Just installed the Mopar power steps. Very pleased but thought I would share a few tips to avoid time sucks that I fell victim to.
Time savings #1. You do NOT need to remove the wheels and fender wells on this truck as the instructions suggest. I didn't remove the wheels but I did loosen all the screws on one fender well. Waste of 30 mins or so...
The wiring is a 2 part harness.
The first part (largest harness) is snaked through the firewall gromet on the drivers side. The grommet must be sliced on the border to fit the wires through. I removed the 2 screws at the bottom of the driver's side dash and pulled out the the remaing clips (pull straight out.. standard automotive clips). I used a cut coat hanger. Fished it through the sliced grommet from the inside to the outside (under the hood). A little 3M electrical tape on the side of the largest harness with the spades (not plugs) and it attached to the coat hanger and pulled right through (from outside to inside).
The other side of the largest harness (now under the hood) has three segments. One is for power. You are on the side of the battery so run it to the power distribution block in front of the battery. Instructions are not bad on this part. Don't connect it to the lug at this time. The other two pieces have plugs on them. The longer one goes to the passenger side. There is a wire channel up top (instructions show it). Use flatblade screwdriver to remove the top piece of each clip. Then do the second piece of each clip. The first piece is a pin that expands the second piece. Once removed the passenger side cable can be routed by tucking it up into the channel.
Route the driver side down the wheel well. You can push on them from the back side (looking from under the hood to flex them and keep the wire out of the hot zone. They are just plastic and will bend back as soon as you push them from the other side.
Do the same for the passenger side.
Now on the inside. The piece of the harness you snaked through the firewall has spades. They provide an automotive plug (gray) for you to plug these into.
TIP: be very carefully to plug them in correctly they are a nightmare to remove once they click into place. Check and double check before you snap.
Some of these spades also go into the black (smaller harness).
TIP: for the gray harness, I'm either color blind or their color abbreviations don't make sense to me. The BN/GN is brown and green, great. GN is green, great. Then you are left with Brown and Black and Brown. By process of elimination I plugged Brown into BG and the brown and black into BN/BG... it worked.
Once you have the spades hooked up. Plug both into the module they provide. Black is on left and gray is on right if you are looking at the top of the module and the ports are pointed at you.
The mounting location for the module was not clear for me. It is under the dash (driver side) to the left of the brake pedal. You will see a flat piece of sound deadening material. Use the 3 push clips provided to mount the module.
The only remaining things to do with regard to wiring are:
The small clip coming out of the black harness can go into any open slot on the factory module located in driverside kick panel. Instructions do a good job visually locating this.
The ground wire (with ring spade) goes on grounding spade in kick panel as well.
Plug in your boards as soon as they are mounted.
To mount the boards, motors always go forward. Lift them by the step, not the cross bar (sticker on crossbar tells you this right out of the box).
Slide them on existing bolts and use 6 provided nuts (either side to secure).
Now connect the power to the distribution block that you ran previously under the hood but didn't connect.
Wire tie everything, install clips, put back screws in dash.
Enjoy your easy climb into your beast. Return home, grab your favorite glass and tune into Dram of the Day with @soulsea.
Took me 2 hours. With tips I learned I think you can do it in 1.5 hours.
Time savings #1. You do NOT need to remove the wheels and fender wells on this truck as the instructions suggest. I didn't remove the wheels but I did loosen all the screws on one fender well. Waste of 30 mins or so...
The wiring is a 2 part harness.
The first part (largest harness) is snaked through the firewall gromet on the drivers side. The grommet must be sliced on the border to fit the wires through. I removed the 2 screws at the bottom of the driver's side dash and pulled out the the remaing clips (pull straight out.. standard automotive clips). I used a cut coat hanger. Fished it through the sliced grommet from the inside to the outside (under the hood). A little 3M electrical tape on the side of the largest harness with the spades (not plugs) and it attached to the coat hanger and pulled right through (from outside to inside).
The other side of the largest harness (now under the hood) has three segments. One is for power. You are on the side of the battery so run it to the power distribution block in front of the battery. Instructions are not bad on this part. Don't connect it to the lug at this time. The other two pieces have plugs on them. The longer one goes to the passenger side. There is a wire channel up top (instructions show it). Use flatblade screwdriver to remove the top piece of each clip. Then do the second piece of each clip. The first piece is a pin that expands the second piece. Once removed the passenger side cable can be routed by tucking it up into the channel.
Route the driver side down the wheel well. You can push on them from the back side (looking from under the hood to flex them and keep the wire out of the hot zone. They are just plastic and will bend back as soon as you push them from the other side.
Do the same for the passenger side.
Now on the inside. The piece of the harness you snaked through the firewall has spades. They provide an automotive plug (gray) for you to plug these into.
TIP: be very carefully to plug them in correctly they are a nightmare to remove once they click into place. Check and double check before you snap.
Some of these spades also go into the black (smaller harness).
TIP: for the gray harness, I'm either color blind or their color abbreviations don't make sense to me. The BN/GN is brown and green, great. GN is green, great. Then you are left with Brown and Black and Brown. By process of elimination I plugged Brown into BG and the brown and black into BN/BG... it worked.
Once you have the spades hooked up. Plug both into the module they provide. Black is on left and gray is on right if you are looking at the top of the module and the ports are pointed at you.
The mounting location for the module was not clear for me. It is under the dash (driver side) to the left of the brake pedal. You will see a flat piece of sound deadening material. Use the 3 push clips provided to mount the module.
The only remaining things to do with regard to wiring are:
The small clip coming out of the black harness can go into any open slot on the factory module located in driverside kick panel. Instructions do a good job visually locating this.
The ground wire (with ring spade) goes on grounding spade in kick panel as well.
Plug in your boards as soon as they are mounted.
To mount the boards, motors always go forward. Lift them by the step, not the cross bar (sticker on crossbar tells you this right out of the box).
Slide them on existing bolts and use 6 provided nuts (either side to secure).
Now connect the power to the distribution block that you ran previously under the hood but didn't connect.
Wire tie everything, install clips, put back screws in dash.
Enjoy your easy climb into your beast. Return home, grab your favorite glass and tune into Dram of the Day with @soulsea.
Took me 2 hours. With tips I learned I think you can do it in 1.5 hours.
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