Sounds good. Just thought I'd mention it because I wasn't sure if you'd done it before. I hope it works out well for you!
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Chevy Colorado Gen 2 installs?
- Thread starter mmckenna
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Sounds good. Just thought I'd mention it because I wasn't sure if you'd done it before. I hope it works out well for you!
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
OK, truck arrived just before Christmas (ordered October 31st). Got it home, but waited until after the 25th to do the install. Then had to put it off for a day to replace my parents water heater...
After doing a -lot- of searching, I found one install that someone had documented on line that looked halfway decent. Most of the radio "installs" I found on these trucks involved a mag mount or some boogered together clamp mount that didn't reflect the kind of work I do.
So, gathering what little useful info there was on the internet, and figuring out the rest on my own, here it is...
2021 Chevrolet Colorado 4 door crew cab.
I always do permanent NMO mounts in the center of the roof to make best use of the available ground plane. This is a crew cab truck, so extended/regular cab installs won't benefit from this.
Measuring forward from the front edge of the AM/FM/Satellite/Cell antenna 16 inches will put you in the right place. No cross members or wiring. I was able to do this install without dropping the headliner. I used an o-fish-ul. NMO hole saw, so penetrating too deep wasn't a concern.
Coax was routed to the back drivers side corner of the cab by removing the rubber weather stripping around the rear door and pulling down the headliner just enough to get a coat hanger fish rod up there to grab the cable. Do not router the coax in the way of airbag deployment. Route it all the way back to the back corner of the cab.
Remove the back corner trim using a 7mm socket. The screw is behind a little cover just above the seat belt. Carefully remove that cover with a small screw driver using the gap on the top. The rest of the trim is held in with spring clips, so it just pulls out carefully. Route the coax down to the floor.
Power came off the battery. I used 6 Gauge SAE-1127 rated wire. 20 feet got me from the battery to the back of the cab with a few feet to spare. Routing into the cab was easy. Inboard of the master brake cylinder/booster, there is a large grommet with existing vehicle wiring running through it. If you find that inside the cab under the dash, you'll see a small nipple that can be cut off to allow passing the cable through. 6 gauge was a tight fit, but I had no issues pulling from the inside of the truck into the engine bay.
Looking up from the floor boards up under the dash, it'll look like this:
To the right of the main wire bundle, you'll see it. Cut that off and you've got your path.
From the engine side, here's what it looks like before putting split loom over it:
Route the power under the dash carefully to avoid interfering with brakes, pedals, etc. Not hard to do. Route over to the kick panel. That pulls off and there's room to route the wire down to the door sill plate. That sill plate comes up easily. That'll give you a straight run to the back of the cab:
While you are in there, route your remote head cable and an ignition sense cable if your radio uses that.
I searched and search to find an unused ignition switched power source, but no luck. I do not do fuse taps. I finally tapped into the cigarette lighter wiring under the dash. While I don't like tapping into existing wiring, the ignition sense circuit on the radio only pulls a few hundred milliamps, and it's not powering the radio, so noise isn't much of an issue. I don't plug heavy loads into the cigarette lighter, so overloading is not a concern.
That wire and the control head cable was routed back along with the power lead.
Behind the rear seat, the back wall can be pulled out. Remove the trim around the center rear seat belt and then carefully pull the rear wall off. Cable come back along the drivers side to the corner and then across the rear of the cab:
I used a 1" hole saw to create the "mouse hole" to get the wiring out.
I pulled my ground off one of the seat bolts. Using an 18mm deep socket, you can remove one of the nuts. I used some more 6 Gauge wire with a 1/2" crimp lug.
More below….
After doing a -lot- of searching, I found one install that someone had documented on line that looked halfway decent. Most of the radio "installs" I found on these trucks involved a mag mount or some boogered together clamp mount that didn't reflect the kind of work I do.
So, gathering what little useful info there was on the internet, and figuring out the rest on my own, here it is...
2021 Chevrolet Colorado 4 door crew cab.
I always do permanent NMO mounts in the center of the roof to make best use of the available ground plane. This is a crew cab truck, so extended/regular cab installs won't benefit from this.
Measuring forward from the front edge of the AM/FM/Satellite/Cell antenna 16 inches will put you in the right place. No cross members or wiring. I was able to do this install without dropping the headliner. I used an o-fish-ul. NMO hole saw, so penetrating too deep wasn't a concern.
