overhead console question

[boggs1227]

hey all ,went to the yard today and overhead console in really good shape out of a '98 model .i got the bracket and as much as the wire harness i could but i got questions ,

i read the thread --> http://www.explorer4x4.com/overhead.htm ,

i need to know if the yellow/grey wire is positive and solid black is ground.
( i tried it this way and it did not power up so do more +'s and more -'s need to be hooked up in order for the unit to function ?)

also the temp sensor ,i tried to follow the harness as much as i could before it went under the dash ...is the sensor located under the dash or is it in a mirrior on the doors ?

i hope for $10 i got a good deal plus i got a warranty with it so if it is indeed bad i'll just take it back for another .


...thanks

 

[vroomzoomboom]

black is ground. the yellow/grey wire is supposed to go to the GEM to compensate for wild chill, but it is not necessary to use (i have put two of these in, and in both cases didn't hook them up and it worked fine).

the temp sensor is located near drivers side head light on the parts truck (normally under the head light behind the bumper). you can also put it roughly in the same spot in your 94.

 

[boggs1227]

so the yellow/grey is for the speed sensor ...so which one is the postive for main power ?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

i am sorry, i gave you some bad info. the yellow/grey IS for the main power. i am wondering if you have a OHC that needs the display fix.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187953

also, do you have the blue/red wire to one of the interior lights? if you do, try turning your dimmer switch up and down. i know there is one spot on my dimmer that doesn't like my console display (don't know why). that or press your mode button. the console might just be off.

 

[boggs1227]

hey ...no problem ...glad for the help .

after inspecting the inside of the first console i bought i think you were right about the display.i founda # 191 resistor that had lost it's solder point on the pc board ....i could had fixed it i suppose but thats a big if ...but ,

i went back to day and found 2 more .one had the exact same color ( tan ) as my interior and the other was the same color as the one i first got ( blue/grey) but it was for a sunroof explorer ( 1996) .so i figured that to test one i would have to take a battery with me ( took a old lawn and garden tractor battery i had with me with me tools ) worked like a charm.


the tan colored one did not work but yet the one that came out of the sunroofed exploere did ! so what does any body with half a gumption do ?! i swapped gut from each to make one good working console that is now in the same color as my truck ....i also got the sensor for the temp( just about could not find it ) i like it when a plan comes together lol.

only had to pay another dollar to get into the yard so my total cost for a nice new and in the same color ohc was ----> $11 (take that e-bay ! )

thanks again for your help ! all i got to do now is take it all apart and clean the piss out of the parts and slap some armor-all on there and it's good to go !

 

[vroomzoomboom]

$11, nice score! i know i sometimes sell them on ebay as a "kit" (console, bracket, sensor, part harness) and people have paid $60 for them! glad i could help out, and sorry for giving you bad info at the start.

 

[boggs1227]

no problem.... it happens to the best of us .

pics....

thanks again ...only thing i dred now is redoing the headliner so i can make a cut out for the ohc .

 

[TedJ]

Contrary to what a lot of people say, I think it's necessary to hook up the speed sensor wire. It does work and display the temp without it, but it never really changes much while you are driving. The reason is that the console does not update the temp when the vehicle is not moving, to prevent erroneous readings due to heat soak (stuck in traffic etc). If the speed sensor is not connected, it thinks you are not moving and therefore does not update the temp.

When I did mine, I didn't connect it first time around. This is when I learned the above info.... I ended up going back and connecting it. It works much better with it connected. The temp changes as you drive through differing conditions.

Grab the VSS signal at the connector for the cruise control module (above the glove box) so you do not have to mess with the ecm.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Contrary to what a lot of people say, I think it's necessary to hook up the speed sensor wire. It does work and display the temp without it, but it never really changes much while you are driving. The reason is that the console does not update the temp when the vehicle is not moving, to prevent erroneous readings due to heat soak (stuck in traffic etc). If the speed sensor is not connected, it thinks you are not moving and therefore does not update the temp.

When I did mine, I didn't connect it first time around. This is when I learned the above info.... I ended up going back and connecting it. It works much better with it connected. The temp changes as you drive through differing conditions.

Grab the VSS signal at the connector for the cruise control module (above the glove box) so you do not have to mess with the ecm.

ah dam, now i am going to have to do that.

as for cutting the hole for the console, what i did was cut the headliner out of the parts truck big enough to reach the holes for the sun visors. then laid it over mine, drew the hole onto my headliner, then cut it. the first one i did was in my truck. i pulled the headliner completely out. the second truck i did, i left it in the truck. the hole is big enough that you can reach all the wires going into it, and i taped into the wires for the lights inside the "A" pillar.

 

[TedJ]

ah dam, now i am going to have to do that.

Hopefully you at least ran the wires into the pillar so you don't have to take down the headliner...

Funny headliner story.. the one in mine was attacked by a rabid bear with a lit cigarette; it was all pulled down and had burn holes... but only in the front. The previous owner claimed he lent it to some family member...

