Automatic headlights, 06-08 Ram by bwhite757
#1
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**DISCLAIMER**
I am not an electrician, car technician, or professional installer. Tampering with your vehicle electronics could void your warranty, and possibly cause serious side effects to your vehicle. Please do this AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Things you need:
-DEI 545t Nite Lite Unit - This is what makes this mod possible I picked up one on eBay for $30 shipped
-Wire (Different Colors Makes it easier)
-Wire Connectors
-Shrink Wrap
-Electrical Tape
-Solder and Soldering Iron
-Cable Ties
First things first, disconnect the negative side of your vehicle's battery. You are working with the electronics of your truck and in close vicinity of the driver's airbag. DO NOT skip this 2 minute step, it could save your life!!!
Now what are we trying to accomplish here? We want the DEI unit to trigger our headlights when it becomes dark. The DEI unit comes with 2 relays, however we only need one. Our headlights are triggered when a resistance of 660 Ohms is put onto the headlight circuit. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds.
Prep work. Although DEI supplies us with 2 relays, we really only need one. The relays are prewired, however we need to add a wire to the harness the DEI seemed to think we didn't need. Instead of talking colors, I will be talking about the relays poles by their corresponding numbers:
We need to add a wire to the 87a terminal of the left relay (or relay 1) of the DEI unit. Simply add a piece of wire to this terminal using a female quick disconnect connector:
Now simply push this up into the open 87a spot on the relay wire harness (it's the only open spot you have to work with). Now we can make our resistance wire. We need 660 Ohms of resistance, however my local radio shack did not have a 660 ohm resister, so I bought a pack of 470 ohm resisters and 100 Ohm resisters. I ended up having to daisy chain (1) 470 Ohm resister and (2) 100 Ohm resister for an approximate 670 Ohm resistance, which ended up working fine on my truck:
Make sure you solder these resisters together good, then solder each end to some wire, and then protect that with heat shrink:
Now you can connect 1 end of your resistance wire to the 87 terminal on relay 1 of the DEI pack.
Now your prep work is done, go ahead and dismantle your truck. You'll need to take out the driver's kick panel (it's just snapped into place, a good yank will pull it out) Now take out the plastic piece beneath the steering wheel, there's two screws on the bottom of it, then it's just snapped into place. After you've got that off there's a metal piece that you'll also need to remove, directly under the steering wheel. 4 screws and you can set it aside. Your hood release and computer connector is on this metal piece, I just put it to the side.
You'll have to remove the radio bezel also, open your drink holder and look up, there's 2 screws under there you'll have to take out, then the bezel is just snapped into place. I've found the best place to get grip is on the driver's side, but it is a little hard to pry it off, once you get it off, unhook your HVAC controls and cigarette liters, and set it aside. Now we can take off the plastic molding around the instrument cluster. There's several screws around it that have to be taken out, you have to put your truck in low gear, then just pull the plastic out and then up, make sure to unhook your light switch before you pull it all the way out. Take off the plastic access panel next to the headlight switch, on the outermost side of the dash. Stick a small flathead in it to pry it off. After it's all said and done you should be looking like this:
Once you're hear you have to decide where you want to put your DEI unit. I chose the area beneath the cupholders. There's just a void of unused space here:
Now we can begin hooking up our wires. Go to the headlight switch connector. There are 2 Green / White wires on here, we are using 1 of them. The one we want is on pin 1. Look at the back of your headlight switch for the pin numbers. Once you've determined which one is pin 1, cut this wire, leaving enough room on both sides to strip and work with:
No turning back now. Now attach a wire on each side of the wire you just cut, enough wire to reach your DEI unit, wherever you put it. I recommend using 2 different color wires otherwise it might get confusing. I also recommend soldering these connections for extra strength, shrink wrap, and electrical tape also:
As you can tell in the above picture, I used a RED wire on the TRUCK's side of the green/white wire, and a BLACK wire on the SWITCH's side of the green/white wire.
You need to attach the RED wire (Truck's Side) to terminal 30 of our relay we prepped earlier. You connect the BLACK wire (Switch Side) to terminal 87a (the wire we added to the relay). Now take the Resistance wire we made earlier that's on terminal 87, hook the other end of that wire up to a good ground. I used the factory ground location, underneath the steering wheel, you'll see a bunch of wires on a copper plate bolted to the dash frame. I unbolted this, connected an insulated ring connector on the end of my resistance wire, also made another ground wire while I was there to hook up to the DEI unit later, and bolted everything back up.
Now you have to decide where you want your photocell to go. I didn't want to be able to see mine, so I pryed up the back of the dash where the infinity speakers would have gone had I got that package. I put a small piece of metal over the speaker hole, and stuck the photocell to it, running the wire down the speaker hole to the DEI unit. I snapped the dash piece back together, and that plastic molding now holds the photocell securely in place.
