06 Liberty - upgrade from OH Light to EVIC Console.

[Beetlemn73]

Hi All> I am one of the lucky ones to have purchased an 06 Liberty CRD. Abt 970 miles on it. I have looked at all the "How To's " on adding an EVIC, but I've run into a problem, no one else has mentioned. The original lamps in the OH console are long 212 type. The EVIC has 192's. Basically, no big deal. HOWEVER, when you close the door, the lamps never go off entirely. It almost seems to me there is a current sense somewhere, that has noticed a different load. What I did was look up the wattage of both bulbs and the long ones are around 7w and the small ones are arnd 4w. My guess is to try to upgrade to 7w small bulbs. The EVIC is from an '04 Liberty. The EVIC works flawless. It's the Overhead lights that the problem. Go figure. Any thoughts/help appreciated. Think I'm going to install my splash guards and hold this project for another day.

 

[Beetlemn73]

Anyone good with Ohms law ?

What ohm/watt resistor, would I need to put in parallel with the lamp to get it to draw that same amount of current as the 212 lamps ?? I changed the 192's to 168's(draw alittle more current, but not enough). :-k

 

[Corwyyn]

Yeah, I noticed the same thing when I changed my lights to red LEDs - they just never shut all the way off when the key is in the ignition (they will when the key is out and the door locked, after about 10-15 secs). If you could post up some more info on the 168s it would help to figure things out. I'm going to be travelling today so I won't be able to do much for a while.

 

[Beetlemn73]

If you could post up some more info on the 168s ...

168 bulb 14v .35a 5W
192 bulb 13v .33a 4.3W

I DID, by searching with Google, see LED lamps in all sorts of colors. I would figure they would keeps the specs of those close to the OEM bulbs as to not cause problems, because I know an LED takes less current. I was afraid it would run my battery down, so I haven't installed the OH console yet. Did a quick hook up and it's going to be a NICE option. I think the resistor option wouldn't be too bad, since the leads will fit the back of the lamp sockets fairly EZ, UNLESS the required wattage is something that would fry plastic. Thanks.

 

[Beetlemn73]

UPDATE

UPDATE. I went as far as putting 2 bulbs/socket and that just made them dimmer. They should have been off at the time. I also tried 3 5W resistors - 2.7 ohm, 7 ohm, and a 15 ohm. Only thing that was noticable was the 2.7 got HOT. :-s ...Any one out there with an '06 with an Overhead console ?? Can you check to see what type of bulbs that the factory has installed ??

 

[Beetlemn73]

PROBLEM SOLVED

\/ I took about a couple hours this evening to figure this lighting problem out. I sketched out the schematic of the original overhead light that came in the car. I then started to compare that with the wiring on the EVIC overhead light. Looking at the connector on the light, the middle pin carries 12v to the 2 lamps. The right-hand pin is the door signal and the left-hand pin head is basically ground, but it the dash dimmer switch 'controls' it. I found that the middle pin was heading to the switches and not the 2 lamps. So I switched the pins around to match the old light and BINGO =D> . It's almost been more of a pain than what its worth, but it sure is nice knowing I took part in installing an overhead console that adds some nice 'eye candy' and functionallity to the truck. Being a CRD, NOT many left to choose from when I purchased it. Just about the last one in the state.

 

[the_titan]

I am in the same boat as you. We looked at a Liberty earlier in the model year when we could still do a drop shipment straight from the factory, but decided against another used car at the time because I ended up ordering myself a Charger R/T a couple weeks into our quest. Given end of model year incentives and dealer markdowns, we finally got my fiancee her Liberty Limited a couple weeks ago, but did not have much choice of models at all. In fact, we got one of only 2 in the color she wanted that had Side Curtain Air Bags, NAV and a sunroof...but no EVIC. Now, on my Charger the EVIC add is not an option between its integration into the instrument cluster and the way everything in the car interfaces with its CANBUS computer network. On the Liberty this seems like a very viable and easy mod, but I am not familiar with the writeup you're referencing. Please fill me in.

 

[Beetlemn73]

Liberty EVIC

... my fiancee her Liberty Limited a couple weeks ago, but did not have much choice of models at all. In fact, we got one of only 2 in the color she wanted that had Side Curtain Air Bags, NAV and a sunroof...but no EVIC. ... Please fill me in.

