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2003 Ram ST - SLT Conversion

14K views 56 replies 17 participants last post by  IN2H2O 
#1 · (Edited)
I recently retired my 2002 QC SLT with 325K miles in favor of a 2003 reg cab SL with 68K miles. Unfortunately the new truck is only a V6 and doesn't have much for options but I plan to change all that in the next couple months.

It was a one owner, garage kept unit that was super clean with low miles.

Here is how it looked the morning I picked it up...



and here it is again the following afternoon...

In just 16 short hours I was able to swap over the following list of parts from my old truck to the new.

20" Factory Alum rims with new Bridgestone Allenza tires.
20" factory spare with new Yokahama Parada spec-x tire
Bilstein 4600 series shocks
Wearever Platinum series brakes all around
Firestone rear airbags
rear bumper, including receiver hitch and 7 pin trailer plug
Tailgate assist cylinder
hood support lifts
Sylvania Halogen headlamps
Airraid Air cleaner filter
New spark plugs
Mobil 1 5w30 oil
Mopar oil filter
100W aircraft landing lights in place of factory foglamps
billet grill and airdam inserts
Power seats
RB1 Factory head unit with CD/DVD and NAV
Sirius Sat receiver
Midland cell phone booster



and yet again the following weekend after tinting windows and painting the bumper topper red...









 
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#2 · (Edited)
I've been busy the last week or so gathering parts for the next upgrade. This truck is getting a full power upgrade including;
Power windows,
Power door locks
Keyless entry
Power mirrors
Overhead console with homelink
and am now considering doing the infinity sound at the same time.

I have just about everything ordered now so UPS and Fedex should be making a few stops at our house next week. I found a few components out of a 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 so it will look pretty sharp in the end. I have to make one more stop at the auto wrecker to get the rest of the harness and door lock components to begin getting things in order to accept the upgrades.

The SL model harnesses don't have any of the wires needed so nothing is going to be plug and play on this project. To keep the factory look I am having to buy new instrument panel, heater control and steal all the harness and connectors out of a couple donor vehicles and fab up the rest.

Door panels...



Radio Bezel...



door switches...









 
#7 ·
SL trim is base trim with very few options. Crank windows, manual locks but it does have carpet on the floors, air, cruise and tilt.

An SLT truck that doesn't have options will at least have the connectors and wires so almost all options are plug and play. The SL does not have these points so I will have to add all of them. Thankfully I found the door harnesses and was able to get a portion of the harness that goes up into the dash so now I just have to fill in the gaps under the dash. Windows and mirrors will be fairly easy but if I want to utilize the OEM keyless entry system then I will have to construct the harness right up into the instrument cluster as well as replace the cluster with one that will accept the RKE module. I happen to already have one I bought for parts so I will have to see if I can swap the backplane so I don't have to have the new one programmed for my mileage.

All the parts showed up this week so the conversion will begin tomorrow morning after a quick tip to the auto wrecker for the last few harness pieces and door lock actuators. That is if I can actually convince them to move the donor vehicle so I can get the drivers door open this time. I will never understand why it's so hard to buy parts from a wrecker. Seems like they are all hoarders saving their parts for a nobler cause than mine.
 
#10 ·
Gotcha.. Thought it considered ST trim but i learn something new everyday.

Thanks for sharing the pics.
LOL, I must have my head up my azz. You are correct, it is ST and it's too late to change the thread title now.

Too busy thinking up mods to pay attention to the trim level I guess. There's also no badging on the truck to remind me either.

I started the conversion this afternoon after I got back from the auto wrecker. I scored the complete drivers door harness, both power lock actuators, a power mirror, temp sensor, Body Control Module and an Infinity amplifier, all for $15. I also chopped off every connector I could find so I should have plenty of terminals to use to patch together the new harness.

I got the power mirrors, lock actuators, heater control and overhead console installed today. I ran into a couple snags when I discovered that the door panels are different from a standard cab to a QC and the window motors are the wrong ones. I should be able to swap the inner panels between the door panels so that's not to big of a deal but the window actuators will have to be exchanged for the correct ones.

