Adding AMP power step to 21 Lariat Super Crew

[Sentinel1201]

My Lariat doesn't have the factory power running boards and I would like to add the AMP Power Step. Two questions -

1. Do Lariat trucks come pre wired for the power running boards? What exactly is involved in adding it aftermarket? Do I need to splice a power line somewhere? Hope not...
2. Are there any compatible truck and cab configurations for power steps, or am I limited to buying the F150 specific part number? i.e., would an F250 powerstep boards work on our trucks? I suppose I'm asking if the mounting points are different based on different trucks or standard.

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[Sentinel1201]

Anyone?

 

[Aeroturbine]

Anyone?

The Lariat's don't come pre-wired for the AMP steps, but it is a simple plug and play installation. The harness will run from the engine bay to each side of the cab and one part of the harness will plug into the ODB port and control the up and down movement. There are many great videos on YouTube showing the installation process.

I'll be getting these for my Supercab since Ford does not offer them from the factory.

Cheers

 

[Sentinel1201]

OK I installed the AMP ‘XTREME’ power steps today. They seem to be back ordered at most places, but P3 Performance Products had one in stock for me, shipped it quickly and it arrived within 3 days.

Install is pretty straightforward, except a few minor areas to watch for:

1. Unlike previous year models, the 2021s require you to splice two wires into the factory canbus (previous year was OBD only no splicing was required). The difficulty is locating the darn wires to splice! There are about half dozen connectors in the driver’s footwell and they all have the blue/green and white/green wires that are referenced in the instructions. After trying two connectors and not working, I finally got the right wires in the third connector - it is one of two that plugs right into the ECU tucked near where the brake pedal exits the firewall - see pic below.
2. You need 2 posi-tap connectors to splice into factory wires (see pic below) and they were missing in the package. I had a bunch in my garage so that saved me having to find them at a local store.
3. The passenger side motor makes contact with the hoses/pipes that are routed adjacent to the frame In that area - see pic below. Not a big deal, I disconnected one mounting screw that held the hoses on the frame and just pushed the hoses up, but they do make contact with the motor FYI.

Anyway, the steps tuck in very nice and make the truck look so much better/taller. The steps are also lower than factory running boards when deployed which my old parents will appreciate.

Highly recommend P3 Performance Products, they had a great price on these and had them in stock, shipped it fast.

 

[Geo]

This is a great write up. I will be receiving my Amp power steps this week. Plan on installing this week end. All those pictures and instructions will save me a lot of time and head aches.

 

[Geo]

Finely got my Amp steps on, they are so nice. Pay close attention to the Posi tap connectors. They need to go back together the same way as they came apart. Thanks to Sentine11201 his photo's made it much easier. I didn't have the hoses' on the passenger side to deal with [5.0 motor].

 

[Aeroturbine]

Looking good!! My steps are coming tomorrow, but unfortunately the truck hasn't. Can't wait to get them installed. And thank you for the great writeups and pictures.

 

[Sentinel1201]

Looking good!! My steps are coming tomorrow, but unfortunately the truck hasn't. Can't wait to get them installed. And thank you for the great writeups and pictures.

Inspect the package contents once they arrive to make sure they are what you ordered. I ordered the XTREME steps and on the outside of the box it had XTREME part number but inside of the box had the "SMART" steps (XTREME has dual motors on each side smart has just one). SMART is a total gimmick, I wish I got the actual XTREME version that I ordered.

P3 Performance was the distributor, they were great to deal with and gave me a refund to cover the difference in price, but AMP literally mis-packed the box at factory.

 

[Aeroturbine]

Inspect the package contents once they arrive to make sure they are what you ordered. I ordered the XTREME steps and on the outside of the box it had XTREME part number but inside of the box had the "SMART" steps (XTREME has dual motors on each side smart has just one). SMART is a total gimmick, I wish I got the actual XTREME version that I ordered.

P3 Performance was the distributor, they were great to deal with and gave me a refund to cover the difference in price, but AMP literally mis-packed the box at factory.

Thanks for the heads up. I did order the SMART as I couldn't justify the price on the XTREME and I live in South Florida so I didn't see the need for the dual motors. Glad they gave you a refund as the price difference is a good amount.

 

[Sentinel1201]

Thanks for the heads up. I did order the SMART as I couldn't justify the price on the XTREME and I live in South Florida so I didn't see the need for the dual motors. Glad they gave you a refund as the price difference is a good amount.

The SMART is exactly the same as the regular except a Bluetooth capable ODB controller. And you download AMP's app that talks to the BT OBD controller.

The app is incredibly dumb. It lets you deploy and retract the steps from your phone and I cannot think of any useful real life situation where that would be useful. The app does NOT allow you to check or upgrade firmware, change any features on how long the steps stay deployed or how fast they retract etc. The app does read the voltage of motors on both sides which I suppose could be useful if they malfunction and you are trying to troubleshoot.

In this supply crunch, I would have taken it even if they told me the SMART is all they had in stock. But if I have a choice, and I didn't need/want the XTREME and its dual motors and beefier steps, I would save the money and just go with regular.

 

[Sentinel1201]

One more thing worth mentioning. The controller sits in engine bay where it gets HOTT especially since my PB idles a lot (use the generator a lot) in texas summer heat. I am sure it was heat protected by design, however, out of extra caution, I wrapped it up in anti-heat tape. Either the length of the wires they provided isn't enough or I didn't route them properly but I am not 100% happy with where the controller sits in my truck.

 

[Geo]

My grandson routed mine, while I worked under the dash. Looks like he just followed the same route as my line from the air compressor to the rear air bags [on top of the radiator]. Wiring harness length was good, had to trim a little off the farthest LED light line. Again this is on the 5.0 motor.

 

[Sentinel1201]

My grandson routed mine, while I worked under the dash. Looks like he just followed the same route as my line from the air compressor to the rear air bags [on top of the radiator]. Wiring harness length was good, had to trim a little off the farthest LED light line. Again this is on the 5.0 motor.

You did a much better job than I did! I like that location for the amp controller.

 

[Aeroturbine]

Great pics! I've got the 5.0 as well so this will help greatly to keep the install neat.

 

[Geo]

One more thing to look out for. Is the dark purple wires that you have to splice going to the ODB port. One has a black stripe on it, make sure it is connected to the same color wire. If you get it backwards the opposite side board will open. Ya, it happened to me.

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