Dakota VHX Cluster: Parking Brake Warning Light

[h82crash]

I am reworking my main harness and in deciding which circuits I want to keep, I checked the Dakota manual. It says I can hook up a wire from the brake warning system or parking brake switch for a warning on the cluster. It also says to press and hold a button to clear the warning message.

The question is, do I have to clear the message every time I set the parking brake?

And, are there any classic cars where the harness hasn't been boogered?

 

[sogncab]

I don't know the answer, but Dakota Digital is really good at answering questions.

 

[UZJ40]

The warning message should only stay on as long as the brake is engage, much like a modern vehicle. Once the brake is released, the warning should go out without having to manually clear it.

 

[h82crash]

The warning message should only stay on as long as the brake is engage, much like a modern vehicle. Once the brake is released, the warning should go out without having to manually clear it.

Thanks. Made sense this should be the case. Just the manual had that statement.

 

[wngrog]

It goes off without clearing manually

 

[Green Bean]

I need help figuring out the parking brake warning wiring for Dakota Digital parking brake issue. According to the manual it says to run a wire from the parking brake switch ground to the appropriate spot on the module. However when I use a dedicated ground from the back of the parking brake light the warning light on the DD display stays on even when the brake is disengaged. @wngrog how have you wired the DD parking brake?
Thanks.

 

[wngrog]

I need help figuring out the parking brake warning wiring for Dakota Digital parking brake issue. According to the manual it says to run a wire from the parking brake switch ground to the appropriate spot on the module. However when I use a dedicated ground from the back of the parking brake light the warning light on the DD display stays on even when the brake is disengaged. @wngrog how have you wired the DD parking brake?
Thanks.

Only from a EStopp brake. Not stock.

 

[Green Bean]

Okay. For anyone stumbling upon this in the future, I finally figured it out. The DD has indicator lights built in with a red parking brake light and a green 4x4 light. Up to now, I hadn't been able to get them operational. It was not really necessary given the stock indicator lights on the dash were working fine. The issue as I understand it is that the DD uses a ground for the signal to these. When the ground is completed the signal illuminates. It was just a matter of spending all afternoon with the multimeter to tap into the right spots on the factory harness for switched grounds. Now both parking brake and 4x4 indicators on the DD work as they should.

Both Parking Brake and 4x4 engaged:

Both Disengaged:

 

[wngrog]

Okay. For anyone stumbling upon this in the future, I finally figured it out. The DD has indicator lights built in with a red parking brake light and a green 4x4 light. Up to now, I hadn't been able to get them operational. It was not really necessary given the stock indicator lights on the dash were working fine. The issue as I understand it is that the DD uses a ground for the signal to these. When the ground is completed the signal illuminates. It was just a matter of spending all afternoon with the multimeter to tap into the right spots on the factory harness for switched grounds. Now both parking brake and 4x4 indicators on the DD work as they should.

Both Parking Brake and 4x4 engaged:

View attachment 3508061

Both Disengaged:

View attachment 3508064

What are you doing for fuel sending unit? None of mine are right

 

[Green Bean]

What are you doing for fuel sending unit? None of mine are right

Actron SP0F000013 Bosch Fuel Level Sender (Amazon)(02/28/2022) ($27.91)(240 ohms empty/33 ohms full and 130 ohms half). Uses one of the preset options on the DD. Works great.

 

[wngrog]

Actron SP0F000013 Bosch Fuel Level Sender (Amazon)(02/28/2022) ($27.91)(240 ohms empty/33 ohms full and 130 ohms half). Uses one of the preset options on the DD. Works great.

Did it fit in the OEM holes in the tank?

 

[Green Bean]

Pretty close. If I recall correctly, I had to drill out a couple of the holes on the new sender just a bit.

 

[UZJ40]

Okay. For anyone stumbling upon this in the future, I finally figured it out. The DD has indicator lights built in with a red parking brake light and a green 4x4 light. Up to now, I hadn't been able to get them operational. It was not really necessary given the stock indicator lights on the dash were working fine. The issue as I understand it is that the DD uses a ground for the signal to these. When the ground is completed the signal illuminates. It was just a matter of spending all afternoon with the multimeter to tap into the right spots on the factory harness for switched grounds. Now both parking brake and 4x4 indicators on the DD work as they should.

Both Parking Brake and 4x4 engaged:

View attachment 3508061

Both Disengaged:

View attachment 3508064

Looks good.... On the main DD unit, there's a + or - on each input, letting you know what signal is expected to trigger it. Blinkers, high beams, etc are positive trigger. Brake, 4x4 are negative.

 

[sogncab]

What are you doing for fuel sending unit? None of mine are right

Do the setup the training way. It's just max and minimum ohms. I wish Dakota Digital had a way to manually put in a range.

 

[wngrog]

Do the setup the training way. It's just max and minimum ohms. I wish Dakota Digital had a way to manually put in a range.

It’s pretty inaccurate. Not impressed. I’d like to put whole new senders that are one of the preprogrammed like he linked above if possible

 

[sogncab]

It’s pretty inaccurate. Not impressed. I’d like to put whole new senders that are one of the preprogrammed like he linked above if possible

You'd hate my 80. Good ol' Toyota, and inaccurate AF. It hits E with about 10 gallons left.

I'm sensing a trend.

What level of accuracy are you looking for? Agreed lmost anything but the factory garbage is a better choice. When mine was setup through the app when filling from almost empty, it wasn't too bad I thought. Full was full, and it came off of full at a reasonable rate. Zero wasn't quite zero, but I had about half a gallon left. Which would've been the zero I set when training it. Everything in-between seemed rather linear.

It did take a couple of tries though.

 

[wngrog]

You'd hate my 80. Good ol' Toyota, and inaccurate AF. It hits E with about 10 gallons left.

I'm sensing a trend.

What level of accuracy are you looking for? Agreed lmost anything but the factory garbage is a better choice. When mine was setup through the app when filling from almost empty, it wasn't too bad I thought. Full was full, and it came off of full at a reasonable rate. Zero wasn't quite zero, but I had about half a gallon left. Which would've been the zero I set when training it. Everything in-between seemed rather linear.

It did take a couple of tries though.

Did you have the sending unit out and manually run it through the range?

I tried that and the “known full” setting.

Mind you I’ve don’t 6 of these and none have any semblance of accuracy. All my customers luckily just use them local and use the trip meters to monitor the fuel

 

[sogncab]

No, I did the training at the pump. Run it close to empty, then dump in the prescribed amount, and just follow the instructions on the app.

I need to do the again since I put in a new sender with the new tank. I'm using like a corvette range or something, and it ain't great

 

[Green Bean]

As I recall, out of the box, I had to shorten the arm on the Bosch sender. I believe the instructions that came with it provided steps for measuring the depth of the tank in order to allow for full movement of the float. When my tank is full, the DD display shows 99%.

 

[Green Bean]

One thing that I noticed near completion was that the green 4WD indicator light on the dash (and also the DD display) was staying illuminated even when the 4WD was disengaged. However, when the socket was removed from the dash, everything worked as it should. It turned out that the socket was picking up a ground from the dash, thus completing the circuit. I placed a small O-ring around the bezel to isolate it, reinstalled the socket, and the problem was solved.