I bought my 2500 new in September of 2002, the last of the 2nd Gens. Of course, unless ordered with them, the 2500's don't come with cab lights so I bought the Mopar kit the same day.

Today I finally got around to installing them, 8 1/2 years later.

As some or most of you know, in the last few years,there have been issues with the 3rd Gen template being included with the 2nd Gen kit when bought from the dealer.

I figured I was OK because my kit was manufactured/boxed on June of 2000 according to the label on the box, 2 years before my truck was even built.. The instructions and the template were for a 3rd Gen!!!! Until today, the box has never been opened. Go figure.

I will post pics here in the next little bit but it was a 2 hour install, pretty simple to say the least. Didn't need the template, just went by the holes in the cab under the headliner.

Looks pretty good, I should have done it 8 years ago!!!

Pics and a bit of tutorial to come shortly.

Jeff

 

Looking foreward to seeing them. Getting ready to do it to my 01 I just inherited. I think when I put cab lights on my 91 I used a socket and an extension to get the spacing right! I'm most curious to know if there is a wire already there for you to just connect to or if you have to tap into a wire?

 

A quick run down.

Just for the fact that a portion of this is really a no brainer, I'm not going to get to carried away with details on some aspects of this install. And because of a crappy camera, some of the pics didn't turn out but the important ones did.

This is on a 2002 Quad cab using the Mopar parts factory clearance light kit just to clarify. Any light system you want to use is good to go. The only real difference would be the screw mounting locations of whatever light you decide to use.

The removal of the headliner is about a 15 minute job. The usual stuff like the overhead console, sun visors and related hardware, coat hooks, rear seat belts and dome light all come out. In my case being a quad cab, there were the "covers" around the upper rear door latch and 4 headliner press in retainers.

When you unbolt the upper mount of the rear seat belts, just lay it on the seat and pop the upper B pillar trim loose, you don't have to completely remove it. As for the A pillar covers, just remove the drivers side.

It takes a little wiggling and such but you can work the headliner out of the truck. BEFORE YOU PULL THE HEADLINER, WASH YOUR HANDS!!!! It will save some unwanted marks and dirt.

All said and done, this is what you see.

I couldn't get low enough but you can see the 3 center light holes in the sheetmetal. The wiring you see is for the overhead console and the rear view mirror.

The factory Mopar kit says to use a 7/8 inch hole saw. I used a 1 inch because I had one on hand.

Now remember, I didn't use the template to mark the locations of the lights. From inside the cab, I just centered the hole saw in the existing "light" holes and just drilled the pilot hole through the sheetmetal to the outside.



After you have "marked" the 5 holes from inside, head out and proceed to drill through the sheetmetal to the inside with the hole saw. A word of caution........Let the saw do the work, don't force it or you will dent or warp the sheetmetal. It's pretty thin up there.

For the mounting screw holes, I cheated a bit. I cut one of the light base drawings off the supplied template. I enlarged the center hole to be a little bigger than my 1 inch hole in the sheetmetal so I could line the smaller template up to where I wanted it. I then proceeded to drill a 1/16 inch hole to mark my screw hole locations.



The anchors in the factory kit for the mounting screws suck, simple as that. Your putting a round anchor in a round hole. What happens is that when you go to run the screw in, the anchor will spin in the sheetmetal. There is nothing to lock it in place. If your lucky and the screw runs down tight, great, but it will never come out again without spinning. Fortunately, the factory anchor has a big enough lip on it that I "pinned" the anchor into the sheetmetal with a 1/16 pop rivet. It will never spin when the mounting screw goes in or out. Unfortunately that pic didn't turn out but I think you get the idea that I am referring to.

After all this it's pretty simple. All 5 light sockets just pop up through the holes, install the bulbs and screw the lights down. In my case I used some black RTV sealant on the screw holes more for an extra level of sealing. The wiring harness isn't as long as it should be so it can be a bit of a wrestle to get the sockets into the lights themselves but it's do able.

For bulbs, I would recommend LED's. More for the sake of not having to be pulling a light off to replace a regular bulb when it goes. The less you have to play with a clearance light, the less of a chance of a possible leak. Also, another reason for LED's is for the power source.

The harness comes with enough wire to reach the power distribution box under the hood. More hassle than it's worth to run it there. I'm sure most of us all have or are going to have gauges on the pillar. With the minimal draw of LED's, just pull the power off your gauge lighting.

I did this because I never use the dimmer on my instrument panel, it's been set on the brightest setting since the day I bought my truck so they are wired there. If you do use the dimmer for your panel lights, then you should run it down to either the headlight switch or into the Power Distribution box other wise, your clearance lights will dim and brighten as you use the dimmer switch.

After the electrical hook up, put it all back together and enjoy the new look of your truck.

The entire install took me 2 hours and 3 minutes start to finish. I was taking my time to remove what had to be removed carefully. That time even included running a new Sirius antenna under and around the windshield weatherstripping to below the center marker light.

Honestly, the hardest part of the entire job was the center light on the roof. There is no real easy way to access it. The 2 outer lights on each side can easily be accessed by just standing in the open door with you butt wedged in to the A pillar area. The center light requires a bit of reaching off a ladder or step.

I realize that this was a short and simple explanation but there really is nothing to it other than a bit of remove and replace. It's a little hard to swallow as you run a drill bit through the sheetmetal of your truck. Other than that, it's a nice simple afternoon job.

I hope this helps someone when it comes to adding clearance lights to your truck.

Jeff

 

Say someone wanted to run their 'home made harness' for their un-official non-mopar lights, but still wanted to run to the power box under the hood, Do you have the diagram that shows where and how to hook in to?

 

Black and Yellow wire right?

 

Been out of town and just noticed your post.

At the moment, I can't say the color but Green seems to come to mind, I'll have to check tonight.

Green and Violet seems to stick in my mind for some reason but bear in mind that the instructions said to route the wire to the Power Distribution box under the hood so that may change the colors from going to the back of the headlight switch.

Let me check tonight.

Jeff

 

I have done this install also and one recommendation I would suggest is to have a helper hold a solo or other type of cup under the holes as you drill. Getting those little shavings out of the seats and carpet isn't the easiest. I used AggiePhils site when I did mine. The link is below. Just some extra help for anyone who has not done it.

I agree...its a great mod and I am happy I did it.

Clearance Light Tutorial

swordfish

 

Hey 307kw, I used the black/yellow wire on the back of my headlight switch. Did the non-mopar lights also. And I didn't need to use a hole saw. No leaks or issues so far, and I've driven thru some gnarly storms and it sat out in the weather in North Dakota for 5 weeks thru jan and feb.

 

I was just going to do a hole enough for my one wire and probably put a grommet on it and then some clear slilicone just for a added line of defense. Excited to go by Napa and find that my lights came in so I can get to puttin em in!

 

Hey,

I was getting ready to install a set of cab lights this weekend on mine. I was just curious if you happen to know the exact diameter of the factory holes that are already in the cab roof? I noticed that you were using a 1" hole saw but it looked like the factory holes were a little larger. I was just going to try to get an exact measurement of it so i could center it perfectly. Thanks for the info.

 

check out the link I post in post #7...

 

thanks. i measured it tonight when i took out the center console and it was 1 1/8" exact.

do you guys happen to know what size the torx screw is on the back seat seatbelts? i was taking everything apart tonight & realized i didn't have a torx bit that was the right size to take the top part of seatbelt off....