2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Summit Wiring Harness Install

[McLaughlin]

Installed a Summit wiring harness today. Part # AMC-509104. Install took about 4 hours from beginning to end including a 1 hour trip to Lowe's for bolts/screws. I removed both batteries and trays to do the install but you probably don't have to, I just wanted more room to work. Install was very straight forward but some of the stuff is a bit hard to get at and the wire (as mentioned before) is just long enough to reach between the two headlights. Wire came premade with all connectors and the connectors are different so you can't plug them in wrong. Just plug the two ends into the headlights, connect one of the two old plugs into the provided socket, mount the relays, plug in the two connectors into the relays, connect the two ground wires, and connect the power wires to the battery and you are done. When you are finished, one of the old plugs that hooked to the headlights isn't connected to anything. About the only thing I would have done different is moved where I put the ground screws that connect to the new head light plugs. I had originally intended to put the bolt through the inter fender but because of difficulty putting the nuts on, I ended up reversing the bolt and feeding it back towards the engine compartment. That could have caused a problem because the bolt was about 3/4 in long and was up against the battery tray when I reinstalled them. I ended up grinding off the excess to reduce the amount of bolt that stuck out and may have damaged the battery after a period of time. To get a good connection, I used a bit of sand paper to remove the paint where I connected the grounds. I also coated the new ground bolts and exposed metal with silicone diaeletric compound. The first picture just shows what comes with the purchase.

 

[McLaughlin]

Results

Results are shown in the attached pictures. I didn't take a picture of my truck before the wiring install. However, my daughter has a 96 CTD which we used for this comparison.

 

[Signal73]

I used the same Kit because my headlight switch was overheating with the headlights on for a long time. It solved my problem and the headlights seem brighter also. Not a bad $40 BoMB.

 

[McLaughlin]

I used the same Kit because my headlight switch was overheating with the headlights on for a long time. It solved my problem and the headlights seem brighter also. Not a bad $40 BoMB.

I actually got the idea from the forums. Before I joined TDR, I'd never knew there was a lighting harness available.

 

[Dave M]

Great pics Mclaughlin of the install. Now I'm motivated to do this bomb after seeing how easy it looks.



My freind just had a shop replace his headlight switch and burned connector for about $200. It could happen again if he doesn't do this mod.



Will this work on his 93?



Thanks,



Dave

 

[McLaughlin]

Great pics Mclaughlin of the install. Now I'm motivated to do this bomb after seeing how easy it looks.



My freind just had a shop replace his headlight switch and burned connector for about $200. It could happen again if he doesn't do this mod.



Will this work on his 93?



Thanks,



Dave

The chance of toasting the headlight switch is what got me to do the install. Just got back from a test drive. Lights are noticably brighter on both low and high beam using just the standard 9004 bulbs. High beam in particular is nice. Now I'm curious to see how it would work using the SilverStars. Had a set until my wife had a fender bender (not her fault - some guy turned right from the left lane in front of her; said he didn't see the truck. How you can't see one of these trucks in broad daylight is beyond me. ) Bulb wasn't broke but light assembly was and when replaced they replaced the bulb with a normal one .



Cost of the harness delivered was about $40. Summit provided a super-fast delivery. Ordered it on 12/28 and had it 12/31.



If his 93 uses 9004 bulbs it should. According to the tech guy at Summit, it is a generic kit that is not model specific. It is more of a bulb specific application then anything else.



One thing I didn't mention was that I used nylon lock nuts so they wouldn't vibrate loose.

 

[KDoerr]

Good day is there a web site? Dose it hep the lights? Because mine suck big time.

thanks Keith

 

[McLaughlin]

Good day is there a web site? Dose it hep the lights? Because mine suck big time.

thanks Keith

This is the link . If that doesn't work for you try: http://www.summitracing.com/ and search for the part number: AMC-509104



Yes, it helped a bunch. If you are at the level of the headlights they are difficult to look at directly even during the daytime.

