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How-To: Install '07.5+ Cab Lights on '01-'07 Silverado

141K views 202 replies 71 participants last post by  hstechfl 
#1 · (Edited)
I couldn't find a good how-to to install cab lights on my '01 so I decided to write a in-depth one for anyone else who is looking. I had to use multiple threads, pictures, and dimensions to get them right. Hopefully this helps someone in the future.

This will work on all '01+ Silverado trucks. The dimensions used here are specific for the '01-'07 trucks. I'd assume the '07.5+ trucks will be a little different on the dimensions, but the theory is still the same.


Difficulty: 7 out of 10.

I give it a 7 out of 10 because of the drilling of a perfectly good cab roof is a little nerve racking.


Install Time: 3 hours

I did the install by myself, including all the measuring. The only help I got was a second person to measure to make sure the templates I made were taped in the correct location.


Tools Needed:
- #2 Phillips Screw Driver
- 1/4" Drive Ratchet
- 1/4" Drive Extension, 6"
- 1/4" Drive T15 Socket
- 1/4" Drive T20 Socket
- Drill (corded or cordless with a low speed setting)
- 7/64" Drill Bit (for metal)
- 5/8" Drill Bit (for metal)
- Touch-up Paint (to match truck color)
- Black Automotive Silicone
- 2" Painters Tape


Parts Needed:
- '07.5+ Driver Side Cab Light (GM Part #: 20966091)
- '07.5+ Passenger Side Cab Light (GM Part #: 20966092)
- '07.5+ Center Cab Light (GM Part #: 20966093)
- '02-'07 Cab Light Wiring Harness (GM Part #: 15846970)
- '08-'12 Cab Light Wiring Harness (GM Part #: 22823370) <-- This is for those wanting to do this to their '08-'12 trucks and make it plug and play



Prior to Install:

Prior to starting the install there is a couple things you can do to get ready.

First thing is fairly simple. The cab light wiring harness needs the wires swapped. The LED cab lights for the '07.5+ trucks are polarity sensitive. That means the positive and negative must be on the correct pins for them to work. The '03-'07 cab light wiring harness has them backwards to work with the '02-'07 lights. To do this, remove the blue keeper with a small flat screw driver. Once it is removed, you can pry the clip up that is holding the wire pin in and pull the pin out; do this for both pins. Once both pins are out, swap their locations with each other.

Next, you will want to cut the ring off from around the plug on the outer lights. This ring serves no purpose and will just cause you to have to drill a larger hole on the outer lights. I used a hack saw to cut the rings off with.

Next what you want to do is to make a set of templates for the cab lights. Since the cab lights do not come with a removable gasket to use as a marking point, making your own template is the only way to go.

Cut a 11/16" square hole in a section of card board. Now center the wiring portion of a light in that hole. Once it is centered, press the light down and trace the outline of the light on the cardboard. Use a sharp box cutter or a good pair of scissors to cut the outline out. Once it is cut out. Place the cutout under the light and screw the OEM screws into the card board. They should suck the cardboard up tight against the light.

Repeat the above for each light until you have 3 templates; one for each light.










Prepping the Interior for Cab Light Installation:

Now you can get the interior of the truck read for the cab light install. To do this you will need to take the sun visors, overhead console, and A-pillar trim pieces off.

To remove the sun visors (this will be the same for both visors), pop them out of the hold and pivot them towards the door. Use the T20 socket to remove the screw holding the clip to the cab. Now use the T15 socket to remove the 3x screws holding the actual sun visor to the cab. Repeat this for the opposite side.


Now, take the #2 Phillips Screwdriver and remove the single screw in the overhead console. This screw is located towards the windshield. Once that screw is removed, pop the console clips from the cab. Unplug the wiring going to the console and set the console out of the way.




Grab the top of each A-pillar trim and gently pull out. Once it is pulled out, you will be able to slide the A-pillar trim up out of the dash and lay it out of the way.




Remove the passenger side portion of the dash (same spot as the fuse box, only on the passenger side) to revel the distribution block the wiring harness will plug into.

Feed the dash end of the wiring down from the top of the dash by the A-pillar. You can follow the wires once it is down from the dash and wrap it into the distribution block. You can plug the wiring harness into the only open slot.





Feed the other portion of the wiring up the passenger A-pillar and across the roof to the driver side light area.



Cab Light Layout:

Now let's prep for the cab light install on the cab.

Take your 2" Painters Tape and cover the cab area. You will want to cover an area from the windshield up to about 10". This will give you plenty of room for the template layout and to keep from scratching the cab. The painters tape is there to help keep the paint from chipping around the area you are drilling and to make it easier to layout the templates.






Now you can start laying out your templates in their area. We will layout the outside lights first as the center light will be measured off each of the outer lights.

The driver side template goes 3.5" from the first ridge near the door to the outside portion of the light. The front of the driver side light goes 5" from the top of the black windshield trim. Make sure you measure the front of the light on both sides as the light needs to be curved to flow with the window. Use some of the painters tape to secure the template in its location once you have the measurements correct.

The passenger side template goes 3.5" from the first ridge near the door to the outside portion of the light. The front of the passenger side light goes 5" from the top of the black windshield trim. Make sure you measure the front of the light on both sides as the light needs to be curved to flow with the window. Use some of the painters tape to secure the template in its location once you have the measurements correct.

The center light goes 11" from the inside edge of each outer light to the outer edge of the center light. The center light also goes 5" from the top of the black windshield trim. Make sure to measure the center light to windshield trim in 2 places to make sure it is square with the windshield. Use some of the painters tape to secure the template in its location once you have the measurements correct.


