# Custom swith panel in an 02 Silverado



## Lowriderfd44

Hey, i'm not sure if i'm posting this in the right place, if i'm not, i apologize.

I made a custom switch panel for my warning lights in my 02 Silverado quad cab. I have the full length "deluxe console" with factory cassette player in it. Thought everyone would like to see some pics of how i did it.

here's what i used:
4 Pilot LED rocker switches
Radio Shack 6"x4"x2" project box
12"x12"x1/8" sheet of black ABS plastic
mounting plate from factory tape player
wire and wire connectors


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## THEGOLDPRO

i see no pic, lol


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## Lowriderfd44

I started by removing the factory tape player. I measured the face of the tape player to get the measurements to mount the switches. I knew i would need a way to secure the panel in the housing so i removed the mounting bracket from the tape player.


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## Lowriderfd44

sorry for the delay, it's takin me some time to type and find the pics, lol


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## Lowriderfd44

next, i took the sheet of ABS plastic and cut my measurements, i don't remember what they are anymore, lol. I cut the plastic using a high speed diamond blade on my Dremmel. then i measure the switches, they were about an inch in diameter. Then i just figured out what the middle and center would be and cut the holes for the switches


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## Lowriderfd44

then i took the project box disasembled it and cut the back out so i could run the wires. then i off centered the face plate a bit and traced the circles and cut a little bigger to avoivd resistance.


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## Lowriderfd44

i then mounted the switches, they're just push in. then i hot glued the face plate to the box.


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## Lowriderfd44

then i wired up all the switches so each one would share the same ground and same power lead in. each switch will be powering a different item so they all have a different lead out for the item.


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## Lowriderfd44

then i lined up and test fit the bottom of the project box with the mounting plate for the tape player. there was already a hole in the mounting polate so i tried that out and it matched up by coincidence, lol. I traced it and drew another hole on the opposite side of the plate and box and drilled them to match. i used the hole to secure the box to the plate to keep it from sliding.


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## Lowriderfd44

then i reassembled the project box and mouted and secured it to the mounting plate.


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## Lowriderfd44

then, finished product. custom made switch box. costing about $35. I know a "professional" switch box ie, whelen, federal signal, caost around $40 and up. But they're big and bulky. this one tucks right away and looks factory. i'll post pics of it mounted in the truck tomorrow when it's daylight.


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## Lowriderfd44

it was $5. per switch x 4. $5 for the project box. $10.45 for the ABS sheet, that was with the cost of shipping. so all in all, it was $35.45.


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## THEGOLDPRO

damn d0od that looks awesome, you did a great job man. whats all the switches for?


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## Lowriderfd44

Thanks! I appreciate it. Well, i'm still trying to decide, lol. I know one will be for my dash LED light ond one for my LED grille lights. I also have a strobe pack and that will be one switch. i have a Led im putting in the back window. i don't know whether to make that the fourth switch or attach it with the strobes. i was thnking about getting a mini LED light bar. but i don't know yet and if i did, it wouldn't be for a while. so maybe if i get it, i'll just move wiring around.


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## Lowriderfd44

i'm gonna be running a dual Whelen Talon on the dash. 4 Sho-Me Mini LED's in the grille, A Sho-Me phantom in the back window, and 2 strobe tubes in the front and 2 maybe 4 in the tail lights


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## THEGOLDPRO

lol thats alot of strobes  make sure to take a ton of pics of those as well.


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## ECS

Looking forward to seeing it set up in your truck. Looks pretty nice so far.


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## THEGOLDPRO

as for all that wiring, id snap trying ot day that, lol i hate wiring crap, lol so +1 for your patience.


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## Lowriderfd44

Lol, yeah it is. I deffinately will. I'm only doing that many in the rear cause i have an old 6 outlet sitting around collecting dust. might as well put it to good use, lol. I'm just waiting on LSHlights.com to send me my grille LED's and my under hood strobe pack


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## Lowriderfd44

ECS;529304 said:


> Looking forward to seeing it set up in your truck. Looks pretty nice so far.


Me too! lol Thanks!


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## Lowriderfd44

THEGOLDPRO;529305 said:


> as for all that wiring, id snap trying ot day that, lol i hate wiring crap, lol so +1 for your patience.


haha, yeah, i'm not a huge fan of it either. especially when the switches labels are wrong, they listed the polarity backwards, i sat scrathcin my head for a good while. lol


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## THEGOLDPRO

lol then you wanna just smash the whole thing.