Now we have to hook up the basic wires on the DEI unit:
Constant 12v (Red): I ran a wire directly from the battery. I had already made a hole through the firewall when I ran amp wiring, so I just used that.
Ground (Black): This is the ground wire I made when we hooked the resistance wire up
Ignition 12v (Yellow): I used the driver's side cigarette lighter for this. Just strip (DON'T CUT) the Red/Yellow wire back, solder another wire to this, tape it up, and then hook that up to the yellow wire:
The other wires on the DEI unit I did not use. You can hook it up to when you turn your wipers on the your headlights come on, or when you disarm a factory security system the headlights will come on. I didn't want that so I didn't hook them up. There's instructions with the DEI unit if you want these features also.
Now we have everything hooked up, it's time to test it. Put the plastic molding back on around the instrument cluster (The one with the headlight switch) hook the headlight switch back up. Connect the negative side of the battery you unhooked earlier (you had better done that) and then pull out of the garage into some sunlight. Turn your key to the ON position. If there is adequate sunlight your headlights should remain off, and the use of the headlight switch should be normal. Now place your hand over your photocell to simulate darkness. After 5-10 seconds you should here a relay click and your headlights will be on. Take your hand away from the photocell and check to make sure your headlights are on. You have about 30 seconds before the DEI will sense the sunlight and kick the headlights back off. Congratulations you now have automatic headlights.
Tape all your wires up and cable tie them out of the way:
Reassemble your truck in the reverse order you took it apart. Congrats, you're all done!! Now wasn't that easy.
Something to remember. With the Switched 12v source I used the lights will remain on with the Accessory delay until you open the door. Also, your headlights will be switched ON until after you turn your vehicle off, which activates the headlight delay feature on our trucks. If for some reason you want to cancel this, just turn your headlight switch on and off as you're getting out of the truck, and you'll shut the headlights off, otherwise they'll shut off in 60 seconds or so.
Any questions feel free to ask. I apologize for the lack of pictures as my digital camera's batteries were dead when I started this. The pics were taken from my phone, which also was suffering from a fading battery. Sorry.
Ram3rdGen
I am not an electrician, car technician, or professional installer. Tampering with your vehicle electronics could void your warranty, and possibly cause serious side effects to your vehicle. Please do this AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Things you need:
-DEI 545t Nite Lite Unit - This is what makes this mod possible I picked up one on eBay for $30 shipped
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/dei.jpg)
-Wire (Different Colors Makes it easier)
-Wire Connectors
-Shrink Wrap
-Electrical Tape
-Solder and Soldering Iron
-Cable Ties
First things first, disconnect the negative side of your vehicle's battery. You are working with the electronics of your truck and in close vicinity of the driver's airbag. DO NOT skip this 2 minute step, it could save your life!!!
Now what are we trying to accomplish here? We want the DEI unit to trigger our headlights when it becomes dark. The DEI unit comes with 2 relays, however we only need one. Our headlights are triggered when a resistance of 660 Ohms is put onto the headlight circuit. Trust me, it's easier than it sounds.
Prep work. Although DEI supplies us with 2 relays, we really only need one. The relays are prewired, however we need to add a wire to the harness the DEI seemed to think we didn't need. Instead of talking colors, I will be talking about the relays poles by their corresponding numbers:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/relaytextA.gif)
We need to add a wire to the 87a terminal of the left relay (or relay 1) of the DEI unit. Simply add a piece of wire to this terminal using a female quick disconnect connector:
Now simply push this up into the open 87a spot on the relay wire harness (it's the only open spot you have to work with). Now we can make our resistance wire. We need 660 Ohms of resistance, however my local radio shack did not have a 660 ohm resister, so I bought a pack of 470 ohm resisters and 100 Ohm resisters. I ended up having to daisy chain (1) 470 Ohm resister and (2) 100 Ohm resister for an approximate 670 Ohm resistance, which ended up working fine on my truck:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00057.jpg)
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00058.jpg)
Make sure you solder these resisters together good, then solder each end to some wire, and then protect that with heat shrink:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00059.jpg)
Now you can connect 1 end of your resistance wire to the 87 terminal on relay 1 of the DEI pack.
Now your prep work is done, go ahead and dismantle your truck. You'll need to take out the driver's kick panel (it's just snapped into place, a good yank will pull it out) Now take out the plastic piece beneath the steering wheel, there's two screws on the bottom of it, then it's just snapped into place. After you've got that off there's a metal piece that you'll also need to remove, directly under the steering wheel. 4 screws and you can set it aside. Your hood release and computer connector is on this metal piece, I just put it to the side.