In the picture below, you will see the ridge the outer lights are measured too.




In the picture below, you will see the dimensions as they pertain to the templates/lights.




Now is the spot where you start double, triple, and quadruple checking your measurements. It is a good idea to have someone else check the measurements. Tell them where to measure to and have them tell you what they measured. If they get the same as you, then your ready to start drilling.








Drilling the Cab:

Now you are ready to drill the cab.

I started by drilling the largest hole for each light. Start with a smaller, pilot bit and work your way up to the 5/8" bit. When drilling the cab, make sure your drill is on the lowest speed. Doing the step up and the low speed drill will ensure that your drill bit doesn't catch and distort the cab. Center the smaller drill bit in the square you cut out of the template. It is best to step your way up 5-6 times.

Once your are done with the larger hole, use the 7/64" drill bit to drill the mounting screw holes. With your template in place, you should be able to go through where the screws went through the cardboard. Again, make sure your drill is on its slowest speed.

Once your are done drilling all the holes (there should be 10 holes), remove the painters tape from the roof. Once the tape is removed, double check to make sure your plugs on the lights will fit in the large holes; make any adjustments to the hole as needed to make the light fit.

Once you know the plug fits, use your touch up paint to cover the bare metal. This will help prevent the bare metal from rusting.




Allow the touch up paint to dry for about 30 minutes.



Installing the Cab Lights:

Now you are ready to install the cab lights.

Start by taking the black automotive silicone and running a 1/8" bead around the large hole and putting a good dab on the screw holes.


 
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#33 ·
anyone know where i can find a wiring harness? everywhere ive looked is either back ordered or out of stock
 
#34 ·
I picked mine up from the local parts house.
 
#36 ·
thanks guys, i tried gmpartsdirect and they had it on backorder. im gonna try my local dealer and see if they cant find something
 
#38 ·
Not with the factory wiring unless you modify it.
 
#40 ·
You will have to splice plugs into the wiring somehow. The factory wiring only has 3 plugs.
 
#42 ·
i wouldnt think so because there are 5 lights total in the 3 piece set up being that the center has 3 leds with the two on the sides
 
#43 ·
I like the look of the 5 lights more myself and had considered doing this. But I also want something thats gonna have quality like oem stuff, which would mean Id have to get Ford or Dodge lights, eww :eek:
 
#73 ·
Fyi you dont have to go with ford or dodge to get the oem 5 light look the old 6.5s used a 5 light set up look for 88-00(some companys may end it at 98) c/k 3500 and recom makes smojed lenses as well

Here is a pic
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Pickup truck Gmc

Sorry about the pic its an old one of my first diesel

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#44 ·
**UPDATE**

Everyone, so far so good! NO LEAKS!!!

I followed the instructions in this post to the "T" :)

One thing i noticed, i see more of the OEM style lights and i think i may switch over eventually but for now the Recon Tinted are working fine.

Thanks again for the write up!
 
#46 ·
Post up some night and day pics if you get a chance I'd like to see how the recons look before I go drilling holes. I myself want a set of oem but am debating just using the recons I have laying around for now.


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App
 
#45 ·
good to hear there are no leaks sal.

ford,... can suck it.

dodge isnt to bad.. besides didnt one of the dodge brothers break off and make chevy?
cummins are good. but im chevy for life.

anyways. i love the look of the 5pc recon smoked led's. ill probably order them and the wiring harnesss they recommened on the site, and once i get to drilling and plugging ill figure out what exactly needs to be done. but since there are 5 leds in the 3pc already i would be suprised if there are electrical issues... ill just get some tape and start pluggin and chuggin.
 
#47 ·
i put the recon lights on my 03. instead of drilling a 5/8 hole in the cab, i took a dremel and cut off the large plastic tab that fits in the hole. since i wasn't using a factory harness (made my own) I just cut the quick connector off. then i only had to have a hole big enough for a pair of wires to go through.
 
#50 ·
what harness did you use? and where did you get your lights? im wanting to do the exact same thing but dont know how/where to start
 
#51 ·
If you actually read the thread, your questions have been answered.
 
#53 ·
Just did mine this morning. Thanks for the write up, it made my install go smoothly! Now I just can't decide if I liked it better with or without the lights lol oh well to late now


Sent from my iPhone using AutoGuide.com App
 
#57 ·
:thumb
 
#59 ·
My truck didn't have XM or OnStar from the factory. The only thing offered on the '01 trucks was the OnStar and it was an option.

If you use the measurements I used, the OnStar and XM antenna's will fint just inside the outer 2 lights.
 
#62 ·
Looks good.

I'm just not a fan of the Recon lights with the multiple LED's.
 
#64 ·
#67 ·
Here are some pics of my recons.
 

Attachments

#70 ·
Can anyone point me in the right direct on where to get the gm ones and not pay an arm and a leg for them? Thanks, I already check gmpartsdirect.com btw
 
#72 ·
I bought mine from gmpartsdirect.com

They were cheaper than the GM Parts House.

Cale
 
#71 ·
#74 ·
Good idea, thanks. When I was shopping for my truck, I wanted to find one with cab lights. When I bought one without, I had planned on adding them. But now Im on the fence/ not really wanting them anymore. I dunno, I can always do it in the future.
 
#75 ·
Did this today finally. Got some recon lights from a guy on here. Drilled some holes drank some beer and got a tan. Win win win. Thanks op for the writeup definatly helped me with measurements. Is say its only a 3/10 on difficulty though. I have the iq of a rodent and I had no problems Haha.



 
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