Went to the local wrecking yard for some parts and found a Ford Explorer with an overhead console that matched the color of my truck interior for $25. Grabbed the temp sensor located on the drivers side by the bumper. The hardest part of the installation was shaping the console body to fit the metal trim holding up the headliner. This is where different size sanding drums come in handy to chuck in the drill press.
The console has 8 wires coming out of it. Most of the connections can be made under the dash except for the temp sensor and speed sensor wires.
Red/Blue Dimmer switch:
Matches the brightness with the rest of the interior lights. I wired this to to the back light power in my gauges piller on the column
Blue/Yellow and Blue/White Temp Sensor:
These wires are to be ran to wherever you mount the temperature sensor. Some mount it inside the car, some outside. I mounted mine by the plug for the daytime running lights module on the drivers side behind the bumper.
Black Ground:
You can pretty much attach this anywhere on the body. You pick. I also ran this one to my gauge piller.
Black/Blue
Green/Orange
Dome lights: These wires make the map lights go on with the door is open. The Green/Orange wire is the wire that runs across the top of the car to both vanity mirrors. The Black/Blue wire is the wire that detects if the door is open. I ran these to the overhead map lights in the middle of the cab ceiling. They match the color code of the two wires there.
Grey/Black Vehicle Sensor:
This wire is to be spliced into the speed sensor of the car so the console can compensate for wind chill. I connected this to the speed sensor wire coming out of the firewall drivers side.
Yellow/Grey Fuse and Power:
This is the main power that will go to the console. I wired this to the ignition on power source supplied to my tranny temp gauge.
Some pictures of how it looked when finished. It was 66 in my shop when I tested it.
The console has 8 wires coming out of it. Most of the connections can be made under the dash except for the temp sensor and speed sensor wires.
Red/Blue Dimmer switch:
Matches the brightness with the rest of the interior lights. I wired this to to the back light power in my gauges piller on the column
Blue/Yellow and Blue/White Temp Sensor:
These wires are to be ran to wherever you mount the temperature sensor. Some mount it inside the car, some outside. I mounted mine by the plug for the daytime running lights module on the drivers side behind the bumper.
Black Ground:
You can pretty much attach this anywhere on the body. You pick. I also ran this one to my gauge piller.
Black/Blue
Green/Orange
Dome lights: These wires make the map lights go on with the door is open. The Green/Orange wire is the wire that runs across the top of the car to both vanity mirrors. The Black/Blue wire is the wire that detects if the door is open. I ran these to the overhead map lights in the middle of the cab ceiling. They match the color code of the two wires there.
Grey/Black Vehicle Sensor:
This wire is to be spliced into the speed sensor of the car so the console can compensate for wind chill. I connected this to the speed sensor wire coming out of the firewall drivers side.
Yellow/Grey Fuse and Power:
This is the main power that will go to the console. I wired this to the ignition on power source supplied to my tranny temp gauge.
Some pictures of how it looked when finished. It was 66 in my shop when I tested it.