2006 Dodge Ram RAQ for RAK Radio Swap

I know there are some smart members here bc I have read many posts regarding radio swaps. However none are like mine in that I am trying to swap factory for factory units. The differences are the RAK has a cassette player and is from an 07 2500 Ram, mine is an 06 3500 Ram both diesels. I plug in the RAK and everything works except sound. Yes these both came from infinity system trucks, that are on a CAN buss. Both radios were options in 06-07.
If you are asking why someone would undertake this, I'm and old guy that just doesn't want to give up my books on tape and country music cassettes. Heck two years ago I put a newer Cummings in my truck (505k for 106k miles) and that was easier than changing a radio. And during the middle of that I had a triple bypass.

I would be grateful if someone can give me some direction how to make this work out.



-------------
Regards,
AF

If you drive a Contour you need a support group!
If you own more than one you NEED a therapist!!

Plug the original radio into the truck. Turn the key on and do not turn it off until instructed to do so. With the radio playing, unplug that radio and plug the other one in. Does it play now? Is the volume louder at a given volume than the original? You can turn the key off now.

UPDATE:
Truck info, 2006 Dodge Ram, 3500 Quad Cab, 4x4, 5.9 Diesel, chipped key, remote entry, aprox 535,785 miles.

What I've done: Before I bought it I did a lot of reading and talking to people at Crutchfield, and 1 Factory Radio about doing this and they just stuck with their disclaimers saying it wont work. The fella from Crutchfield said I could do all these upgrades with GPS, backup camera, DVD player, blue tooth, etc for only about $800, but I couldn't get a cassette player in anything. The 1 Factory Radio guy said they could refurbish my unit for $235. I didn't tell him they sell my exact unit refurbished on the site for $225. I've been a builder all my life and done some impossible projects, and maybe this one won't work but it won't be because I didn't try. I installed the rak radio and nothing happened. LQK the seller said it needed to be unlocked from a dealer, and someone else told me the dealer could just reprogram the ECM to the RAK like the RAQ. The dealerships don't know one said they can't do anything and sent me to Car Toys to get a module to interface the factory parts..... another said sure no problem it will be $170. I paid $75 for the unit on ebay.

After reading a post where a fella was trying to install an aftermarket HU with the factory amp he mentioned he used his factory unit to turn on the amp then unplugged it and connected the new HU and it worked until he turned off the key. Then the amp went off and wouldn't come back on. So I tried that, and it worked, but my amp seems to work when I turn the key off and back on...….. almost.... I checked out and programmed the am/fm buttons, tested the tape player, set the clock, and that all worked. The amp settings and Fade, R&L don't work. I'm also somewhat concerned about other unrelated items like HVAC controls. I know that sounds crazy but one of the things about this unit was the truck needed to have dual HVAC controls which mine does but this is on the CAN-buss so why would that be part of the equation?

I'm going to try the CD player now since I wanted to give it some time for the amp to go off line if it is going to and at some point I'll disconnect power to see if disables it.



-------------
Regards,
AF

If you drive a Contour you need a support group!
If you own more than one you NEED a therapist!!

Yes, everything seems to be working now, the trick to making this swap work is to do it when the amp is already powered on by the original unit and key is on. In this case it all works as designed. I don't know since there seems to be so little info on Gen 3 and above Dodge Rams if just any factory unit would have worked the same way. I was careful to get one from a very similar Ram with same options. This CAN-buss thing makes what should be simple a PIA for sure.

In the other instance with the aftermarket unit the fella said the amp went off with the key and wouldn't come back on. he had to bypass the factory amp.

I should tell you that my original unit did have some issues. Sometimes when I'd turn on the key prior to starting, the radio would come on, but when I started the truck the radio would stay off. It might stay off for one cycle or a couple of weeks. I had changed out the ignition electrical switch and mechanical switch, no improvement.

Thank you,

-------------
Regards,
AF

If you drive a Contour you need a support group!
If you own more than one you NEED a therapist!!

The ignition swith has nothing to do with the radio not coming on. It does tell the computer to come on, and the computer tells the radio to come on. So if the truck is powering up and radio isn't, chances are it is the radio.

Thank you, I thought that also. There were other issues with the ignition lock And switch after 500k it was just worn out and started doing strange things (sometimes a bit exciting when you're in the middle of nowhere). And when I said radio on I mean the unit even if it's just showing the clock. Sometimes right after starting it would just fade right out. Always if working you could barely see it during the day.

Now that it appears this is going to be ok I have to take it out and spiffy it up, and polish the lens. I wonder if it will work when I put it back now..... ? Any bets :D

One bet I have is that stealership knew how to do this and it only takes two minutes to complete, and they were asking $170 to do it. Which is why I only go to them for warranty work.

Thank you for listening to the old guy and your help. If you ever want to know something about a Ford Contour, just ask, I drive an SVT 8D

-------------
Regards,
AF

If you drive a Contour you need a support group!
If you own more than one you NEED a therapist!!

This is what success looks like.


-------------
Regards,
AF

If you drive a Contour you need a support group!
If you own more than one you NEED a therapist!!