Dakota Digital

[WarEagle]

Has anyone used any products from Dakota Digital? This new instrument panel looks great with the blue lights! I am seriously considering upgrading to this.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/ ... prd898.htm

[tbone6]

Can't help with the reliability of Dakota, but that panel looks way better than the previous one they had. I disliked the old style so much that I decided to go a different route. If they had that panel last year I might have pulled the trigger. Let us know if you go for it!

[WarEagle]

I agree, I don't like the older one either. Something not right about it, being all digital. Kinda like the old school gauges

[tbone6]

Yep, that is why I went a different route. The cost for the Dakota however, is...

[WarEagle]

True, but nothing on my dash works, so this will be less of a headache. I'll try and get it after a total rewire. Looking at the 16 circuit wire set from LMC to get rid of 20 yr old electrical tape and 40 yr old gremlins.....

[69Ford]

Because of the price of Dakota digital I kept watching Ebay. I've bought complete clusters with wiring harness as low as $25 Bought a repo face plate for $125 and a new clear lens for $25
$5 dollars a piece for LED bulbs five of them. About $5 for a can of white spray paint. Oh and I can't remember the price of the electronic blinker but it was cheap. All together What looks
like a NOS cluster Under $250 Also if you wanted to go to the white gauge overlay I believe they are about $25. That's for my stock looking cluster. I have about $400 into my F500 Cluster
that has all NOS gauges. Also you would be surprised by how simple the wiring is in these old trucks with a little patience.

[69Ford]

Just clicked on the link to Dakota Digital. The new Dash is much nicer. Wish I had the money.

[tbone6]

True, but nothing on my dash works, so this will be less of a headache. I'll try and get it after a total rewire. Looking at the 16 circuit wire set from LMC to get rid of 20 yr old electrical tape and 40 yr old gremlins.....

I hear ya on the instruments, certainly an elegant solution.

I think with the cost of the LMC harness, I would just go with a Painless harness ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-10117 ). They have the most comprehensive install manual/help of anybody I know, and the quality is outstanding. I have no experience with the LMC harness, so it may be just as good, or made by painless?

[WarEagle]

True, but nothing on my dash works, so this will be less of a headache. I'll try and get it after a total rewire. Looking at the 16 circuit wire set from LMC to get rid of 20 yr old electrical tape and 40 yr old gremlins.....

I hear ya on the instruments, certainly an elegant solution.

I think with the cost of the LMC harness, I would just go with a Painless harness ( http://www.summitracing.com/parts/prf-10117 ). They have the most comprehensive install manual/help of anybody I know, and the quality is outstanding. I have no experience with the LMC harness, so it may be just as good, or made by painless?

Thanks for the info. The LMC harness has the original style connectors. What does the Painless use? It looks like crimping butt connectors? Do the they have a heat shrink sleeve on them?

[tbone6]

As I recall, it uses original style for multi wire connectors (headlights, ignition switch, dash cluster, etc.) and they plug right in to the original connectors, but some require inline splices. No shrink sleeves are provided at all. You might want to download their manual and scan through it to verify. If the LMC harness provides better termination, then it may be better for your purposes. I would be (pleasantly) surprised if they use anything other than the same type connectors, splices and terminals. I would love to know your thoughts on the quality if you go with LMC. I have used KWIKWIRE and was not impressed, but for the price... you know the saying.

For what it's worth, when I rewire/repair vehicles I don't use the cheap splices and terminals usually provided. I solder the wires and use higher quality weather tight shrink tubing wherever it makes sense. Where I use the splices/terminals/etc. I use the higher quality stuff as well. I also have a stash of Packard OEM type terminals/pins/sockets (these require the use of high quality crimping tools, not the flat yellow handle stripper/cutter/crimper combo tool) that I use to rewire existing stock plugs whenever possible. Both the splices and the OEM terminals are available online at various retailers, and I know NAPA has em. Don't get me wrong, I use the cheap stuff all the time, just not on things that I don't want to worry about.

[sargentrs]

I got an EZ Wiring 21 circuit harness from a member, new in box, for $50 http://www.ezwiring.com/wiring_harness.html My F600 gauge panel was given to me, for free, by a GREAT friend here on the forums. I'm buying all aftermarket gauges from here http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/ and a quad gauge from here http://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GR338-QUA ... vel,-Volts All total around $750 in gauges and will include the usual + vacuum, oil temp, EGT and fuel pressure. Trying to figure out how to add an Air/Fuel gauge too.