WOW, didn't know that any NEW Liberty's are still available. Where did you find them ??? The article I'm referring to is http://alucinari.net/jeep/kj/evic_install/

Give's you the basics to get it done. I used an '04 EVIC in my '06 and everyone that sees the car thinks it was done by the factory. I made a template(which I still have), out of cardboard. I made holes to make it fit the clips that hold the visor in place. That way with the visors in their normal position, it held the template up while I traced the hole with a Sharpie. There is a wire bundle that goes from left to right, right in the area that gets cut, so BE VERY CAREFULL not to cut that wire. It's glued to the headliner so it doesn't rattle around up there. I also used silicon glue down the Driver side pillar, in a couple places, to keep the 4-cond cable I used, from rattling around down the pillar. I used the fuse box for 2 connections, found a good ground and went to the back of the computer plug, to get the PCI buss. WORKS just like factory and so cool I did it myself. I get around 28MPG on the highway. Around town, here in hilly Stafford, I get 23MPG. I LOVE my CRD. I even keep some B100 around and pour in a gallon @ each fillup, to make the B5 that the vehicle came with from the factory. I have 4700 miles on it now. I also have a VW TDI '06 and it's an awesome car. Love the DSG shift(It's actually a computer controlled Manual transmission). If the Liberty came with that, it would be the icing on the cake.

Good luck if you take on the project. Get NEW EXACTO blades and change frequently and you'll do just fine.

Happy Holidays

Gary \/

 

[the_titan]

Oh there are quite a few still out there, just don't be expecting a lot of options groups. We had a specific list of things she had to have/wanted/would like and just got one that was an exact match for what she absolutely needed. Found it up in DE. I am a well seasoned modder, especially on my Charger, so I made it clear to her up front that there was no reason to be shopping for certain features that came as part of a larger option group given that I could add them in later on my own for much less than the price of the option group, and the part itself. So, my list of upcoming "factory" mods for her, now one week old, Liberty, in order of priority:

Engine Block Heater
EVIC w/Homelink
Steering Wheel Audio Controls
RB1 w/ changer
Cabin Air Filter

They are all extremely easy from what I see, especially compared to mods on a Charger, so it is just a matter of finding the parts, now.

 

[Beetlemn73]

The mods

COOL on the mods. Mine came with the Engine Block Heater. Cord was tywrap to the dipstick. I put in my RB1. Got a used one for $475. I also got an extended length Magnetic antenna for it, so I mounted it outside, on the inside of the Roof rails. Hid the wire. Works awesome, probably better than factory, since that one installs in the dash. Your Cabin air filter install sounds nice. How does that go ??

 

[the_titan]

I already installed it on my Charger, which was a major major PITA. On the Charger you have to take apart everything and even then it is a tight pinch to get it down in there. It was part of the driver protection packages for both the Dodge LX and the Jeep KJ, at somewhere around 500. The filter itself is like 30 bucks and just filters the air intake for your AC and such. Some claim it does not diminish cabin air smells, but I drive past a water treatment plant every day on my way to work and ever since installing it I no longer smell it. No matter what it will keep out dust and other garbage too small to be caught by the mesh that should be in there now. Looking at the service manual for the KJ, this one looks like a cinch in comparison.

Finding an overhead console with EVIC and sunroof controls, however, has not been. Maybe the junkyards in DC are just picked clean, or maybe I have been misled on how easy these are to find, but I am having no luck. I really wanted to get a gray EVIC with sunroof, homelink and TPMS, but I will settle for just the sunroof controls.

 

[Beetlemn73]

I got my EVIC from eBay. Bidding was heavy and I got mine for $112.

You say it doesn't look to difficult to install the Cabin air ?? If you have a diagram, I'd be interested in seeing how it's done.

Thanks

 

[MoladoGuy]

I got my EVIC from eBay. Bidding was heavy and I got mine for $112.

You say it doesn't look to difficult to install the Cabin air ?? If you have a diagram, I'd be interested in seeing how it's done.

Thanks

http://jeepkj.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2010&highlight=cabin+air+filter

 

[tulsa]

Pictures of EVIC install

Beetlemn,
Could you post pictures of the way your EVIC snaps in place. I just bought a OTIS I believe from a local junk yard to go into an 05 CRD. It has homelink and sunroof controls, but color of the wiring is different and it was mounted on a plastic piece attached to the roof. Thought it would be good for instantaneous mpg. Plan to look for an 05 or 06 EVIC also.
Lewis