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00064.jpg)
You'll have to remove the radio bezel also, open your drink holder and look up, there's 2 screws under there you'll have to take out, then the bezel is just snapped into place. I've found the best place to get grip is on the driver's side, but it is a little hard to pry it off, once you get it off, unhook your HVAC controls and cigarette liters, and set it aside. Now we can take off the plastic molding around the instrument cluster. There's several screws around it that have to be taken out, you have to put your truck in low gear, then just pull the plastic out and then up, make sure to unhook your light switch before you pull it all the way out. Take off the plastic access panel next to the headlight switch, on the outermost side of the dash. Stick a small flathead in it to pry it off. After it's all said and done you should be looking like this:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00052.jpg)
Once you're hear you have to decide where you want to put your DEI unit. I chose the area beneath the cupholders. There's just a void of unused space here:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00066.jpg)
Now we can begin hooking up our wires. Go to the headlight switch connector. There are 2 Green / White wires on here, we are using 1 of them. The one we want is on pin 1. Look at the back of your headlight switch for the pin numbers. Once you've determined which one is pin 1, cut this wire, leaving enough room on both sides to strip and work with:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00051.jpg)
No turning back now. Now attach a wire on each side of the wire you just cut, enough wire to reach your DEI unit, wherever you put it. I recommend using 2 different color wires otherwise it might get confusing. I also recommend soldering these connections for extra strength, shrink wrap, and electrical tape also:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00054.jpg)
As you can tell in the above picture, I used a RED wire on the TRUCK's side of the green/white wire, and a BLACK wire on the SWITCH's side of the green/white wire.
You need to attach the RED wire (Truck's Side) to terminal 30 of our relay we prepped earlier. You connect the BLACK wire (Switch Side) to terminal 87a (the wire we added to the relay). Now take the Resistance wire we made earlier that's on terminal 87, hook the other end of that wire up to a good ground. I used the factory ground location, underneath the steering wheel, you'll see a bunch of wires on a copper plate bolted to the dash frame. I unbolted this, connected an insulated ring connector on the end of my resistance wire, also made another ground wire while I was there to hook up to the DEI unit later, and bolted everything back up.
Now you have to decide where you want your photocell to go. I didn't want to be able to see mine, so I pryed up the back of the dash where the infinity speakers would have gone had I got that package. I put a small piece of metal over the speaker hole, and stuck the photocell to it, running the wire down the speaker hole to the DEI unit. I snapped the dash piece back together, and that plastic molding now holds the photocell securely in place.
Now we have to hook up the basic wires on the DEI unit:
Constant 12v (Red): I ran a wire directly from the battery. I had already made a hole through the firewall when I ran amp wiring, so I just used that.
Ground (Black): This is the ground wire I made when we hooked the resistance wire up
Ignition 12v (Yellow): I used the driver's side cigarette lighter for this. Just strip (DON'T CUT) the Red/Yellow wire back, solder another wire to this, tape it up, and then hook that up to the yellow wire:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00055.jpg)
The other wires on the DEI unit I did not use. You can hook it up to when you turn your wipers on the your headlights come on, or when you disarm a factory security system the headlights will come on. I didn't want that so I didn't hook them up. There's instructions with the DEI unit if you want these features also.
Now we have everything hooked up, it's time to test it. Put the plastic molding back on around the instrument cluster (The one with the headlight switch) hook the headlight switch back up. Connect the negative side of the battery you unhooked earlier (you had better done that) and then pull out of the garage into some sunlight. Turn your key to the ON position. If there is adequate sunlight your headlights should remain off, and the use of the headlight switch should be normal. Now place your hand over your photocell to simulate darkness. After 5-10 seconds you should here a relay click and your headlights will be on. Take your hand away from the photocell and check to make sure your headlights are on. You have about 30 seconds before the DEI will sense the sunlight and kick the headlights back off. Congratulations you now have automatic headlights.
Tape all your wires up and cable tie them out of the way:
![](http://bcwhite.expo300.com/images/truck/drl/IMG00065.jpg)
Reassemble your truck in the reverse order you took it apart. Congrats, you're all done!! Now wasn't that easy.
Something to remember. With the Switched 12v source I used the lights will remain on with the Accessory delay until you open the door. Also, your headlights will be switched ON until after you turn your vehicle off, which activates the headlight delay feature on our trucks. If for some reason you want to cancel this, just turn your headlight switch on and off as you're getting out of the truck, and you'll shut the headlights off, otherwise they'll shut off in 60 seconds or so.
Any questions feel free to ask. I apologize for the lack of pictures as my digital camera's batteries were dead when I started this. The pics were taken from my phone, which also was suffering from a fading battery. Sorry.
Ram3rdGen