 

[KDoerr]

Hey thanks I just orderd it kit.

thanks keith

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Good write-up and pics McLaughlin.





I was able to ground the right side harness to the existing airbag sensor ground point without modifying. Bottom pic.



The left side ground I lengthened and used the OEM spot. Middle pic.

 

[Alphacowboy]

i used that same kit for when I installed my sport headlights. I just modified it to run the 9007 bulbs since the sport lights use both 9004 and 9007 bulbs. worked very well and very easy to use. I am thinking about getting a second kit to run the 9004 bulbs so that there is no lights actually running though the healight switch so its all relays.

 

[McLaughlin]

I was able to ground the right side harness to the existing airbag sensor ground point with modifying. Bottom pic.



The left side ground I lengthened and used the OEM spot. Middle pic.

Your approach was probably better then mine. I wasn't that enthused about sanding off the paint around the ground bolt.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

There may be differences in the different year trucks. So my approach may not work on a later year.



It was not that easy to get 3 ground rings to line up to the screw on the airbag sensor. Very Limited room. I took a pencil magnet, a phillips screwdriver, 3 or 4 failed attemps and walk aways. :-laf

 

[CarlJensen]

Add some length to the ground loop and return it to the neg. side of the battery. When I installed mine last year I did not want to worry about a ground going bad on me. I also replaced the fuse links in the kit with inline fuses. It's easier to replace a fuse on the road than one of those fuse links. Used 15A slo blow fuses, by the way.

 

[Forrest]

Great pics. Btw ... it'll route with the harness under the radiator as well.



No more heat coming from the headlight switch. Oo. I put in the killer PIAA bulbs ... no worries on supplying enough current now.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Good day is there a web site? Dose it hep the lights? Because mine suck big time.

thanks Keith

KDoerr,



Your '02 May??? have an OEM relayed headlight system. In other words you may not see much or any improvement w/ the Summit harness.



Do I search "Summit Headlight Harness" and see the posts of the later model second generation owners.



I have read them and still

 

[David Wheeler]

High-low beam problem with this harness

I too installed this harness about a year ago. Install was simple and fast. Since install I have had a perplexing problem... . when I turn on the high beams, the fogs go out as they should. Then, when I turn the high beams off, the low beams come on in addition to the high beams staying on! The fogs come back on as well. You can hit the high-low selector as much as you want, but both bulbs stay on. The only way to get the high-low combination to stop is to turn off the fogs. This breaks the circuit and returns the lights to normal operation until you turn on the high beams again. As you can imagine this is a pain to deal with on dark roads with oncoming traffic. Has anyone else experienced this? Since the harness can only be installed on way, I can't see how it could be installed incorrectly. Any help will be appreciated.



David

 

[McLaughlin]

I too installed this harness about a year ago. Install was simple and fast. Since install I have had a perplexing problem... . when I turn on the high beams, the fogs go out as they should. Then, when I turn the high beams off, the low beams come on in addition to the high beams staying on! The fogs come back on as well. You can hit the high-low selector as much as you want, but both bulbs stay on. The only way to get the high-low combination to stop is to turn off the fogs. This breaks the circuit and returns the lights to normal operation until you turn on the high beams again. As you can imagine this is a pain to deal with on dark roads with oncoming traffic. Has anyone else experienced this? Since the harness can only be installed on way, I can't see how it could be installed incorrectly. Any help will be appreciated.



David

Now that you mention it, I don't know how the wiring I put in is actually wired. Do you know if the relays control left/right or high/low?

 

[HEMI®Dart]

David,



See the 3rd page of this thread. SBettencourt & MRose had the same problem as you.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142761&page=3&pp=15



http://dodgeram.org/tech/mods/electric/headlight.htm#Hifog

 

[David Wheeler]

Thanks, HEMI®Dart. I have seen this thread before but never did the mod. I guess the Summit harness is really not the right configuration for my model truck. Looking at the experiences of others with the same problem, it will likely fix my $50 harness Thank you again for taking the time to look up the old threads and post the help I needed. Happy New Year!



David