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## Lowriderfd44

THEGOLDPRO;529318 said:


> lol then you wanna just smash the whole thing.


haha. i came close. and to top it off, after i had given up for the night, i dropped it. broke the hot glue holdin the face plate on... :realmad: i was not happy, lol


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## Fiafighterdude

i want to see a pic of it in the truck


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## Lowriderfd44

ok, here it is being installed and complete.


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## Lowriderfd44

here's the switch i used.


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## Lowriderfd44

heres some before shots


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## Lowriderfd44

1st pic: remove the two screws and the whole cover pops out. it's on;y held in by clips.
2nd pic: i drilled a hole and used a sheet metal screw behind the kick panel and made a new ground.
3rd pic: i drilled a 7/16" hole through the firewall where the clutch would be on a manual trans. i couldn't get a grommett in there cause it was too awkward so i used an old piece of heater hose. thats where i ran all my wires.


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## ECS

That looks reaaly good. Nice job. Thanks for the pics along the way.


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## WOODY367

Where did you get the ABS from? I have been looking for it with no luck.


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## Lowriderfd44

WOODY367;530218 said:


> Where did you get the ABS from? I have been looking for it with no luck.


Good ol Ebay. i think i searched for black plastic sheet, lol. But here's a link to the same guy i ordered mine from. I had a good experience with them. Reasonable prices and they shipped very carefully and promptly.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ABS-Plastic-She...ryZ50552QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


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## Indy

The post is great!!!! I want to do the same and this feels like good directions to get it done, Thanks for taking the time!!!!

Great Job:salute:


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## Lowriderfd44

Indyplower;530337 said:


> The post is great!!!! I want to do the same and this feels like good directions to get it done, Thanks for taking the time!!!!
> 
> Great Job:salute:


Thanks! I appreciate the compliment. No problem at all.I had fun making this post and the switch box. I know how it feels to want to do something on your truck and either not have a clue or stumble accross a post where someone can point you in the right direction.

feel free to ask as many questions.


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## THEGOLDPRO

this should be stickied as a how to. great job man.


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## Humvee27

Very nice job....looks professional..whats the rest of your truck look like?


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## LawnProLandscapes

awesome, i think i might take your idea and use it myself. ive been trying to find a high function switch box for a good price and it just is not happening and im not spending 100+ on a switch box. i think im going to build one like yours with more switches and mount it to my headliner. i need one switch for my strobes, i want my takedowns on one, i want each alley light on its own switch, when i mount my back rack both my reverse lights are going to be on one switch, i want to wire to other strobe patterns in to switches so i can switch patterns and lastly i want to put a reverse alarm on thats given power by a switch so its only activated when i want it. soooo thats aboot 8 switches, soo ill probaly just throw in 9 just in case i get rear hideaways in the future. dang thats guna be alotta switches..


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## ZoomByU

looks great it looks stock


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## Fiafighterdude

looks good nice wireing job you should make them and sell them


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## merrimacmill

Awsome job. It could look factory. I put one of those switches in our s-10 for a light I mounted on the roof. They're awsome switches, except that darn blue light. They would look even more factory if it was a red light. But I couldn't find a red light one. I bought mine at auto zone.


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## 20Silverado05

nice job, looks great, and you should be a hand model.


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## Bibbo

those look really good. great idea and really good mounting location... cuz who really uses there tape deck lol


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## Lowriderfd44

Thank you everyone for all the compliments. I worked hard on that little panel and its nice to hear someone appreciate it.


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## Lowriderfd44

Humvee27;530613 said:


> Very nice job....looks professional..whats the rest of your truck look like?


Thanks! As requested, sorry, it's a bit dirty.


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## Lowriderfd44

Fiafighterdude;530736 said:


> looks good nice wireing job you should make them and sell them


I'd love to. but the cost of materials plus labor, you could by a "professional" switch box, lol.


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## Lowriderfd44

merrimacmill;530752 said:


> They're awsome switches, except that darn blue light. They would look even more factory if it was a red light. But I couldn't find a red light one. I bought mine at auto zone.