Since I was stalled out on the install, I dug into the harness and started to put my hands on all the points I'm going to have to add. It's going to be interesting but it shouldn't be too bad. I'm mapping it all out tonight and building a wiring schedule for tomorrow. Hopefully I can have the harness complete and tested tomorrow so the rest is plug and play.

The keyless entry module for the Ram is located within the instrument cluster but the Durango has an external module that I also hope to utilize and avoid modifying or replacing the cluster. This was a big discovery today so I hope it works out.

So far, the 2001 to 2003 Dodge Durango has been the donor vehicle and all the parts are working out great. The only connectors I haven't been able to find are the two for the overhead console.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I didn't get as far as I would have liked today, I stayed up till after midnight last night printing out all the necessary schematics and building a wiring schedule. After a 16hr day in 90+ weather I was pretty much totalled today so i basically just puttered today.

I did manage to get the temp sensor installed under the hood down on the inner fender but then later decided to do it right and put it up under the hood where it belongs and extend the harness down to the ICM. The sensor signal return wire splices into another existing wire but the main sensor wire is missing from my connector so I had to pull the C3 connector apart and add the missing wire. I had to pull C5 apart as well and add the two wires for the heated mirror relay circuit so I did that while I had it apart. Even though I grabbed a ton of spare connectors from the donor vehicle, it still took forever to go thru them and find terminals that would fit and lock into the connectors properly. That was pretty much what took up most of the day.

So, I also got the center console and power mirror installed and functional which was basically my goal for the day. Since I was unable to find any of the proper connector bodies to simply plug into the console, I was forced to modify other connectors to make them fit. Things went pretty quick after that. Lucky for me, I discovered that connector C201 on the left window pillar is fully populated with all the necessary wires already so all I had to do was connect the points with 5 new wires and 4 that spliced to existing wires for the dome lamp.

There is one connection missing still that goes to the instrument cluster but I was way too tired to dig into it tonight. It is the courtesy light ground for the glovebox light and map lights. I could just put the circuit to ground rather than tie it into the instrument panel ground but then I would be bypassing the vehicles feature where it turns off all lights if they get left on too long, (actually a pretty valuable feature). Until I get that wire installed the map lights can't be turned on from pressing the lens and the glovebox light won't work which are no biggies.

The Homelink garage door opener feature is working great as well and it only took a couple minutes to configure for our craftsman opener. I haven't tested it for range yet but so far I have no complaints.

After this weekend I have decided to take a slow and steady approach to this project. I was in a rush and figured I could bang it out in a weekend but that will not be the case. I am doing things correctly and wrapping everything in loom as I go and making things look OEM. It's going to take longer but it's going to be done right and will be trouble free for the life of the vehicle.

Sometime this next week I will start swapping the SRT Inserts into my door panels and hopefully have the correct window regulators. These two items are pretty much holding up the rest of the install so all I can do is prep and keep working on the wiring harness between the two doors for the locks, windows and power mirrors. The Durango harnesses need to be reconfigured as well so there is plenty of little things to be done yet.
 
#12 ·
Not sure why but the temperature reading on the overhead was stuck at 46F when I first hooked it up. My last truck did the same thing when I added the overhead but then miraculously worked just fine the next day so I wasn't too worried. Sure enough, started the truck this morning and it was reading bang on at 72F.

I googled it and found more than a few people with the same comment so apparently it's a normal function when adding an overhead that you have to wait for the temperature to populate. I even checked it right before I went to bed which was a 6 hours after I hooked it up so I'm not sure if it needs a certan amount of time or if the ICM does some sort of reset at a specific time in the middle of the night?.?.? One of life's little mysteries I guess.
 
#13 ·
I did some research last night about the window actuators and could not find where there are different units for standard versus Quad cab. I cross referenced the part numbers and they came back as the right parts for my truck so I pulled the door panels off my old truck and found the difference.

The manual window regulator is mounted upside down when compared to the power unit. It's hard to explain so I will add pics this weekend when I swap them out. Either way, I have the right ones and my conversion is back on track. If I keep prepping a little more each night, I should have this wrapped up by the end of the coming weekend and still have time to go out and have some fun.
 
#14 ·
Put in a good 20 hours in the last couple days and now have the power windows and mirrors functioning as well as the harness prepped for the power door locks. I have 4 more wires to hook uo tomorrow before I will see if the factory door locks will function with my cluster or if I have to go out and buy a new one.

