Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

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slim724
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Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by slim724 »

This procedure is for 1999 Astro
I prefer the composite style grill & headlights so here is the way I went about wiring it in

here is a before shot:
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and after:
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First get all the pieces you need, grill, headlights with black backing attachment plates, non-functional clear lights that attach to outer edge of headlights, composite left and right pigtail harness from a donor vehicle, and all bolts & screws. I got all my parts from junkyard for around $60.00 total. The swap is a straight forward direct bolt in procedure, no drilling and everything fits, you can find plenty of threads on it. My main concern was the wiring and I couldn't find tutorial with pics for the wiring, so I decided to make one myself.

start with the pigtail harnesses, 2 wires on the left are ground wires I also clipped from donor vehicle
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here is the sealed beam plug you will cut off
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here is the composite harness ends next to sealed beam plug, notice the wire colors are exactly the same, except the composite style has an extra black ground wire
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find a spot to attach your extra ground wire, I chose this spot by the washer fluid bottle since there is no paint under the bolt, I also used the same bolt on the drivers side for the other ground wire
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remove bolt
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attach ground, it looks almost factory!
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run the ground through the headlight bucket and you now have all 4 wires needed to attach the composite harness
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cut off the sealed beam plug, and attach all the wires of same color together, for testing
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put some tape over the exposed connections and test for high/low and DRL's
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if all works as it should, the next step is attaching. I used crimp connectors and heat shrink tubing, I would've preferred to solder the connections but I left my solder gun at work
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I attached all 4 wires like this one
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then taped them all together with 3M professional grade Super88 electrical tape
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then tucked it all in flame retardant plastic wire conduit and wrapped the ends in electrical tape
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now repeat process for the other side, bolt everything on, plug it in, and your done
Image
ImageImageImage

1999 Astro 7-Passenger Van
Federal Government Fleet Vehicle
Cadet Blue 4.3L V6
Rear A/C & Heat
RWD G80 posi with 3.42 gears
40,000 miles
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Smiliesafari
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by Smiliesafari »

Now that's a cool write up. Thanks. \:D/
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NotDadsW41
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by NotDadsW41 »

Well done.
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LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

Well done!

I gotta ask...why did it take you so long to put this write-up out here? I mean these pics were taken last summer...look at the green grass and bare hands. :muhaha:
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

Mileage spreadsheet

Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy

Topic author
slim724
I get chills without my van.
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:42 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by slim724 »

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Well done!

I gotta ask...why did it take you so long to put this write-up out here? I mean these pics were taken last summer...look at the green grass and bare hands. :muhaha:
I did the swap couple of months ago? But the very last pic is from today, no joke! Didn't you know I'm in California? It was cold and clear today, about 60deg Hahaha, feel sorry for you guys up north, 40's is the absolute coldest it gets in my area
ImageImageImage

1999 Astro 7-Passenger Van
Federal Government Fleet Vehicle
Cadet Blue 4.3L V6
Rear A/C & Heat
RWD G80 posi with 3.42 gears
40,000 miles
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CaptSquid
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by CaptSquid »

I would have soldered the wires as well as use the shrink tubing. Very nice job, though.
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Topic author
slim724
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by slim724 »

CaptSquid wrote:I would have soldered the wires as well as use the shrink tubing. Very nice job, though.
I would've too, but I was halfway into the job when I realized my soldering iron was at work, oh well, I made sure the connections were as good as you could get otherwise
ImageImageImage

1999 Astro 7-Passenger Van
Federal Government Fleet Vehicle
Cadet Blue 4.3L V6
Rear A/C & Heat
RWD G80 posi with 3.42 gears
40,000 miles

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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by astrozam »

Nice write-up and pics, thanks for sharing the info. :cheers:
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crash
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by crash »

very good write up and pics... this is a swap that I have no idea why more don't do. there's some very nice vans out there .. custom cargo's especially that would look so clean without that plastic headlight bucket. a thread like this wouldn't deter me from buying one with sealed beams.

lucky sob living in cali with summer all year .. no rust anywhere on that thing :-#

btw.. great deal on everything for $60 !!!!