Coax was routed to the back drivers side corner of the cab by removing the rubber weather stripping around the rear door and pulling down the headliner just enough to get a coat hanger fish rod up there to grab the cable. Do not router the coax in the way of airbag deployment. Route it all the way back to the back corner of the cab.
Remove the back corner trim using a 7mm socket. The screw is behind a little cover just above the seat belt. Carefully remove that cover with a small screw driver using the gap on the top. The rest of the trim is held in with spring clips, so it just pulls out carefully. Route the coax down to the floor.
Power came off the battery. I used 6 Gauge SAE-1127 rated wire. 20 feet got me from the battery to the back of the cab with a few feet to spare. Routing into the cab was easy. Inboard of the master brake cylinder/booster, there is a large grommet with existing vehicle wiring running through it. If you find that inside the cab under the dash, you'll see a small nipple that can be cut off to allow passing the cable through. 6 gauge was a tight fit, but I had no issues pulling from the inside of the truck into the engine bay.
Looking up from the floor boards up under the dash, it'll look like this:
To the right of the main wire bundle, you'll see it. Cut that off and you've got your path.
From the engine side, here's what it looks like before putting split loom over it:
Route the power under the dash carefully to avoid interfering with brakes, pedals, etc. Not hard to do. Route over to the kick panel. That pulls off and there's room to route the wire down to the door sill plate. That sill plate comes up easily. That'll give you a straight run to the back of the cab:
While you are in there, route your remote head cable and an ignition sense cable if your radio uses that.
I searched and search to find an unused ignition switched power source, but no luck. I do not do fuse taps. I finally tapped into the cigarette lighter wiring under the dash. While I don't like tapping into existing wiring, the ignition sense circuit on the radio only pulls a few hundred milliamps, and it's not powering the radio, so noise isn't much of an issue. I don't plug heavy loads into the cigarette lighter, so overloading is not a concern.
That wire and the control head cable was routed back along with the power lead.
Behind the rear seat, the back wall can be pulled out. Remove the trim around the center rear seat belt and then carefully pull the rear wall off. Cable come back along the drivers side to the corner and then across the rear of the cab:
I used a 1" hole saw to create the "mouse hole" to get the wiring out.
I pulled my ground off one of the seat bolts. Using an 18mm deep socket, you can remove one of the nuts. I used some more 6 Gauge wire with a 1/2" crimp lug.
More below….
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Almost forgot about the antenna mount….
I love that first bite of the drill into a brand new truck roof:
Satisfying to know you're doing it right the first time. No compromises….
Make sure you pull the slug out and vacuum up the chips. Do not leave the metal shavings up there over night. Any moisture will rust them and it's difficult to get the spots out….
Do it right the first time, and you won't regret it.
I love that first bite of the drill into a brand new truck roof:
Satisfying to know you're doing it right the first time. No compromises….
Make sure you pull the slug out and vacuum up the chips. Do not leave the metal shavings up there over night. Any moisture will rust them and it's difficult to get the spots out….
Do it right the first time, and you won't regret it.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Radio is a Kenwood TK-7180H. 50 watts, 136-174MHz.
I used the Kenwood KRK-10 remote head kit.
I pre-mounted the radio and wiring blocks on a piece of 3/4" plywood that I'd spray painted black. Doing this before installing it in the truck makes life a bit easier.
I mounted the plywood down under the rear seat by the jack handle. It's held in with two 1 1/2" aluminum brackets I fabricated.
Wiring is in split loom tubing all the way, even in most places where it's not visible. I always ground my radio chassis, so having a ground block makes things easier. The radio negative lead goes on that, as well as the radio chassis ground. The ground buss is connected to the vehicle at a seat bolt behind the rear seat.
Power is fused at 60 amps at the battery, so I have plenty of capacity for future use. I used a BlueSea ATO fuse block with 4 positions. A 15 amp fuse supports the radio.
I used a small two position terminal block for the ignition sense lead.
All wiring is secured so it doesn't move around. I left a bit of a service loop to give some slack in case I ever need to work on it.
The stock 23 foot remote head cable that comes with the Kenwood KRK-10 kit was plenty to reach the dash, probably have about 6 feet coiled up carefully by the radio.
The control head is mounted just in front of the shifter. It's out of the way, and still gives access to the cigarette socket and USB ports. Mic hanger is mounted to the left of the radio. The stock speaker is plenty loud, but I may eventually add an external speaker under the rear seat to give it a bit more kick.
I used the Kenwood KRK-10 remote head kit.