I still say this project was worth doing but I have way more hours into this than I should. The harness was a huge PITA and part of me wishes I had of spent the money and purchased the correct wiring harnesses for the truck. The Durango harnesses worked and had all the right wires and connectors but they had to be pulled apart and completely reconfigured before they would firt the larger door panels of the full size standard cab. 80% of the time spent on this project has been in reworking the wiring harness.

One thing I did find that was a huge help was that the dash harness did in fact have the extra wires from the cluster down to a connector by each door pillar so all I had to do was patch wires from the door connectors to the local plugs. I also discovered that this truck has the clockspring for the steering wheel radio controls so I may be adding those in the near future too.

After getting the window regulator issue sorted, I modded the door panels and transfered the inner panels from my old doors.

Long and short doors stacked for comparison...




Crappy pic of the old door panel...



Better pic of the new door panel...



Passenger side door...



Overhead display...

 
#15 ·
Completed the conversion today. Since I found the dash harness had all the necessary wires to connect the door harnesses to the instrument cluster, I was really hoping the cluster would function once I hooked everything up but that was not the case. I ended up pulling the cluster from my 2002 Quad cab for testing and everything worked as soon as I plugged it in so I guess I'm looking for a new cluster now. :(
 
#17 ·
Thank you sir, it's hard to document but I have all my paperwork still and would be more than happy to discuss what is needed to pull this off. There are things I would do differently and definately ways to do the whole thing cheaper. I wanted some specific parts so I paid a premium where I could have gotten everything much cheaper had I been able to get to a salvage yard that actually had my make, model and year of truck.

As for cost, I am currently $850 into this and i still have to get a new cluster. I keep meaning to call my dealer and see what my options are. I can find a cluster off ebay for under $100 but that won't do me any good if all they do is exchange.
 
#19 ·
The ST cluster does not have the door lock functions. The pin outs are there, the circuits are there but there's no function. The port where the keyless entry module plugs in is missing as well so I was pretty sure it wouldn't work but I had to try anyways.

I snagged the cluster out of my old truck just to prove out the circuitry and it worked right as soon as I plugged it in.

I also hoped the cluster might reinitialize and figure out that it had power locks now but it's been a couple days and still no go. Hoped it was like the overhead temp sensor and it woudl magically start to work overnight.

I have been swamped at work as well as a couple big things going on at home so I haven't even thought about it all week. Taking the truck on a 2000 mile round trip up to Syracuse, NY this weekend to pick up a new ski so it will be a good test for it. Tonight was actually the first time I had it over 50 mph and the mileage wasn't bad. I actually averaged 18.8 mpg on the interstate.
 
#20 ·
After much research, I finally ordered a Cluster off ebay that I can send in as a core to get programmed with my mileage and VIN. Really tried to find a work around to this but theres no other way. Oh well, it's just money.

I also received a full set of Infinity speakers to go with the Amp I snagged at the auto wreckers. Seven speakers total for under $100 so even with the cluster upgrade, I am still under the $1000 mark for the entire upgrade.

Truck is shaping up nicely.

 
#22 ·
After much research, I finally ordered a Cluster off ebay that I can send in as a core to get programmed with my mileage and VIN. Really tried to find a work around to this but theres no other way. Oh well, it's just money.

I also received a full set of Infinity speakers to go with the Amp I snagged at the auto wreckers. Seven speakers total for under $100 so even with the cluster upgrade, I am still under the $1000 mark for the entire upgrade.

Truck is shaping up nicely.
Shaping up nicely, indeed! It's gonna sound awesome! It already looks awesome! Waiting to hear about the finished (I guess it never really is finished, now is it?) product!
 
#23 · (Edited)
I bought the window regulators new and then grabbed the locks from the junkyard. The only part of the harness that was already there were the few wires that run up to the instrument cluster for the power locks, everything else needed to be added.

If one had a donor vehicle available, you would need the door harness, the dash harness, the roof harness and the engine side firewall harness to make this a plug and play swap. Hindsight being 20/20, that may have been an easier route, even if one did have to pull the entire dash to lay in the dash harness. My original research showed the harnesses on ebay as being very expensive, the reality is, junkyards have no market for the wiring and sell it for the copper by the pound. That means that what you would pay upwards of $500 for off ebay would cost you about $40 at the auto wreckers, (if you could find the proper donor vehicle). Since all I could find was a Durango, most of my work was reworking the harness to fit a Ram.

