Dakota Digital

fizz · December 09, 2014, 12:58:05 PM

Anybody install the rally guage direct fit gauges yet? Look OK, possably get rid of some wiring clutter and repair and calibration heartache.

comet_666 · December 09, 2014, 01:26:47 PM

Not yet but I plan on it.

myk · December 13, 2014, 05:58:05 AM

I'm definitely considering them, kinda pricey though. I'm tempted to just cut some sheet metal, squeeze in some Autometers and call it a day...

fy469rtse · December 14, 2014, 05:34:21 AM

Was looking at it recently too, I like the way it fits stock dash without modifying anything ,
Emailed them with a couple questions,
To do with the wiring with out hacking into loom ,
And I wanted to know how the factory speedo cable is connected , apparently not ,
Accessory speedo drive , not by them needs to be purchased and then wired in ?
To there credit They did email me back though , just not clear on things

fizz · December 15, 2014, 03:12:55 PM

Its a electric speedo, isn't it?

fy469rtse · December 15, 2014, 11:15:55 PM

yes electric,
so i asked do they the required parts to sort out the drive part for our cars ? duh, no you have to source that elsewhere

fizz · December 16, 2014, 08:30:54 AM

Their website says it comes with the pulse generator for speedo. I will have a buddy that lives near by stop their and see what the scoop is. Having to make mods or additions to a 900 dollar set of gauges is a no sale

John_Kunkel · December 16, 2014, 03:50:40 PM

The digital dash conversions come with a VHX control box, all of the inputs from the various sensors hook to this box and the box connects to the dash with a single flat ribbon cable.

The pulse generator for the speedo goes on the end of the speedo cable under the dash or on the trans. You're required to install two pushbutton switches (SW1 and SW2) within reach of the driver, these switches are used to calibrate the speedo either by driving a known distance or by driving at a known speed.

fy469rtse · December 16, 2014, 04:54:41 PM

thanks John,
do you by chance know how the wiring thats supplied connects into standard wiring ,
dont want to hack into factory loom ,
they claim in another add , connects to factory loom ? plug in

John_Kunkel · December 17, 2014, 02:58:21 PM

In the link below click on the "installation manual" PDF to the right, you'll see that all of the wires hook individually to the control box.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=939/prd939.htm

comet_666 · December 30, 2014, 01:58:35 PM

Anyone planning on using this cluster along with a Ron Francis or Painless kit?

fizz · December 30, 2014, 04:06:34 PM

Got my set last week. SOOOO easy, so far. Fasten face plate and switches to new panel, even has h/l indicator, turn signal and low brake pressure lights. Ron Francis wiring kit should be here in a day or so, picked their kit so I can terminate wires at the fuse block, and have the ability to tidy stuff up when I get done routing wire. Speed generator looks like it fastens to transmission, but havn't verified that. Ecu with gauges looks like the ticket, can remotely mount it from the guage panel. Under dash unit from classic air is mounted, pretty smooth, only issue was had to rebend the line from the unit to the dryer to get a good mounting point for the dryer. This also has a little ecu, so one wire from fuse block to heater/ac ecu and then use the wiring harnesses supplied(neat). Condensor and lines off the condenser are well thought out and neat. That is as far as that is going to get until engine/trans gets built. I think I can break wiring into engine/front lighting/wiper/rear lighting harnesses fairly easily and neatly

fizz · December 30, 2014, 04:08:43 PM

fy469rtse, it absolutely does not plug into existing harnessess

comet_666 · December 31, 2014, 09:30:50 AM

Did Ron Francis tell you to use the XP-777 harness? That is the one he told me to use...

http://www.ronfrancis.com/prodinfo.asp?number=XP-777

fizz · December 31, 2014, 10:05:12 AM

They started with that kit but because I wanted to be able to terminate at the fuze block we went with the bare bonz kit. I have wired 2 vehicles, one with this kit and one with a painless kit. The painless kit had wires preconnected at the fuze block that you ran out and terminated at the assessory. Not as neat at the fuze block. Note to them that you wont be needing the gm switches, and they will delete them. I ordered their shrink sleeve, it looks nice.