My favorite color is blue and my truck is blue, lol. i hunted all over trying to find four blue ones, all i could find was red. I got them at autozone as well... many autozones were visted trying to find these, lol


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## Lowriderfd44

20Silverado05;530904 said:


> nice job, looks great, and you should be a hand model.


umm, thanks....:waving: lol



THEGOLDPRO;530908 said:


> hows it feel being gay?? lol j/k


HAHA


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## Lowriderfd44

Bibbo;531141 said:


> those look really good. great idea and really good mounting location... cuz who really uses there tape deck lol


haha, thanks. thats what i said. i'm 24, i have like two tapes, lol. Besides, when i installed my new CD player, i lost tape deck controls.


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## Lowriderfd44

here are some under hood shots.

1st pic: the hole in the firewall. the extra wires are for the mini phantom mounted in the rear window, i'll post some pics of that too. 
2nd pic: the fuse panel. i tapped into an open constant hot. I didn't have any large fuses so i used a male spade terminal with an inline fuse. i had to notch the box a bit so the fuse panel cover could close.


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## THEGOLDPRO

nice, i always just run the wire to the positive on the battery.both work tho, lol


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## Lowriderfd44

THEGOLDPRO;531260 said:


> nice, i always just run the wire to the positive on the battery.both work tho, lol


lol. i usually do that too, but at the time, this made sense and it was too late to go back when i started, lol


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## THEGOLDPRO

Lowriderfd44;531261 said:


> lol. i usually do that too, but at the time, this made sense and it was too late to go back when i started, lol


lol i know what ya mean.


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## Lowriderfd44

This is it so far. I started another thread about installing my strobes. Sorry about the noise, it was really windy and cold here today. Also, the angle on my rear LED is wrong, that's partially why you can barely see it, it's also going through a tinted window.


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## Lowriderfd44

HAHA  at the end, i just realized you can see my reflection in the window and i kind of look like the Unibomber with my hood up and sun glasses on.


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## THEGOLDPRO

lol, are you a volunteer fire fighter or something??


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## Lowriderfd44

THEGOLDPRO;531506 said:


> lol, are you a volunteer fire fighter or something??


Yeah. I have blue and clear in all my personal trucks. I got a work/company truck for plowing and such.


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## THEGOLDPRO

sweet looks good mang.


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## Bruce'sEx

Lowriderfd44;531261 said:


> lol. i usually do that too, but at the time, this made sense and it was too late to go back when i started, lol


Or he could have ran it to the powered stud on that fuse box under the hood, it's the one closest to the cab, it's also the contact that the constant power to the trailer plug in the back. if it doesn't have power then likely the large 50 fuse is not installed. Which may actually be the slot he's tapped into with the wire


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## Lowriderfd44

Bruce'sEx;531806 said:



> Or he could have ran it to the powered stud on that fuse box under the hood, it's the one closest to the cab, it's also the contact that the constant power to the trailer plug in the back. if it doesn't have power then likely the large 50 fuse is not installed. Which may actually be the slot he's tapped into with the wire


I'm not sure what the spot was. I do have constant power running to the trailer plug. I'm figuring it was a spare from the factory. If not, Seems to be working so far, lol.


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## nepmgmt

just wondering if you have a pic of the whole area that the switches are. cuz cant really tell were it is. was the tape deck separate from the reg radio. just curriues. that is a very clean install it looks factory. really clean.


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## Lowriderfd44

nepmgmt;540575 said:


> just wondering if you have a pic of the whole area that the switches are. cuz cant really tell were it is. was the tape deck separate from the reg radio. just curriues. that is a very clean install it looks factory. really clean.


Thanks a lot.

I'll try and take soem more pics tomorrow but in the meantime if you're anxious, just refer to this post: page 1, post #1. page 2, post #25, #27, and #28.

I put it in my center console, yes, the tape deck was seperate from the radio.

Like i said, i'll try and get some other shots tomorrow.


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## Woodland

Where do you pick up a small piece of ABS plastic like you used?


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## Lowriderfd44

Woodland;552158 said:


> Where do you pick up a small piece of ABS plastic like you used?


Got it off Ebay. I just searched "black abs plasitc sheet"

But this is the exact guy i got mine from. Proffesional and quick to ship.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ABS-Plastic-She...photoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262


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## bobopr

Where did you get the box from? Have you ever considered making these and selling them?


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## Lowriderfd44

Got it from Radio Shack.I thought about it but it takes a while and i would have no idea what to charge.


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