New 2014 K-9 PPV Tahoe Build

[Geoby00]

Greetings from Sugarland!

Got a 2014 K-9 Tahoe with <100k miles on it last week. Truck drives great.

Plans for this build are:
Clean/ deodorize - Do preventative maintenance- Civilianize it (seats and door panels)- and put a sound system in it. Maybe some exhaust work along the way although I like how it sounds stock.

Looking forward to the project, and learning as I go!

First couple of questions.
First Picture- Can I just strip out and sell these modules from inside the center console? I'm removing the center console soon to clean so I'll get a better look at them.
Second Picture- What are these wires in the rear of the tahoe/ where can I learn more about them? I removed the rear panels for cleaning and wanted to know what they were while I can still look at them.

Thanks,
Geoby

 

[Bill 1960]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the new ride. You’ll be going through the first somewhat annoying phase of owning a retired police vehicle which is undoing all the mess left behind in the wiring. As you’ve seen they leave a lot of aftermarket stuff just cut off and abandoned.

Some people find uses for parts of that to support power for radios or refrigerators etc. In my case I removed nearly all of it. You can easily tell with a visual inspection what was put in place at the factory and what came later. Unfortunately there’s a myriad of different equipment that may have been installed and each installer does his own methods so there is no universal roadmap to figuring out the modded wiring.

Access to OEM wiring diagrams can be useful to repair things like headlights if they don’t work any more since the removal of the specialty parts. You can get those online with an inexpensive subscription to a tech service such as Mitchell.

Have fun with the project!

 

[Sparksalot]

Nice looking truck!

If you have a dog, let them roar a while inside, it’s great fun to watch!

As @Bill 1960 mentioned, find the Chevrolet Upfitter Guide. It’s available on the GM website if you know to search for it by that name. The wiring diagram for the console area and left rear are super helpful.

 

[Shackman7878]

Welcome to the group.
Labeled what I can remember from mine, The upfitting harness I labeled don't know what kit they used or cobbled together. 2nd photo is what I pulled from a friends PPV 2 monitor cables, 3 radio data lines, and ton of wires.

I would trace each wire and see where they go, Also Take a ton of photos of all angles of the fuse box note color wire to location. Also invest in a good Volt meter and see what can be removed (I.E live wire hits ground and now the car will not start due to upfitter tapped a module/Data line and killed a important Module/BCM/ECU/ETC). WORD of warning when messing with any of those fuse boxes/Wiring is to start the Tahoe each time you cut/remove wires, I have been surprised removing one lonely wire and now it will not start again.

On my Tahoe they tapped the Reverse lights wiring and shorted my main fuse box under the hood. Due to the reverse light relay is build into the circuit board the whole thing had to be replaced and programmed. Any question PM or post.

Recommended Tool list
Basic Volt meter Fluke 101 Link.
test light - you can get ones with a light or a digital screen shows voltage

not on the recommended list but a Power Probe 3 LINK is a nice tool to have for electrical.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

Lots of PPV owners here, so others will chime in.

 

[K9ErnieSSV]

I picked up a 2014 K9 SSV and ended up pulling everything out of it. Good thing, found mold and a mouse nesty above the headliner. Removed all wiring that was no longer needed as well as some components that were still installed behind panels and the dash. GPS tracker and immobilizer were also in place. I was lucky that the electronics for the kennel will still there and was able to get the Heat detection/Alarm working as well as the door popper . Have about 95% back in. Has been quite the learning experience. As youll see, there is some work when getting a retired police vehicle, but so worth it in my opinion. Hope yours is going well!

 

[Sparksalot]

I picked up a 2014 K9 SSV and ended up pulling everything out of it. Good thing, found mold and a mouse nesty above the headliner. Removed all wiring that was no longer needed as well as some components that were still installed behind panels and the dash. GPS tracker and immobilizer were also in place. I was lucky that the electronics for the kennel will still there and was able to get the Heat detection/Alarm working as well as the door popper . Have about 95% back in. Has been quite the learning experience. As youll see, there is some work when getting a retired police vehicle, but so worth it in my opinion. Hope yours is going well!

Theothertwin had a SecureIdle device still installed. It took me a while to figure out what it was and how it worked in that particular installation. Once I did that I bought another one for thecopcar.

 

[K9ErnieSSV]

Mine is called SafeStop but same functions. Nice to have since we don’t have keyless entry/start. My GPS tracker and remote disabling was still hooked up. Was a extra careful removing thise as one incorrect wire and I have a 6500 lbs lawn ornament.

 

[Geoby00]

Been a while since I've posted, lots of work has been done.

First thing I did was take the whole interior apart, broke some clips, and cleaned the whole thing up. Sprayed every deodorizer I could find on the interior, and it smells better. Did the Cabin Air Filter Retrofit. Smells good and AC blows hard. Also changed out the Engine Air Filter. Got the cigarette lighter panel as I was missing mine. Interior looks worlds better.

As far as all the extra wiring, an uncle of mine came by and tracked the power wires and where they'd hook up to, and essentially ripped all the extra stuff out. All the wiring gone in ~3 hours. Good with me!

Got a leather bench and door panels for the rear. New JBL GX628 speakers all around, they sound alright but I need more loud. As of now, my speakers get loud but leaves something to be desired, and there's not enough bass coming out of these speakers. My truck did not come with D-pillar speakers. I installed Noico sound deadening in all 4 doors and eliminated rattles- there was an especially strong rattle coming from my passenger door, and when I went to replace the speaker and install sound deadening, it was full of glass! Vacuumed it all out.

I got new window switches for the rear. Did not fix my controls in the back. Tried other switches, no dice. Must be a wiring issue, solution is TBD.

TO DO:

I got the truck with 87k miles, currently at 89k, and I was looking to do fluid flushes all around, but there is a slight delay in engagement when shifting into D or R or P, and so my mechanic advised me not to change it for another 10k miles, and if the issue doesn't get worse we can consider a trans fluid flush. Thoughts on if I should hold off on the trans fluid flush? There definitely is a delay there, and I'd do anything to avoid a 5k trans job.

I do have a slight oil leak from where the engine meets the transmission. Haven't investigated much further, I just know its there. Not losing much oil, I think ill do an oil change and see if it gets better, and I'll see what I can fix and or what Blue Devil can fix.

Exterior- Applied forever black on a lot of the trim, removed the faded front lip and spray painted it black. Bought goo gone to remove some of the gunk off the paint. The rear exterior pillars on both sides of the tahoe have paint issues, so I want to wrap them in gloss black to give it that wraparound window look- like the yukons.

Was debating on installing the Boss be7acp-c with the backup camera as a budget headunit with a backup camera, but at almost 400$, I could get 2 12' subs with an amp, and an amp for my speakers for ~600. I love my music so its a real consideration.

As of now, since it is a low mile truck, if i could make a 4-5k profit and avoid a 5k trans job, that'd be great. I'm probably in the truck 11k, so 16 would be perfect. Mixed feelings though because I love the truck. There's things holding me back- i dont know what else I would get. Selling the car is an option I'm considering, but till further notice I'm keeping it.

 

[Bill 1960]

I would never “flush” any transmission e.g. use a machine that forced cleaning fluids though it.

I would change the pan filter and replace the drained fluid with new without delay.

There have been many posts on this.

Neither would I use a sealer to address an oil leak. The number one internal concern with these is oil flow to the lifters because of the variable displacement system. An oil seep, as long as it’s not losing significant amounts, is nothing to worry about. It’s probably the rear main, or the oil cooler block.