Rolling_Thunder · January 03, 2015, 08:46:59 AM

Quote from: comet_666 on December 30, 2014, 01:58:35 PM
Anyone planning on using this cluster along with a Ron Francis or Painless kit?

I plan on installing them on mine... I ran a painless kit.... I'll be ordering them while I'm overseas

fizz · January 05, 2015, 08:59:51 AM

Small update, while trying to figure out where to place the fuzebox from Ron Francis (much bigger than stock), the ecu's for the Dakota Digital gauges and the Classic Auto Air, I decided to use the glovebox. I made a metal glovebox liner 5 1/2 deep by 5 1/4 tall by 18 1/4 wide. This gave me just enough room on the back for all three. added some grommets on the top and bottom so I have a couple places to get wire out other than just the left side.

comet_666 · January 12, 2015, 04:40:59 PM

Pics please!!!!!

fizz · January 12, 2015, 10:33:48 PM

Next week when my kid can post them for me

comet_666 · January 15, 2015, 09:03:53 AM

Thanks, I am going to pull the trigger on this setup in the next week or 2.

fizz · January 16, 2015, 08:57:34 AM

I not using stock wiring harness, this is incredibly easy, and I hope works as advertised. I think it would be a mess to retrofit to stock harness.

comet_666 · January 18, 2015, 08:03:58 PM

pics yet?

fizz · January 28, 2015, 06:19:20 PM

For WIW, bench wiring my dash. Lots of redundancy in wiring aftermarket fuze panel to Mopar ignition switch. I sent an email to Ron Francis after spending a weekend wiring everything that was obvious. Chris that works there spent about an hour going over the switch terminals and fuzebox terminals sorting it out. Good on Ron Francis?

comet_666 · February 11, 2015, 08:40:18 PM

And so it begins...
RF XP-777 wiring and Dakota Digital cluster

myk · February 11, 2015, 08:45:09 PM

Freaking sexy...

TexasStroker · February 12, 2015, 02:21:42 PM

At first glance I was thinking why your cluster had those drop down brackets...I then realized it was the DD setup, lol.

Very interested to see how you like the RF kit...I had planned to have already had it, but keep running into issues with the rest of the interior upgrades.

jwilk01 · February 17, 2015, 05:47:39 PM

I am very interested to hear how the cluster went in if there were any problems. I am about to buy one my self and want to make sure its top notch.

Later
Josh

comet_666 · February 17, 2015, 08:49:45 PM

My dash bezels are on their way here and I have to locate the dash pads, I'm sure it will fit fine but I will post pics as soon as I get everything mocked up.

jwilk01 · February 19, 2015, 06:55:48 PM

Awesome! How long did it take to get when you ordered it?

comet_666 · February 23, 2015, 03:13:33 PM

About 4 days. The color combo I wanted happened to be in stock. And I got it off Ebay and did the make an offer and got it for $920

jwilk01 · April 04, 2015, 06:36:20 AM

I did get end up buying one of the Dakota digital gauge clusters and I must say it is a top notch set up. Only thing I can't get to work is my fuel gauge, but I have an idea on how so I will try it once the weather breaks. Very easy to use and I didn't know it until I installed it but you can do 1/4 mile times and 0-60 times its pretty awesome!

I will grab a pic when I can.

Later
Josh

John_Kunkel · April 04, 2015, 05:02:32 PM

Doesn't the DD have a setup mode where you select from one of six or seven fuel sender resistance values?

jwilk01 · April 05, 2015, 09:56:37 AM

Yes it has a few different ones I don't remember how many different ones there are.

Later
Josh

John_Kunkel · April 05, 2015, 02:22:19 PM

The one you want is the 10-73 Mopar/Ford setting.

