WT trim with Color DIC, Steering Wheel Controls, IO5 Stereo retrofit.

GTPprix · June 17, 2017

Bump for attention as people seem to miss the part about wiring being part of the upgrade, the radio portion etc. You have to do ALL of these to make all of this work properly

Edited June 18, 2017 by GTPprix

R3define · August 14, 2017

So I've got a question or two.

I'd really like to do this for a multitude of reasons but main one being the gauge cluster. I've got an aftermarket deck in the truck already as I purchased it that way. It is unfortunately the i03 code normally.

That being said, I don't really care if it doesn't control the radio but would obviously like it to still control the gauge cluster. Can I still do this mod bypassing the radio or does everything have to be wired into the radio module to make it function properly?

Thanks in advance!

Darth_Vader · August 15, 2017

So you are wanting to do the Color DIC with the Steering wheel controls, but you aren't worried about having the radio controls? In theory it should work given that the one wire you add from the steering wheel to the gauge cluster is what passes on the steering wheel controls to the gauges cluster. The gauge cluster then would pass on your commands to the absent stereo. You wouldn't need to tie the gauge cluster into the MOST bus would be my guess. But the color one may not power up correctly if you don't.

R3define · August 15, 2017

So you are wanting to do the Color DIC with the Steering wheel controls, but you aren't worried about having the radio controls? In theory it should work given that the one wire you add from the steering wheel to the gauge cluster is what passes on the steering wheel controls to the gauges cluster. The gauge cluster then would pass on your commands to the absent stereo. You wouldn't need to tie the gauge cluster into the MOST bus would be my guess. But the color one may not power up correctly if you don't.

Correct! If I could get the controls to work with my aftermarket stereo that would be great too but really I just want the nicer wheel and gauge cluster. I have the PAC RP5-GM51 (https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541RP5GM51/PAC-RP5-GM51-Wiring-Interface.html?tp=3486) harness to make the aftermarket radio work so I might need to see if I can route wires into that or if it has to go through the factory MOST bus system and then it passes through to the aftermarket radio.

Appreciate the reply for this newbie to the truck world. Haha.

Darth_Vader · August 15, 2017

Correct! If I could get the controls to work with my aftermarket stereo that would be great too but really I just want the nicer wheel and gauge cluster. I have the PAC RP5-GM51 (https://www.crutchfield.com/p_541RP5GM51/PAC-RP5-GM51-Wiring-Interface.html?tp=3486) harness to make the aftermarket radio work so I might need to see if I can route wires into that or if it has to go through the factory MOST bus system and then it passes through to the aftermarket radio.

Appreciate the reply for this newbie to the truck world. Haha.

Theoretically if you were to use the PAC unit and wire everything else up like I have laid out in the first few posts then the steering wheel controls should work with the aftermarket radio just like they would if you had the color DIC from the factory. But like everything else it is a gamble until someone tries it out. I'd be more than willing to help where I could, but it should be as simple as adding it to the stock system. Make the MOST bus splices in the same spot and go from there.

R3define · August 15, 2017

Theoretically if you were to use the PAC unit and wire everything else up like I have laid out in the first few posts then the steering wheel controls should work with the aftermarket radio just like they would if you had the color DIC from the factory. But like everything else it is a gamble until someone tries it out. I'd be more than willing to help where I could, but it should be as simple as adding it to the stock system. Make the MOST bus splices in the same spot and go from there.

Kind of what I was thinking was that it technically should still work. Haha. I know that the DIC gauge cluster is the part that is specific to the year of truck and such, do you have any info on what part number I'd be looking for? I pulled up the standard numbers for the gauges but there's like 6 different versions. Haha.

stassin22 · August 28, 2017

Is splicing into wires absolutely necessary or is it possible to swap harnesses completely from the steering wheel, dic, and radio? Would love to do this and I am very comfortable with wiring but just don't like to cut into the factory wires.

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GTPprix · September 9, 2017

Guys again just to reiterate since it’s apparently getting lost: DO NOT INSTALL ANY CLUSTER IN YOUR VEHICLE THAT WE HAVE NOT RETROFIT PROGRAMMED. Lots of people lately not heeding the warning and angry at us for some reason for the consequences lol

Carter8 · October 3, 2017

You have to buy the pins, and it would be way easier to buy them and a crimper than to try and cannibalize an existing harness. I would suggest buying a crimper for the size pins involved but you could probably get away with manually crimping them with a pair of pliers or something, I used to do things like that back in the day but you are better off buying a crimper.

Would you be able to make the wires and I can buy them off ya lol

Marv88 · October 25, 2017

I have read the thread numerous times but I am having a bit of difficulty fully understanding so please forgive me if this has already been answered somewhere between the lines.

