Some of the 1993-1995 Jeep Grand Cherokees came with the overhead console. Mine definitely didn't. Yet, I figured I'd be fun and a learning experience to pick a cheap one up from a wrecked Jeep and see if I could install it. There are 2 kinds, the short and the long overhead console. If you have a sunroof then you need the short overhead console, otherwise you need the long type. However, if you have a sunroof I believe the overhead console came with it so this guide most likely would not apply anyway. Now you could install a short overhead console in a Jeep without a sunroof, but you'd have a switch on there that would not be wired to anything. Also the color of the fabric of the overhead console does not matter too much as you can always change it with some headliner material and contact cement (I suggest Weldwood's).

This project requires quite some time and wiring.

First we need to discuss what is needed to install an overhead console into a jeep that did not come with it. You will need the following parts:

• The overhead console, the fabric color is not important as you can always redo the material on there. The console has to be from 93-95, as the other years communicate differently with the car as the 96 and after jeeps have a BCM.
• Mounting bracket with the 2 bolts and 1 screw to hold up the front of the overhead console.
• Wiring--either the complete wiring harness or enough wire to connect the ambient temperature sensor and overhead console with the connector for the overhead console, 100 way connector, and ambient temperature sensor (if you have the ATC - automatic temperature control then you should already have the ambient temp sensor). You can always visit a junkyard to get the connectors or even the whole wiring harness; just make sure to read the notice below about the 2 different versions so that you get the right version.

Wiring the 100-way connector.

If you have the wiring harness for the overhead console, then you need to check whether it really is the correct wiring harness before you plug it in. The wiring gets a little more complicated as I found out with my 95ZJ which had electrical components from a 93ZJ service manual. Under the passenger kick panel there are 2 versions of the '100-way connector'. This is what the '100-way' connector cluster looks like:

There is a wiring harness with a green and red connector. This is from a 94-95 ZJ, however make sure to check as my 95 ZJ didn't have this layout. Then there is the earlier version that has a black and red connector for the 100-way connector which can be found in the 93 ZJ service manual. The easiest way to check is to look at the black and green connector. If you have a green plug with 1 wire, then you need the 94-95 harness with the green and red plug. If you have a black plug near the top of the cluster with 1 wire, then you need the 93 harness with the black and red plug. Please note that the year using to refer to the harness types doesn't necessarily mean that you have to get it from a jeep from that year, it's just that they reflect the service manual from those years.

Here is an example:

This is a black plug with only 1 wire, which means that this person needs a 93 wiring harness. This is what my 95 ZJ had.

Here are the important connectors from the 94-95 ZJ for the 100-way connector cluster, **PLEASE NOTE** just because it is from the 95 ZJ service manual DOES NOT mean it will be in your 94-95 ZJ. My 95 ZJ did not have this layout.

and the second:

Now here are the 'same' connectors on the 93 ZJ (please note connector G is black and H is red):

Now if you have the overhead console OEM wiring harness you can go ahead and plug it in if you have the right connector that replaces the one with 1 wire in it. Be sure to connect the single wire that was in the 'blank' old harness to the new connector. I believe it's VT/YL (violet striped yellow) for circuit G71 which is the VTA lift gate key cylinder connection. However, if the connector does not match the blank (1 wire) one in your 100-way connector, then you have to go to a junkyard and get a connector (black or green) that can fit in the correct slot with all the wires in it so you can use it to wire all the needed connections. Just cut off the old connector if needed and solder on the new one. At this point, you should be done with most of the wiring if you already have the wiring harness with the original or new connector that match your vehicle. So if you have the correct wiring harness now you can now just skip to the wiring of the ambient temperature sensor.

If you are making your own wiring harness, you do not have to get the red plug if you already have the keyless entry option, you can instead tap these wires of off the wiring harness of the keyless entry module. If you do not have the keyless entry dome then you have to get the red plug as well so you can have the wire the keyless entry module in the overhead console.

Now here are the pin outs for connectors of the overhead console and keyless entry module. This is the same in every 93-95 as far as I know.

Now just wire it correctly between the connectors and plug it in. As for the length of the wires it's never a bad idea to have the wires a little too long and trimming it later to the right length.

If you are making your own wiring harness and you already have the keyless entry module present and you do not want to also wire the red connector as it's already wired up to the above the headliner anyway, then do the following (worked for me):

The only connections that the overhead console does not get from the black/green connector in the 100-way connector (depending on your year) is pin 6-8 on the overhead console connector pinout. These connections in the factory wiring harness are in fact spliced from the red connector before it reaches the overhead console and keyless entry module. In other words you can simply connect to the wires that go to the pins 6 (red striped white), 8 (yellow striped dark green), and 12 (yellow) on the keyless entry module.

Wiring the ambient temperature sensor.

Now we still have 2 wires that are not connected yet. That is pin 9-10 on the overhead console connector. These have to go to the ambient temp sensor. If you do not have the climate control (ATC) then you have to run 2 wires through the firewall to behind the grill, which is where you connect the wires to the ambient temperature sensor. I went to the junkyard to get the connector and then bought a new temperature sensor. I guided the wires from the middle of the ceiling down the right A-pillar to the passenger kick panel. From there I guided them all the way to the driver side where I made a hole in one of the grommets through the firewall and finally guided them to behind the grill where I soldered it to the connector I picked up at the junkyard.

Now for if you have the ATC or climate control. The ATC should send the info via the HEVAC module over the CCD bus that is already connected via the black/green connector from the 100-way connector cluster. Your best bet is to leave the 2 wires on the overhead console disconnected at first and connect the 2 connectors on the overhead and see if it receives any temp information or whether it states OC. If the overhead console states OC (open connection), try to get the connector to plug into the red connector or just cut the connector off and solder it on. Here is a picture of this red connector:

Before you wire the overhead console to this connector, it would be smart to take a multi-meter and see if the resistance makes sense. It should be 336K ohms at -40 Fahrenheit and 2.488K ohms at 140 Fahrenheit, anywhere in between should be good.

Mounting the overhead console.

The mounting bracket should come with 2 bolts. I believe they're self tapping, but I'm not sure. It has FWD stamped on there -- point this forward. This way the bracket only fits behind the bracket for the dome/keyless entry one way. The holes should already be there, but they are really small.

Now you also need a screw to hold the front of the overhead console. Simply get a non-magnetic screw that is long enough so that you can put it in the hole of the overhead console and that it sticks out enough to hold onto the metal but without being crazy long where you might go through the roof. I suggest you take a screw out of the sun visor hold (the little plastic holder) and get a screw that's the same type but longer).

Cutting the headliner.

I can't really say much here. I tried getting measurements from people who had overhead consoles but no one was able to help me. I suggest getting a piece of cardboard and cut this first instead of the headliner. Then use this to cut the headliner. I used these 2 pictures as references and always make sure the hole is less wide than the overhead console (thanks Yardman Harry from JeepForum.com).

Good luck!

PS the rumor going around on various forums that you need the right VIC or ATC or even BCM to get the overhead console working is false. The 93-95 ZJs don't even have a BCM this was added in 96. The VIC only communicates to the metric / US standard button and nothing else. And the ATC also uses this metric/US standards button and sometimes to be used to transmit the temp sensor information via the CCD bus instead of a straight wired connection to the overhead console from the ambient temp sensor behind the grill. You can put an overhead console in any 93-95 jeep, you just have to make sure you connect everything correctly. The only thing that "could" be incompatible might be the PCM I have not seen any different PCMs that are incompatible.

Please notice most of these pictures are not mine, thanks for everyone's help!

Finished result (please notice it's in CAL mode because I had not finished the calibration mode of the compass):