 3rd gen

[Sn4tchBandicoot]

I know guys have done it, but has anyone done it and retained the use of the original heater switches, headlight switch etc from the late 3rd gen dash?

I picked up a dash without harness since I know I’ll have to swap my original one for the cluster connection and all that.

 

[Fishstickz]

I know things will bolt right in, but as for the switches, I’m not sure. I would imagine the headlight switch uses the same connector, but the newer HVAC switches may have different connector pin outs and wiring since its tied into the CAN-bus systems on the 06+ trucks. I could be wrong on that one though, best thing to do is just to compare the pinouts between early 3rd gens and later 3rd gens and compare connector shapes n sizes


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[Sn4tchBandicoot]

I know things will bolt right in, but as for the switches, I’m not sure. I would imagine the headlight switch uses the same connector, but the newer HVAC switches may have different connector pin outs and wiring since its tied into the CAN-bus systems on the 06+ trucks. I could be wrong on that one though, best thing to do is just to compare the pinouts between early 3rd gens and later 3rd gens and compare connector shapes n sizes


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So I went ahead and did it. Quick run down here:

The hvac controls are different in the wiring somewhere, simple to fix, just swap the original guts into the new panel.

Passenger airbag is a two stage so there’s wiring there to be handled but I haven’t gotten that far.

Headlight switch is pinned out differently but should be able to swap the connector and pin out and go.

You need to swap the entire wiring harness for the dash as well since the later 3rds are CAN-bus as you mentioned.

Everything else bolts right in.

 

[Fishstickz]

So I went ahead and did it. Quick run down here:

The hvac controls are different in the wiring somewhere, simple to fix, just swap the original guts into the new panel.

Passenger airbag is a two stage so there’s wiring there to be handled but I haven’t gotten that far.

Headlight switch is pinned out differently but should be able to swap the connector and pin out and go.

You need to swap the entire wiring harness for the dash as well since the later 3rds are CAN-bus as you mentioned.

Everything else bolts right in.

Well heck yeah, once you're all done upload some pics of the new dash! I'm sure some folks who have the infamous cracked dashes on their early 3rd gens might like this swap better than putting another brittle early 3rd gen dash in.

I remember reading stuff about the 1-stage airbags to 2-stage I think from a steering wheel swap thread. It's been awhile but I seem to remember something about sending the wiring to only the second stage of the airbag? Don't take my word for it though my memory might be wrong lol

EDIT- Yep I halfway remembered right
2002 and 2003 had single stage airbags which are high speed only, While 2004+ has 2 stage, low and high speed. All you'll have to do to get it working is figure out which connectors on the new airbag are for the high speed, wire it up, and you're good to go

 

[HemiLonestar]

Passenger airbag is a two stage so there’s wiring there to be handled but I haven’t gotten that far.

I remember reading stuff about the 1-stage airbags to 2-stage I think from a steering wheel swap thread. It's been awhile but I seem to remember something about sending the wiring to only the second stage of the airbag? Don't take my word for it though my memory might be wrong lol

EDIT- Yep I halfway remembered right
2002 and 2003 had single stage airbags which are high speed only, While 2004+ has 2 stage, low and high speed. All you'll have to do to get it working is figure out which connectors on the new airbag are for the high speed, wire it up, and you're good to go

Probably mine lol. Yeah this. Black to black for high velocity deploy, which is what the 02-03's single stage is.

 

[Airwaves17]

So follow up question to all of this? What is exactly needing to be done with the airbag setup to get it work? That’s the last step in my dashswap. Going from the single stage to the 2 stage setup.
Any further help would be appreciated.