I pre-mounted the radio and wiring blocks on a piece of 3/4" plywood that I'd spray painted black. Doing this before installing it in the truck makes life a bit easier.
I mounted the plywood down under the rear seat by the jack handle. It's held in with two 1 1/2" aluminum brackets I fabricated.
Wiring is in split loom tubing all the way, even in most places where it's not visible. I always ground my radio chassis, so having a ground block makes things easier. The radio negative lead goes on that, as well as the radio chassis ground. The ground buss is connected to the vehicle at a seat bolt behind the rear seat.
Power is fused at 60 amps at the battery, so I have plenty of capacity for future use. I used a BlueSea ATO fuse block with 4 positions. A 15 amp fuse supports the radio.
I used a small two position terminal block for the ignition sense lead.
All wiring is secured so it doesn't move around. I left a bit of a service loop to give some slack in case I ever need to work on it.
The stock 23 foot remote head cable that comes with the Kenwood KRK-10 kit was plenty to reach the dash, probably have about 6 feet coiled up carefully by the radio.
The control head is mounted just in front of the shifter. It's out of the way, and still gives access to the cigarette socket and USB ports. Mic hanger is mounted to the left of the radio. The stock speaker is plenty loud, but I may eventually add an external speaker under the rear seat to give it a bit more kick.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Picked up the Kenwood radio used off E-bay for about $100 or so. Got a good price on it because someone had cut the power leads short. The ignition sense lead had been cut and wired directly to the positive terminal inside the radio. Had to undo that.
Radio appeared to have originally been a BNSF radio. Had a lot of existing AAR and police frequencies in it from some locations in the Pacific North West, as well as a few other places. Maybe Railroad police use.
I built my own codeplug with mostly amateur stuff in it, along with a few work frequencies. I did a full tune up of the radio a few weeks back, so it's working spot on factory specs. I'll play with it over the next few weeks to see if there is anything I want to change.
I'll have to get a photo of the battery connection point.
Radio appeared to have originally been a BNSF radio. Had a lot of existing AAR and police frequencies in it from some locations in the Pacific North West, as well as a few other places. Maybe Railroad police use.
I built my own codeplug with mostly amateur stuff in it, along with a few work frequencies. I did a full tune up of the radio a few weeks back, so it's working spot on factory specs. I'll play with it over the next few weeks to see if there is anything I want to change.
I'll have to get a photo of the battery connection point.
The full size trucks usually have a SEO plug designed to connect to for ignition control, etc. But I don't see one in the mid sized. The upfitter site seems to have a borked link for the 2021 but the 2020 works which references a doc dated 2019. GM UPFITTER - Body Builder Manuals
I see the ignition switched power distribution starts on page 125 (5-57) and the RAP is also listed there. P128 shows three ign switched fused circuits
F42DA, F29DA, F28DA. In the absence of an SEO point I'll usually look for an accessory thats not present and find the open pin on the plug to the fuse box and add a pin and wire there. The next page 129 (5-61) has an RAP circuit at the right and plug X3 pin 11 is unused, you might be able to add a line there. I see more RAP circuits on page 131 (5-63) but I didn't see the rest of the circuits coming off those fuses. The full size schematic seems a little better organized.
I see the ignition switched power distribution starts on page 125 (5-57) and the RAP is also listed there. P128 shows three ign switched fused circuits
F42DA, F29DA, F28DA. In the absence of an SEO point I'll usually look for an accessory thats not present and find the open pin on the plug to the fuse box and add a pin and wire there. The next page 129 (5-61) has an RAP circuit at the right and plug X3 pin 11 is unused, you might be able to add a line there. I see more RAP circuits on page 131 (5-63) but I didn't see the rest of the circuits coming off those fuses. The full size schematic seems a little better organized.
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mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
A couple of things I forgot...
Here's the photo of the engine bay side of the wire feed through:
Also,
Removing the back wall of the cab is pretty easy. Easier if the guy telling you how to do it remembers to say that taking the jack out and remove the jack mount. It's held in place with three nuts. 10mm socket is your friend.
Here's the photo of the engine bay side of the wire feed through:
Also,
Removing the back wall of the cab is pretty easy. Easier if the guy telling you how to do it remembers to say that taking the jack out and remove the jack mount. It's held in place with three nuts. 10mm socket is your friend.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Yeah, thanks. I went through that document several times over the last 2 months. Hard to do when I didn't have the truck yet to compare things too. I didn't want to take the fuse block apart to get to the pins.