lastly, nothing new for mounting the grill? everything just bolts right up?
Rob Image

current rides:
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Topic author
slim724
I get chills without my van.
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:42 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by slim724 »

crash wrote:very good write up and pics... this is a swap that I have no idea why more don't do. there's some very nice vans out there .. custom cargo's especially that would look so clean without that plastic headlight bucket. a thread like this wouldn't deter me from buying one with sealed beams.

lucky sob living in cali with summer all year .. no rust anywhere on that thing :-#

btw.. great deal on everything for $60 !!!!

lastly, nothing new for mounting the grill? everything just bolts right up?
Nothing new for the grill, same hardware and mounting holes, and $60 is a steal, I thought for sure the grill would be more, but I got the grill for $20 minus bowtie emblem, and it looked pretty shabby, put some steel wool to the chrome to bring back the shine and used the bowtie from my cargo grill, I did forget to include the price of the harness and ground wires, which were $12 I think, still $72 total is not too shabby
ImageImageImage

1999 Astro 7-Passenger Van
Federal Government Fleet Vehicle
Cadet Blue 4.3L V6
Rear A/C & Heat
RWD G80 posi with 3.42 gears
40,000 miles
User avatar

crash
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by crash »

one other question, after looking at the before/after pics.... are the signal/parking lights the same? i never realised how similar they are until seeing the pics side by side like that
Rob Image

current rides:
04 Mazda 6 V6 5spd

vans owned: Image
97 Astro AWD (selling by summer .. i think) SOLD
99 Astro LS Sept 08 ASV VOM
94 Astro LT
93 Astro LT
96 Astro LT AWD * parts van*

Topic author
slim724
I get chills without my van.
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:42 am
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by slim724 »

crash wrote:one other question, after looking at the before/after pics.... are the signal/parking lights the same? i never realised how similar they are until seeing the pics side by side like that
They are the same lenses, but I de-oxidized them with none other than Brasso! works like a champ, just a lot of elbow grease, I have a tutorial with pics to write up on how to do it, I also have a tutorial with pics for the later year throttle plate mod, and another one for cheap, cheap speaker upgrade with stock radio, just haven't had the time to do them. Also, if you are going to use the GMC style composite grill, you will need new turn signal lenses, or trim up the chevy ones to make them fit, they don't interchage well, you will also need trim pieces under the lenses color matched to your vehicle, this is the main reason I chose the use chevy style grill
ImageImageImage

1999 Astro 7-Passenger Van
Federal Government Fleet Vehicle
Cadet Blue 4.3L V6
Rear A/C & Heat
RWD G80 posi with 3.42 gears
40,000 miles

fishesfromtupperware
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by fishesfromtupperware »

slim724 wrote:
CaptSquid wrote:I would have soldered the wires as well as use the shrink tubing. Very nice job, though.
I would've too, but I was halfway into the job when I realized my soldering iron was at work, oh well, I made sure the connections were as good as you could get otherwise
Thanks!!! Excellent tut!!! But who needs a soldering iron?

Here's a link to a vid and a field soldering kit that had me wondering why I didn't think of this a long time ago. #-o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quczoJgU ... r_embedded

http://www.instructables.com/id/Guide-t ... offset=100

Makes a great addition to your glove box!

rlsllc
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by rlsllc »

Nice pics and write up! Smok'in deal, too!


crash wrote:very good write up and pics... this is a swap that I have no idea why more don't do. there's some very nice vans out there .. custom cargo's especially that would look so clean without that plastic headlight bucket. a thread like this wouldn't deter me from buying one with sealed beams.

lucky sob living in cali with summer all year .. no rust anywhere on that thing :-#
Yes, lucky sob, I guess nothing is stopping us from moving there.

I actually like the sealed beams. They look retro or utilitarian or something to me.

JPDVAN
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Re: Sealed beam to composite grill wiring DIY with pics

Post by JPDVAN »

Thanks for all the great info. I just bought a 97 Astro Cargo and I want to switch to the composite style grill as well.
I also want to add power mirrors which, I think, should be an easy add on.
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