When I was at the junkyard I pulled the console and wanted the whole headliner too (and it was a perfect one)... but I realized I could not take it with me, how would I put it in the car? So while complaining bitterly I cut it in half and took the front half only. My truck has two headliner sections with a seam where the pushpins are over the rear seat.... It's really not that visible.

 

[vroomzoomboom]

Hopefully you at least ran the wires into the pillar so you don't have to take down the headliner...

did one better! they are ran up to the gem, just not hooked up!

 

[boggs1227]

thats a good idea useing the old headliner as a templet ,and good info on the speed sensor hook location .

well after i got it all apart and cleaned it i noticed that the lamp had a lot of heat wear on the ribbon cable that supplied power to the bulbs ...pic ,

( the parts in red are where i glued it down basiclly like two wires that you have to have not touching )

i used some jb weld and lifted up on the cable where it sits on the fixture and basiclly glued it down in place .over the years and heat from the bulbs the material that makes up the cable has just worn out from replaceing blub ...but now they should last a little longer. i used a 5/8 socket to sit on top of the ribbon over night to help it lay flat on the fixture ...worked great!

this ohc is from a 96 model but the one i got the day before was a 98 i think but the fixtures were different and also used a different bulb ...but that fixture does not used a flat ribbion cable to supply power just wires ( guess thats why they changed the design ...the ribbon just plain sucks ).

...so i guess the would a be a good fix idea for 1996 ohc units !?

 

[vroomzoomboom]

not sure about the bulbs being different. i know the display color is however (95-97, blue(ish) 98 and up, god awful green). if you want to go one step further, do a led conversion (make your own leds). i did that with mine, and its nice and bright at night.

 

[boggs1227]

you know funny you mention led's ..... i had these that igot out of some led flashlights i had laying around i was thinking of replaceing the normal overhead light fixture with these. they run off of 3 volts ,i had a universal power supply hook to them and they will just about blind you ....

i think if you goto a auto parts store and buy speciality led bulbs for automotive use they charge you out the wazoo but go and buy some of those cheap $2-3 led flash light they got up near the cash registor and with a resistor you can adapt them to 12 volt use easilly for cheap .

you would'nt know what resisitor cuts 12 volts down to 3 do ya !?

edit : btw i still have the lens from the first ohc hahaha...it's a blue green ... the one i showed has got the green,green lens ( matched my stock radio anyways)

 

[vroomzoomboom]

this is the thread that i used when i did mine

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=225698

i did mine just a little different so that if i ever wanted to take them out, i can do it very easily and put them into a different truck (basically plug and play). a little involved, but very worth it.

 

[SPORTEXP]

Contrary to what a lot of people say, I think it's necessary to hook up the speed sensor wire. It does work and display the temp without it, but it never really changes much while you are driving. The reason is that the console does not update the temp when the vehicle is not moving, to prevent erroneous readings due to heat soak (stuck in traffic etc). If the speed sensor is not connected, it thinks you are not moving and therefore does not update the temp.

When I did mine, I didn't connect it first time around. This is when I learned the above info.... I ended up going back and connecting it. It works much better with it connected. The temp changes as you drive through differing conditions.

Grab the VSS signal at the connector for the cruise control module (above the glove box) so you do not have to mess with the ecm.

What is the symptom for not connecting this circuit? I noticed on mine that on an early morning road trip traveling south morning temp was 16 deg. F.
and it stayed there all through the trip when the temp at the destination point was above freezing. This wire is connected to the proper wire in the cruise circuit, and the cruise worked fine.

 

[TedJ]

You've got the symptoms of it not being hooked up... temperature is correct when you start out, but changes in temp are not made...

Are you sure you have the correct wires hooked up? It's a low-level signal, so if you have a bad connection somewhere it probably won't work. I soldered all the connections on mine, those snap on wire tap connectors are generally unreliable (especially on thin wire).

You could check for continuity between the pin at the cruise module connector and the pin at the overhead console connector just to make sure everything is good.

 

[willindsay]

you know funny you mention led's ..... i had these that igot out of some led flashlights i had laying around i was thinking of replaceing the normal overhead light fixture with these. they run off of 3 volts ,i had a universal power supply hook to them and they will just about blind you ....

i think if you goto a auto parts store and buy speciality led bulbs for automotive use they charge you out the wazoo but go and buy some of those cheap $2-3 led flash light they got up near the cash registor and with a resistor you can adapt them to 12 volt use easilly for cheap .

you would'nt know what resisitor cuts 12 volts down to 3 do ya !?

edit : btw i still have the lens from the first ohc hahaha...it's a blue green ... the one i showed has got the green,green lens ( matched my stock radio anyways)

I know this is a old thread but did you ever find the right resistor to cut the power down?? I thought about doing it out of those too but could never figure out the right Resistor.