The cigarette lighter plugs are ignition switched from the factory, although there is a fuse you can move to make them unswitched. Tapping that circuit worked well enough. Not my favorite way to do it, but it's done now.
Having the upfitter guides does make things a lot easier. I used those on the Ford Super Duty trucks at work. Those had dedicated ignition switched leads taped off for our use.
Been waiting for an update to this. Glad to see you got the truck and the install done. Superior work that serves as a great example to others. Mine is done well but yours and others put it to shame so I don’t share pics of mine so as to not be shamed for something that isn’t up to par. haha
Now that it’s done you should detail it over in the pictures subforum if you haven’t already. Superb work!
Now that it’s done you should detail it over in the pictures subforum if you haven’t already. Superb work!
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Thanks @03msc, I appreciate it.
I've had to fix a lot of bad installs at work. It's surprising the work that some upfitters will do and try to pass off. But, it's taught me a lot over the years about what not to do.
I've built up the tools to do it right, including the correct hole saws, crimpers and all the miscellaneous parts needed. Having it all there in the garage makes life easier.
Knowing the radio installation will be reliable and not just "good enough" is helpful. This is my wife's truck, so making sure it's done right the first time has some benefits. She has her ham license, so she appreciates having a well working radio.
6 gauge wire was probably overkill for this install, but I already have all the crimp lugs for that, and the minor cost difference between #8 and #6 is minimal. Not having to buy a bunch of extra lugs makes up for the minor increase in price.
Surprised at the lack of install info for this model truck found on the internets. There is some info out there, but it was 99% sloppy installs. Hopefully the detailed info will help someone else down the road.
I've had to fix a lot of bad installs at work. It's surprising the work that some upfitters will do and try to pass off. But, it's taught me a lot over the years about what not to do.
I've built up the tools to do it right, including the correct hole saws, crimpers and all the miscellaneous parts needed. Having it all there in the garage makes life easier.
Knowing the radio installation will be reliable and not just "good enough" is helpful. This is my wife's truck, so making sure it's done right the first time has some benefits. She has her ham license, so she appreciates having a well working radio.
6 gauge wire was probably overkill for this install, but I already have all the crimp lugs for that, and the minor cost difference between #8 and #6 is minimal. Not having to buy a bunch of extra lugs makes up for the minor increase in price.
Surprised at the lack of install info for this model truck found on the internets. There is some info out there, but it was 99% sloppy installs. Hopefully the detailed info will help someone else down the road.
I appreciated this thread as well, but for an indirect reason. You mentioned being able to make the APO's constant hot by moving a fuse, I had no idea that was an option. Every company vehicle I've had for the last 20+ years had them constant hot (those were either Jeeps or something Ford)...until this 2021 Colorado.
I Googled it, found out which fuse to move and bam, constant hot APO's. So thanks!
I Googled it, found out which fuse to move and bam, constant hot APO's. So thanks!
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Yeah, it's a pretty nice option.
I've noticed on my 2017 (work) and 2018 (personal) F350's that at least one of the lighter plugs is on a timer. It'll stay hot for about an hour after ignition off.
kayn1n32008
ØÆSØ Say it, say 'ENCRYPTION'
Excellent install and writeup mmckenna!
I also bought one of the ex-BNSF TK-7180s off eBay back in September.
I also bought one of the ex-BNSF TK-7180s off eBay back in September.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
I bought mine in early November. Sort of wish I'd pick up another, but I've got a few spare Motorola CDM's I probably need to sell off first.
It was in surprisingly good shape, and not that far off on the alignment. Only issue was the power/ignition sense wire, but that was a simple fix.
Great install as usual. Our work is switching to Colorado's so will keep an eye on this one. I am hoping they change minds before my F150 is due for replacement but time will tell !
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
So far, I'm pretty happy with it. I owned a 2005 GMC Canyon for 6-7 years and liked that truck. Inline 5 cylinder engine with a 5 speed stick. Was a blast to drive. Other than that, and the new one, I've always had full size trucks. I still drive my F350, and this Colorado is for my wife. But it's been a lot of fun to drive. Going from the 1 ton crew cab long bed to this is like jumping in a go-cart.
But even with the 2" factory lift, this one sits down a bit lower than I'm accustomed to. I still prefer the full size truck.
Mine was missing the rear port cover, but it came with the KAP-2 already installed!
I'd like to get a couple more myself, but I don't have the money....
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
I can't remember if mine was missing or not. If it was, I pulled one off my NX-900's.
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