Shaping up nicely, indeed! It's gonna sound awesome! It already looks awesome! Waiting to hear about the finished (I guess it never really is finished, now is it?) product!
I'm sure it will never be finished and my wife is already making comments that she figures I'm going to sell it soon anyways. She hates the color of the truck and figures I'm going to want a V8 and an extended cab again. She may be right but I do like this little truck and it's fun to drive. I have had to change how we do several things now that we don't have the extended cab but there's no deal breakers yet.
 
#24 ·
Just got off the phone with a local dealer regarding my instrument cluster. I called and asked what was required to upgrade to an SLT Cluster. After a couple questions, the service rep said that his manager was not comfortable with the conversation and that they were to end the conversation immediately. WTF?!?!?! I'm trying to buy parts and service, not commit a crime.

I called another dealer as soon as I was off the phone and got much better responses. Still waiting to hear back on the best way to go about it but at least they took the time to understand what I was trying to accomplish and didn't hang up on me. They even have a guy on staff who has done a few already and knows the ins and outs
 
#25 ·
Finally got my 7 speakers and Infinity amp installed. I installed the speakers first and ran them off the RB1 for a couple weeks. They actually didn't sound that bad but the dash speakers can't take much bass and the volumes were mismatched between the side and dash speakers. I swapped the dash speakers over to run off the rear channel so I could dial them in with the fader it worked out pretty good.

I never was able to track down the connectors to plug into the amp I bought so I ended up buying a whole new amp that came with the plugs and a short harness. It has the proper High pass filters for the dash, mid for the door and full range for the rear.

Much better than the OEM 4 speaker system but a far cry from what I would call a "sweet" system. My head is shot from owning and building many award winning systems in my younger days so I have very little tolerance to loud music now. Anything more than a stock system puts out and I get a headache so this system is perfect for us. I also listen to a lot of talk radio and the sound levels are perfect for that.

We drove to Atlanta last week and had the ipad playing movies the whole trip while patched in to the Infinity sound and it was great. Even the wife agreed it was a worth while upgrade and was impressed at the sound quality.
 
#26 ·
I kinda did the same thing but didn't go the factory route I bought the window reg. off ebay and power lock poppers off there also and run them though my alarm and have worked well found the overhead console in a junk yard 06 20s got them back in 06. what I want now is a sliding rear window. I painted the front and rear bumpers body color and then found a white grill to replace the the chrome one. I found a opening center console, put in glove box,ash tray and under hood light as well,put speakers in the dash as well all except the center couldn't find that one. did a lot of other stuff but I think that was it one the upgrade to slt
 
#28 · (Edited)
I stopped by a dealer last week and got the low down on the cluster. Their hands are tied tight to prevent any tampering with VIN's or mileage so there isn't much they can do for me. They wanted $1200 for a new cluster and even then, they would only be able to order me one identical to the one I have.

Long story short, they recommended I grab a similar mileage one off ebay or a junk yard and document the swap. The VIN's won't match but as long as it's documented and disclosed in the event of future sales.

I shopped around and managed to find a cluster that only had 68K miles on so I snagged it. That's just 4700 less than the truck has on it now. I got it plugged in with my old keyless entry remote and everything works perfect. I even picked up a couple extra features like auto lock on speed and only unlock drivers door on first pulse. My 02 did not have these features for some reason.

The last final little touch was to paint the needle centers silver to match the silver inserts in the door and radio.

So...the conversion is now officially complete.

Cluster before paint...



Cluster after paint...



Painted and assembled...



And here's some general overall pics of the completed truck.









 
#30 ·
That is one of the best threads I have ever read. I am starting a manuel to power window and lock conversion this week on my 2005 SW. I bought a couple of doner doors, same color even, and hope to find the dash harness at a salvage. Your efforts in this build worked through so many of the issues I am facing. I found an overhead console and would like to hook it up with the temp module as part of the mod also.

Very interested in your detailed work, if you have time I would like to sort through some of those things with you. Once gaian, great work and writeup!!
 
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