HOW TO: Install Steeringwheel radio controls on your Liberty

When I purchased my Renegade in Jan. I did not get the premium speakers/radio with Steering wheel mounted controls. I have since added a RB1 radio Sirius upgrade and wanted to add the steering wheel controls. After looking around I did not find any write-ups for the KJ with the info on how to do this mod so I looked at the info from the Grand Cherokee forums and was told it was similar... Well I bought all the parts and did the install recently. I must say it's fairly easy. Here's a quick write-up on the install...



First are the parts:

You'll need 2 radio control, switches, wiring, clock spring and steering wheel bolt. I chose to replace the clock spring instead of moding it Just to make sure of no issues in the future....



Part #'s are as follows:

Switches 56042313- ab $12.38
56042312- ab $13.05

Wiring 56010171- ac $23.18

Clock Spring 56010187- ag $99.20

Bolt 6505656- aa $0.80



You'll need the following tools:

Phillips screwdriver

8mm 10mm & 13mm sockets

Ratchet and extension

10mm wrench

T15 Torx bit

Chrysler steering wheel puller (rent one or if your lucky like me borrow one from one of your techs)

Dremel

Razor blade

Sandpaper





1) Disconnect the battery, (10mm socket/wrench), wait a few min after disconnecting to make sure airbag doesn't have power to deploy.

2) Step on brake pedal a few times to fully release any stored power, again to prevent airbag deployment.

3) Center the steering wheel with the wheels pointing straight ahead.

4) Using the 8mm socket remove the 2 bolts on the underside of the steering wheel holding on the airbag. Place bolts aside as they will be reused later.

5) Pull the airbag up gently. It should pull away easily. 3 plugs connect it to the steering wheel. Carefully disconnect the 3 plugs and place face up in a safe place.

6) Using the T15 Torx bit remove the 2 screws on the lower trim on the steering column and place the 2 screws aside to use later. Remove the upper and lower covers and put aside as well.

7) Using the 13mm socket unbolt the bolt at the center of the steering wheel. Note it is bolted on tight so some muscle will be needed to remove it. You can put the bolt in with your spare parts if you got a new one, as it will not be reused. If you scrimped on $0.80 then reuse it.

8) Using the Chrysler steering wheel puller pull the steering wheel off the Jeep. Trust me you don't have the muscle to pull it off without one. Note there is a dot on the top of the steering that aligns up with a small arrow on the steering wheel to help you align up the wheel on reinstall.

9) At a workbench or station use the Phillips screwdriver to remove the 2 screws holding the cruise switches to the steering wheel. Place the screws aside to reuse later. Unplug the switches and put aside as well. The back of the wheel should now pull away from the main portion of the wheel. The back part is what we will be working with for now.

10) You will see the 2 templates for the radio switches on the back portion of the steering wheel. You will need to Dremel this part out. Take your time and go slowly as you want a smooth a surface as possible. If you don't have a Dremel (or forget it at home like me) you can use a razor blades but be prepared to take 1 hour plus on this vs. 15min.

11) Take the new wiring harness with the 2 additional pig-tails and using the old wiring harness position as a template swap harnesses. It is very easy to do.

12) Install the new radio switches check that the fit properly trim back part of wheel if necessary. Plug in wiring harness to switches. Don't worry you cant mix plugs up as they will only fit the proper switch.

13) Reattach back and main steering wheel parts. Reinstall Cruise switches and reinstall cruise screws that hold everything in place.

14) Line up steering wheel on to steering shaft. Push down on wheel to start the press fit.

15) Use the new steering wheel bolt and re-torque wheel.

16) Reinstall upper and lower steering column covers reusing the T15 Torx screws.

17) Carefully reconnect the 3 plugs for the airbag. Reinstall the 2 8mm bolts holding the airbag in place.

18) Reconnect battery cables and tighten down using 10mm socket/wrench.

19) Get in on pass side of Jeep and turn the key to on position. (Do this in case airbag goes off you don't get hit.

20) Check connections and make sure everything is on tight.

21) Sit back and enjoy your new Steering wheel radio switches!!!



NOTE I AM NOT RESPONSABLE FOR ANY ERRORS/OMISSIONS TO THIS SET OF INSTRUCTIONS.


Submitted by: [email protected]

Re: HOW TO: Install Steeringwheel radio controls on your Lib

Renegade04 said:

Wiring 56010171- ac $2318

Click to expand...

at those prices I could live without the controls \/

whoops... $23.18...will fix that

19) Get in on pass side of Jeep and turn the key to on position. (Do this in case airbag goes off you don't get hit.

Click to expand...

Sounded do-able till I got to this part!

Sometimes we write extra stuff in our how-tos to cover our backsides, in case. I dont think anyone EXPECTS this to happen, just want to make sure that people are aware of the possibility.

-Blu

Two questions... where is the $100 'Clock Spring' used? And... will this work with the built-in (in dash) 6 cd changer radio version, a la my '05 Sport? Thanks!

Stainz05

The clock spring is in the center of the steering wheel its what the connectors for the cruise and radio controls plug into. Its the reason you have to remove the steering wheel as you cant switch it out without doing so... Some have modified their existing clock springs but I didnt cause it also controls airbag deployment and Im not going to mess with that......
Yes it will work with any factory headunit......

just in response to your post. what is the RB1 radio Sirius upgrade?? is this also needed for the steering wheel controls to work?

Will this work in the Standard Factory CD Player with Changer Controls (no changer)?

I would love to have my steering wheel controls back. I had an aftermarket one that had controls that attached to the wheel in my previous vehicle, and i keep looking for them in my KJ.

Has anybody with an '05 tried this? I did mine over the holidays, and everything worked out just fine. The big difference was that I didn't need to order a new clockspring or bolt. The original clockspring part number in my sport 56010688AA, which had all the connections necessary for the radio controls.

I have the RB1 Nav system with the mopar 6 disc changer in the back, and the controls work well. Some of the nav functions can even be controlled via the steering wheel. The only annoyances are that its not able to switch to the nav and when in nav mode, you can't move to a different cd. Without the clockspring, the whole mod cost around $50, well worth it.

Glad to hear it worked out for you boilermaker. I love having that feature in the KJ. I'm always turning up and down the music, depending upon when my wife wants to talk... #-o

I love my controls also. I put in a pioneer headunit and lost them for a while until i found alittle box on crutchfield that makes them work again. Cost $70 but it was worth it, and was heck to get it working.

Renegade04 said:

... Some have modified their existing clock springs but I didnt cause it also controls airbag deployment and Im not going to mess with that...

Click to expand...

How does one go about modding their existing clockspring? I am going to try and tackle this project over the weekend and given the recent prices of the wiring harness ($81.45) and clockspring ($144.00) I'm thinking about modding it instead of replacing it.

jtalef said:

How does one go about modding their existing clockspring? I am going to try and tackle this project over the weekend and given the recent prices of the wiring harness ($81.45) and clockspring ($144.00) I'm thinking about modding it instead of replacing it.

Click to expand...

If you're smart, you don't. I've heard of people doing it, but I wouldn't (I got a new one off of ebay for $75+ shippping). It doesn't just control your wheel controls, but your airbag as well.

will the radio controls work with an aftermarket cd player?

2003renegade said:

will the radio controls work with an aftermarket cd player?

Click to expand...

Depends. And you'll need a special adapter for that too.

will the controls work with an aftermarket cd player already installed?

ok i posted that twice. me dumb

what kind of adapter.. im sick of buying adapters for adapters to work.

Crutchfield has one.