I have the iob headunit that I want to leave installed/operational and will be adding a hidden aftermarket headunit for the audio system (I will be moving the factory dash speakers to the kickpanels for the chimes/turn signals etc). I would like to add the steering wheel controls strictly for the aftermarket headunit using an aftermarket adapter however I do *not* want to change the cluster. From what I understand here the signal from the steering wheel goes to the dash cluster module and then gets passed on to the radio and if this is correct I am guessing there is more needed from the dash cluster such as power/ground possibly otherwise it seems you could just tap directly from the steering wheel(?) If this is in fact the case I was wondering if I could just *add on* the dash module separately along with the correct steering wheel/clock spring/wiring and wire from there to the aftermarket steering wheel control adapter? Thanks in advance for any insight.

Smt2296 · November 12, 2017

On 10/7/2016 at 4:31 PM, Harlech said:

Well after some work and some digging and some wiring I have finally completed the retrofit of my RCSB Blackout (Which was the WT trim with the small radio) to have the IO5 stereo, Color DIC Gauge Cluster and Heated Steering wheel with all the controls working, both the DIC and the stereo controls work. I would guess that total I have about $2000 tied up in all of this so it can get costly and it isn't for the feint of heart, you will be cutting into factory wires. This will only work if you have the IO4 option code, if you have the IO3 stereo you are probably out of luck.

Gauge cluster programming was provided by Chris over at WAMS, I highly suggest going to Chris for all your custom module programming needs. He is a busy guy so if you have questions on this swap you will want to post them here as Chris won't be able to help you out with anything other than providing the custom programming for the cluster. You can request prices from his site at: http://www.whiteautoandmedia.com/

All of the information needed to do this retrofit can been dug up from the upfitters electrical manual available at: https://www.gmupfitter.com/pages/body-builder-manuals

If you plan on attempting this familiarize yourself with the information I post and this manual, it will save you some head aches.

Basically all you are doing is tying back the steering wheel controls to the gauge cluster on the LIN Bus (one wire, that doesn't exist if you don't have controls) and then adding the gauge cluster to the MOST bus via the stereo. This is easily done at the radio module behind the HMI (The top box, but you know this if you have upgraded to IO5 or IO6) just with the grey 8 pin connector which actually is where it shows the gauge cluster being in relation between the amplifier and the radio. You will want to put the gauge cluster in series on the most bus on wires 3 and 4 from the far right connector on the radio module. So basically you will cut these wires and where they were going in to the radio now they will go into the gauge cluster on pins 1 and 2 and the return to the radio from pins 17 and 18 on the gauge cluster, all this can be found in the upfitter manaul. Then you will want to grab the MOST enable signal from wire 7 on the connector and bring it back to the gauge cluster also, you can tap off of it.

If you have any questions feel free to post them here and I will try to stop in every so often and answer. PM's will go unanswered as I don't want to type the same info out 20 times so just post it here so we can have one post covering this. I will also try and post some diagrams and more pictures next week along with a link to the pins that plug in to the blank spots on the connector of the gauge cluster to add the above circuits.

But yes, this can be done.

Thanks,

Kyle

Don’t suppose you have any upclose pictures of the connections and wires? I’m comfortable with wiring and everything but I* don’t quite understand these diagrams lol I’m more of a visual learner but would really like to do this. Any help would be much appreciated.

Feliks · December 19, 2017

Hi all, just joined the forum. Great info. I recently purchased a 2018 Silverado W/T that has an 7" screen and black and white DIC. I checked the glove box and it's an IOB radio. Question is, do I need to get the color DIC cluster in order to have the steering wheel controls work if I buy a new steering wheel? I figure I do but I'm hoping OP or GTprix will chime in.

Thanks

Edited December 20, 2017 by Feliks
updated info

cbrsilv15 · December 20, 2017

check in your glovebox for io5 or iob. I believe the iob is 7”.

Feliks · December 20, 2017

1 minute ago, cbrsilv15 said:

check in your glovebox for io5 or iob. I believe the iob is 7”.

Just checked its an iob...

Darth_Vader · December 20, 2017

On 12/19/2017 at 2:23 AM, Feliks said:

Hi all, just joined the forum. Great info. I recently purchased a 2018 Silverado W/T that has an 7" screen and black and white DIC. I checked the glove box and it's an IOB radio. Question is, do I need to get the color DIC cluster in order to have the steering wheel controls work if I buy a new steering wheel? I figure I do but I'm hoping OP or GTprix will chime in.

Thanks

You'll need the color gauge cluster, the monochrome one doesn't have the proper communication ability. And as GTPrix had stated, and it can't be said enough, the cluster had to be custom programmed for your vehicle!

Edited December 20, 2017 by Harlech