Overhead console

[catesja]

Yep I saw some Venture and Silhouette consoles today when I looked, but I have the grey interior and not tan. I am probably going to check some wrecking yards here and see what I can find. Thanks guys!

[03 Montana]

Does any one have the pin out diagrams for the connection to the DIC for a 1998 Pontiac Montana and also a 2003 Pontiac Montana. The DIC I have is from a 1998 Pontiac Montana and i currently have a 2003 Montana. I just want to verify the wiring is in the same pins


Thanks

Jason

[GregA]

Originally Posted by 03 Montana

Does any one have the pin out diagrams for the connection to the DIC for a 1998 Pontiac Montana and also a 2003 Pontiac Montana. The DIC I have is from a 1998 Pontiac Montana and i currently have a 2003 Montana. I just want to verify the wiring is in the same pins


Thanks

Jason

I did a little research, and there seems to be some minor difference between the pinouts. It appears to be that 1999 and below have certain signals that the 2000 and above do not.

Anyway, what I found is on the page shown below.

Driver Information Connector

Take Care,

[03 Montana]

Thanks for your help. That explains why it doesn't work properly

Jason

[03 Montana]

Got a DIC from a 2003 chev venture and it works perfectly thanks for all the help

Jason

[denyp]

Ok Guys,

I have an '97 Venture LE with an overhead console. It has a bank of switches Only one is used to turn on/off the door interior light (big deal) Asside from this it has a cubby hole for sun glasses. I have read your posts with great interest - what else are you getting here? Please advise! What would the other switch locations be used for in my rig (at least 4 more)

Deny

[GregA]

Originally Posted by denyp

Ok Guys,

I have an '97 Venture LE with an overhead console. It has a bank of switches Only one is used to turn on/off the door interior light (big deal) Asside from this it has a cubby hole for sun glasses. I have read your posts with great interest - what else are you getting here? Please advise! What would the other switch locations be used for in my rig (at least 4 more)

Deny

From my Owners Manual (from Left to Right as you sit in the driver's seat)

- Interior Lamp Override (the one you have)
- Left Power Sliding Door Switch (with override)
- Right Power Sliding Door Switch (with override)
- Power Rear Quarter Window Switch (open & close)
- Rear Parking Aid Override Switch

Obviously not all vans have each switch installed (I have no power sliding doors, power rear quarter windows, or rear parking aid). It sounds like you have the same setup that I start with.

My next "project" is to install the rear quarter window motors (acquired via eBay), so when I got the replacement console I made sure that the switch was already there.

Take Care,

[catesja]

Hey there guys, I got my new console today and am getting ready to mount it. The question I have is how to mount the overhead mount. I got an extra mounting bracket that is the same size as the console. This console was from a Sillhouette (2001) and I am assuming that my 2000 Montana doesn't have the mounting braket in the roof already, not exactly sure however. I also noticed that since this has onstar and the van doesn;t, that the wired pigtail on it looks different than what I have in the van. Is the DIC connector the same if I were to unplug it and plug my wire into it? The DIC wire is also connected to the On-star or homelink part. Also, if anyone has just the blank for the on-star section, since my van doesn't have on-star, I thought I would take that out, but without a blank or cover I have a hole in the roof. I am willing to trade straight across if someone needs the on-star part. Also, if the wiring is there for homelink? Not that I will use it now, but if the wiring is there I might as well hook it up in case I use it in the future!

Thanks Guys.

[GregA]

Originally Posted by catesja

Hey there guys, I got my new console today and am getting ready to mount it. The question I have is how to mount the overhead mount. I got an extra mounting bracket that is the same size as the console. This console was from a Sillhouette (2001) and I am assuming that my 2000 Montana doesn't have the mounting braket in the roof already, not exactly sure however.

I assume you have checked out my page here. If not, take a look.

From what I remember, the plastic mounting bracket seems to "float" between the metal roof and the headliner. I believe the pressure of screwing the console to the mount, with the headliner in between, holds it in place.

I say "seems to" because I did NOT have to remove my old mounting piece to install the replacement console (they were the same style & size), but it did seem to move around some. If you have (had) the smaller console (w/only lights & a few switches), the headliner will have to be cut to fit the new console. Take your time on this.

If you have to put the larger console in place, I would guess that the mounting piece would have to be slipped between the headliner & roof. You may be able to do this by removing the clips that hold the sun visors in place and gently pulling the headliner down just enough to get the mount in there.

Originally Posted by catesja

I also noticed that since this has onstar and the van doesn;t, that the wired pigtail on it looks different than what I have in the van. Is the DIC connector the same if I were to unplug it and plug my wire into it? The DIC wire is also connected to the On-star or homelink part. Also, if anyone has just the blank for the on-star section, since my van doesn't have on-star, I thought I would take that out, but without a blank or cover I have a hole in the roof. I am willing to trade straight across if someone needs the on-star part. Also, if the wiring is there for homelink? Not that I will use it now, but if the wiring is there I might as well hook it up in case I use it in the future!

Thanks Guys.

I believe the DIC connectors are all the same, from year 2000 and above. It should work.

Is there what looks like a small set of "jumper" wires between the DIC and the Homelink on your new console? I believe this is the "pigtail" you mentioned above. I seem to remember something like that on my replacement console. I think it is used to supply power (and ONLY power) to the Homelink & you will probably have to keep it in place. I believe Homelink only needs power to operate.

As for the OnStar buttons, I would just leave them there.

I hope this helps. If you want, I could take some more pictures and put them on my web page for you to look at.