Aussiemadonmopars · April 17, 2015, 10:45:15 AM

Hey Comet. How did you go with the new guage/wiring combo fitout? I'm jumping on board now too with this setup. I'd be very interested to see if/what problems you had.

comet_666 · April 17, 2015, 12:56:59 PM

My project has been put on a hiatus for the past few months. Hopefully the next few weeks will see some stuff getting done. I actually just fired off an email to Ron Francis about the headlight/taillight socket connections because the RF kit has no connections there and I dont feel like splicing my old stuff. I did get my new bezil on the DD and I like the way it looks.

frank1966 · April 18, 2015, 09:55:59 PM

Nice post! i think this my answer! I am planning on buying Ron Francis wiring kit, so it's easy to connect the gauges? Where can I buy this DD instrument panel, best price?

jwilk01 · April 20, 2015, 06:15:10 AM

I went straight though Dakota digital it was a little more but the piece of mind if something went wrong and not having to deal with ebay was better in my mind. I highly recommend these gauges and very easy to install!

frank1966 · April 20, 2015, 11:44:29 AM

Thanks, did you use Ron Francis wiring as well? I just pulled my gauge cluster what a mess! Any suggestions on where to begin? Rip out everything? What would be reused? Connectors, relays?

WHITE AND RED 69 · April 20, 2015, 03:04:16 PM

Quote from: jwilk01 on April 20, 2015, 06:15:10 AM
I went straight though Dakota digital it was a little more but the piece of mind if something went wrong and not having to deal with ebay was better in my mind. I highly recommend these gauges and very easy to install!

Those look great!

comet_666 · April 20, 2015, 06:18:47 PM

I got the same cluster and am doing a RF harness. According to RF you will need tail light sockets and as I am starting to go through it I am seeing where I may be able to use some other things from the old harnesses.

jwilk01 · April 21, 2015, 06:08:49 AM

I just tapped a few things into the old harness, like turn signals, ebrake light, dash light, and power. I did have to run a separate wire from my fuel sending unit to the box but that wasn't a big deal. It was really easy to do I think if I wanted to I could have done it all in an afternoon.

Later
Josh

Aussiemadonmopars · June 19, 2015, 06:40:42 AM

Hey fellas. How did you go with installing the dak guages with the RF wiring kit? I got my RF kit now, the xp777, looks easy to do but just wondering how you patched it into the dak guage control box. Any info would be great thanks

comet_666 · June 19, 2015, 09:29:38 AM

I will be doing it this week (hopefully) and I will take pics. Luckily the shop where its at now he has done this type of thing multiple times.

Aussiemadonmopars · June 19, 2015, 11:10:10 AM

See if you can get some pics of where they mount the fuse box and the dak control box, Im scratching for ideas.

comet_666 · June 19, 2015, 01:42:41 PM

Yah, I was hunting for a place a week or 2 ago to mount those.
I will be doing the wiring myself, they will just be there for moral support and guidance

comet_666 · July 21, 2015, 08:29:50 AM

Hope to have this installed by this weekend.

myk · July 21, 2015, 09:45:14 AM

Quote from: comet_666 on July 21, 2015, 08:29:50 AM
Hope to have this installed by this weekend.

I'm eagerly awaiting the results...

Aussiemadonmopars · July 21, 2015, 10:00:16 AM

Me too.

comet_666 · August 06, 2015, 09:17:46 PM

i'll update you guys on how I wired it when I make sure it works.
Basically spliced into 4 wires in stock harness and put weather pack connectors on them and female side has same color wire but about 4ft long so I can mount control box anywhere.

Here is shot of DD in my dash FINALLY!

Dino · August 06, 2015, 09:28:20 PM

I missed this and only saw your dash thread so ignore my pic request.

That looks really sweet; if I ever want something other than stock it'll be this.

myk · August 08, 2015, 04:07:22 AM

I think his selection is a perfect blend of stock-ish looking gauges with a modern flair. I might have to go that route...