Take Care,

[catesja]

Yes I found your website intriguing and this prompted me to look further into this mod for my van! It is very helpful and appreciative. This is what DIY info should be like!

These are the wires that are connected and the pigtail info:

On the pigtail that I am talking about are the wires to the DIC: yellow, orange, 0, 0, light grey, green/black, 0, black, dark grey (or brown)
This goes to another pigtail that also has the Homelink wires which are orange, black and light grey. It looks like the wires are spliced together on the homelink and the DIC before they go into the other pigtail.

It does look like the red tailed DIC connector will plug into the other pigtail, so I guess I will just plug it in.

On the extra pigtail the wires are like this: yellow, orange, 0, 0, light grey, green/black, black, black, dark grey (or brown)

Also what is required to make homelink work? Is there a programming guide somewhere?

I also pulled the On-Star cable into the pocket it is in and therefore eliminating the wires from the connection area.

I will also probably be using my original buttons on it as I have no use for them. I thought about maybe adding the sliding door modules and mechanisms, but it looks to complicated!

Thanks everyone!

Jeff

[GregA]

Originally Posted by catesja

Yes I found your website intriguing and this prompted me to look further into this mod for my van! It is very helpful and appreciative. This is what DIY info should be like!

Thanks for the kind words

Originally Posted by catesja

On the pigtail that I am talking about are the wires to the DIC: ...

Oops - Forgot to put the link to the DIC connector info. It is below:
Driver Information Center Connector

Originally Posted by catesja

Also what is required to make homelink work? Is there a programming guide somewhere?

I either found the instructions online or in the Owner's Manual, which I downloaded once I registered the van at mygmlink.com . It is also in my printed manual, but I find the downloaded PDF file more usable. I have NOT used the homelink yet 'cause my garage door opener is VERY old.

Originally Posted by catesja

I will also probably be using my original buttons on it as I have no use for them. I thought about maybe adding the sliding door modules and mechanisms, but it looks to complicated!

Thanks everyone!

Jeff

Yeah - the power sliding doors are also noted (in these forums) for failing to work properly and need to be "reset" every now and then. Too much work for me.

Did you see the section of the site where I installed the Power Rear Quarter Vent Motors (upgrade from "manual" latches)? I still have more work to do on those pages, but I have the motors installed and they work great (just in time for winter! ).

Take Care,

[traker1001]

Ok folks for us 97/98 owners its not as easy but it is possible, I just finished doing this to my 98 venture and heres the answer... There is no DIC connector in our vans, heres how I did it.


I purchased a 99 Silohuette OH console, and lucky for me they just clipped the wiring harness unstead of leaving out the connectors.

in the 97/98 venture the DIC wires end on the pillar between the right sliding door and the front right door. If you pull the seatbelt off and the covers off you will see a black junction box right below the seat belt pully. If you look one side of this box has all the DIC wires you need, This is where they end. GM in there ifinite wisdom decided not to put an extension.

So what I did was get some extra wire and directly splice into these wires, ran the new wire up to the overhead console and connected the connector they sent with the console. Plugged it in and voila it worked. Fortunatly the temp sensor connector was indeed where it neded to be. And I checked and the rear power window conectors are there, They also get power when I push the button. So rear power windows here i come.

Hope this helps out.

PS. The yellow wire that has voltage while the key is on (But not started.)is the Fused Accessory Feed, The other one doesnt seem to have any current on it while the key is on.

[catesja]

I was wondering if someone had figured out a way to mount the overhead console in the spot where a standard shorty was installed originally? I have mine in, but in the front it sticks down about 1 inch or so. It blocks the top portion of the rearview mirror. I was wondering if anyone found a way to cut or shave the mounting plate so that it fits more flush?

Also, does someone have a step by step on matching the old front half to the new to cover the headliner? It looks good until you get to the front where the new console is not as wide as the old.

Thanks

Jeff Cates


BTW...everything works except the temp probe of course, I need to get those parts and install them. Oh and my compass was off so I have to calibrate it. It said West was East! Go figure. I haven't tried the homelink yet either, I need a garage door or something to try it on!

[catesja]

Hey there again. I custom cut the front of the old console to fit and hide under the new one, I also trimmed the new console mounting bracket so that I could get it as far forward as I could so that there was a small gap. I did however notice that the mounting bracket has (no had) some bolt holes towards the outer edge on the front, and in the headliner area I found matching holes in the van body. But this would place the console about 4 inches further back and leave a huge gap in the front. However it did seem that at that position, the console wouldn't obstruct any of the rearview mirror, but rather than get a new headliner to match the console, I cut and make it work my way!

Also, I noticed the violet plug in the engine compartment around the washer bottle. It was plugged into another harness, so I looked to the front of the van and the matching colored wires plugged into the violet were in front of the radiator on the passenger side with a blue 2-wire plug. So it looks like my van is ready for the sensor and all I will need is a sensor!

My van already had the rear power quarter windows, so I didn't have to mess with any of that.

This is so cool. My mother-in-law has a 2000 Dodge Intrepid with the DIC ssystem, and since she got it in 2000 I wanted that in my car. But the van we bought (used about 2 years ago) didn't have it and I figured it wouldn't be possible to do.

Low and behold......done (almost). I also noticed that I couldn't get the Homelink to work even in programming mode. I am wondering if that has to do with a black wire not present in the van side harness! Do you guys think that the black wires could be spliced together?

Thanks
Jeff Cates

[traker1001]

Black wires are just ground, You dont have to splice them just find a piece of the body metal to screw them into.