Aussiemadonmopars · August 08, 2015, 08:10:22 AM

I tell ya what, after going the other way and going down the way of the Classic/Thunder Road dash setup, I would probably recommend going this way. The speedhut gauges I'm using in the Classic/Thunder road dash have a few more options but if ya want something that is just a basic alternative to stock then the Dak gauges look like the way to go. It looks more like a more "bolt-in" kind of setup alternative to stock.

myk · August 08, 2015, 08:47:03 AM

You think so? After looking up the Thunder Road stuff it looks pretty similar in application as the Dak stuff does. Great products either way...

Aussiemadonmopars · August 08, 2015, 10:02:24 AM

With the Classic/Thunder dash setup you still have to try and use your old switches and fit them to the new bezel. I've seen on here someone hacked up an old original housing to get the switches to fit the bezel, something I didn't want to do so I salvaged the old switches from my bezel (I know I can get replacements of those) and glued some small bits of wood to the back of the new bezel to mount the switches on. After that I still have to fit a headlight warning light a brake warning light and indicator lights. Try and find some decent ones of those that don't look out of place. It's not just a replacement housing with the gauges fitted already that you can just screw the old bezel/fascia to and screw back into place.

myk · August 08, 2015, 10:07:54 AM

Quote from: Aussiemadonmopars on August 08, 2015, 10:02:24 AM
With the Classic/Thunder dash setup you still have to try and use your old switches and fit them to the new bezel. I've seen on here someone hacked up an old original housing to get the switches to fit the bezel, something I didn't want to do so I salvaged the old switches from my bezel (I know I can get replacements of those) and glued some small bits of wood to the back of the new bezel to mount the switches on. After that I still have to fit a headlight warning light a brake warning light and indicator lights. Try and find some decent ones of those that don't look out of place. It's not just a replacement housing with the gauges fitted already that you can just screw the old bezel/fascia to and screw back into place.

Ah I see. I take it then that the last sentence of your post refers to the way the Dak is designed...

Aussiemadonmopars · August 09, 2015, 12:36:29 AM

Nah Mate, I was actually referring to the Classic/Thunder Road setup. But yeah, I see what your saying too. (We are both speaking the same language but saying different things the same way, lol) . I realize the thread is about the Dak guages but I just wanted to give a comparo against an alternative. The Dak guages look like more of a bolt - in mod rather than the classic dash which requires mods to fit and mount. The Dak guages look like they are going to be easier to wire up too.

myk · August 09, 2015, 06:01:23 AM

Definitely something to consider. Thanks for the input...

comet_666 · September 22, 2015, 07:42:49 PM

So this is how I have mine wired up right now, not 100% sure it's correct yet but throwing it out there to see if anyone who has wired this up can verify.
This is wired in from the OEM 69 harness. I cut it at the bulb and installed a wire pack connector http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all76265/overview/ (female end) at that point and connected to a longer wire of same color (male) and then terminated at the control box. I have the box mounted on the firewall to the insulation pad.
Brake = Brake Warning Light bulb
High = High beam bulb
Left = Left turn signal bulb
Right = Right turn signal bulb
Orange = Dash light bulb (not 100% sure on this one)
Acc. Power = Not 100% sure on this either

comet_666 · October 11, 2015, 06:03:45 PM

Ok, got this tested and working.

This is wired in from the OEM 69 harness. I cut it at the bulb and installed a wire pack connector http://www.summitracing.com/parts/aaf-all76265/overview/ (female end) at that point and connected to a longer wire of same color (male) and then terminated at the control box. I have the box mounted on the firewall to the insulation pad.

Brake = Brake Warning Light bulb
High = High beam bulb
Left = Left turn signal bulb
Right = Right turn signal bulb
12 v from Fuse block
Acc. Power = From Acc feed on fuse block
Fuel SND direct from box to tank sending unit
Fuel - Direct from box and ground to frame
Ground - I ran this to the frame.
Sensor packs are self explanatory.

Hope this helps!

Note: Red on fuseblock is 12v Const not acc as I labled it.

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