Dakota Digital SERIES II STR3D, SERIES II STR4D, SERIES II STR5D, SERIES II STR6D User Manual

VACUUM FLUORESCENT DIGITAL DASHBOARD

SERIES II

The latest in digital dashboard technology for the

street rodder, car, and truck enthusiast.

INSTALLATION AND OPERATION MANUAL

Please read this before beginning installation or wiring.

MODELS STR3D, STR4D, STR5D, & STR6D

3421 W. Hovland Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD 57107
Phone: [phone]

FAX: [phone]

Thank you for purchasing the Vacuum Fluorescent Digital Dashboard from DAKOTA
DIGITAL, the leader in custom automotive electronics. Representing the latest electronics
dashboard technology for the street rodder, car, and truck enthusiast alike, the digital
instrumentation uses state of the art vacuum fluorescent display technology to give the driver
up to date and accurate information on the operation of his or her vehicle. As used in several
production automobiles, vacuum fluorescent displays give superior performance and visual
appeal over LCD or LED display systems. Emitting a blue/green light that can be filtered to a
wide variety of colors, the VFD system boasts excellent daytime visibility and while under
computer control, automatically dims for nighttime driving. Using microprocessor technology,
the digital dashboard gives the driver additional features and benefits not typically found on any
other brand or type of instrumentation. Digital accuracy and solid state reliability will give you,
the driver, quality service for miles down the road.

Left turn signal Right turn signal
High beam indicator
Odometer/trip odometer
Gear shift indicator (requires optional sender)

DISPLAY FEATURES

Your DAKOTA DIGITAL instrumentation panel has many features, some of which you
will not be able to see until the instrumentation is completely wired and installed. The turn
signals and the high beam indicators are part of the digital speedometer display therefore you
will not see them before the instrumentation is installed. If your panel is a year specific street
rod panel you may also have additional green and or red LED's which also can be used for turn
signals and high beam indicators. These panels allow you to use either the indicators that are a
part of your speedometer, or the LED's.
The odometer is the bottom display of the speedometer area. This is the same display
that will function as the resettable trip-odometer. The digit furthest to the right of the odometer
will become your gear shift indicator if you purchased the optional gear shift sending unit. Every
DAKOTA DIGITAL instrumentation panel is equipped with this indicator. If you did not originally
order a gear shift sending unit, and would like to have a gear shift indicator, you may order the
sending unit at anytime and when properly installed, the gear shift indicator will operate.
A demonstration mode or “show” mode is also built into the system. Pressing and
holding the TRIP switch for 7-8 seconds with power on will start the gauges going in an
animated sequence. Pressing the RESET switch will exit the demonstration mode.

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WARNING

The vacuum fluorescent displays are made of glass and should be handled with care. Use
extreme care around the glass evacuation tubes (small tubes at the bottom of each
display) as bumping them may cause breakage and render the display useless.

MOUNTING DISPLAY SYSTEMS WITH SUBPANELS

When mounting instrumentation systems mounted to a Lexan subpanel, begin by
removing the subpanel from the aluminum. Cut an opening in the dash just smaller than the
outer dimensions of the aluminum panel. Remove all nuts and washers from the studs on the
back side of the panel and insert into the hole. Next, install four washers or clips and secure
with a nut on each. This is what holds the panel to the dashboard. Now, install a nut on each
stud and set the display panel in place over the studs. If the studs were bent slightly inward
from securing the aluminum panel, you may have to bend them outward to line up with the holes
on the lectern subpanel. Always lay the display panel aside when not in use to avoid
accidentally damaging the displays. Once aligned, secure it with an additional four nuts. Leave
a gap of no less than 1/8" between the display glass and the front lens material. Be careful not
to compress the glass against the front lens. Again, note that the displays are glass and should
be handled with care. Use extreme care around the glass evacuation tubes (small tubes at the
bottom of each display) as bumping them may cause breakage and render the display useless.

MOUNTING SYSTEMS WITH DISPLAYS MOUNTED TO ALUMINUM

When mounting year specific aluminum panel, cut an opening into the dashboard if

necessary and secure the entire panel with the instrumentation using the appropriate mounting
hardware. Some panels are set into the front of the dash while others are installed from the rear
of the dash. The exact mounting configuration will depend on what year car and panel you are
installing.

MOUNTING SINGLE LENS SYSTEMS

Your DAKOTA DIGITAL single lens system will come to you with a single plexiglass lens

and instrumentation that is mounted in an aluminum case. The lens and the instrumentation
have corresponding mounting holes. After you have affixed the mounting studs of your choice
to the backside of your dash, the lens piece should be slid over the studs followed by the display
system. The lens can be secured with either washers and nuts, or by a bead of RTV around the
back side of the lens and case. If RTV is used, the system will need to be held in place until it
has had time to cure. The lens should be tight against the aluminum display case.

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MOUNTING KITS INTO ORIGINAL DASHES

When installing the display system into the original bezel, several steps must be taken to

prepare the bezel. The first is to remove the cluster from the dashboard and all instrumentation
from the bezel. You should essentially be left with a bare chrome or metal bezel. Remove all
felt inserts from the back side of the bezel that sit between the lens and the chrome.

55-56 Chevy car chrome bezel shown with lens and display opening outlines.

Next, take the supplied lens, with the lettering facing the front of the dash and place it in
the chrome bezel. Lay a bead of RTV around the back side of the lens to secure it in place.
After the RTV has cured, the display panel is ready to be placed on the bezel. If studs were
supplied with the panel, screw them into the bezel and place a nut on them before placing the
display system on it.
Be very careful not to hit the displays against anything as they are glass and will break.
Adjust the height of the panel so that the glass displays are 1/8" away from the front lens.
Applying a lock washer and nut to the studs behind the display panel, secure the display panel
to the bezel. If screws were provided with the panel, secure them through the display panel and
into the bezel. No additional holes should need to be drilled. All holes in the display systems
are pre-drilled at the factory.

CONTROL BOX

Once the display panel is in place, mount the control box within the connecting cable's

distance (approximately 3 feet) and secure to the underside of the dashboard. This case does
not have to be mounted to metal, but by doing so you will provide a better ground to the control
box. When connecting the display cable to the unit, be very sure to pay attention to the "up"
side of the connector. Align the connector in the socket and press firmly into the control box.
The connector locks will secure the connector. Some systems also have a 2-wire connector
from the display panel that must also be connected. This plugs in next to the flat gray cable.

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Wiring the control box into the vehicle.

+12V

Connect the +12V terminal to accessory power from the fuse panel or vehicle wiring
harness. This terminal should have power when the key is on or in accessory position. In
addition to powering the display system, this is also where the voltmeter gauge senses the
vehicle electrical system voltage.

Use 20 AWG or larger wire to ensure the system gets good power.

Never connect this to a battery charger alone. It needs to have a 12 volt battery
connected to it. Battery chargers have an unregulated voltage output that will cause the system
to not operate properly.

GROUND

This is the main ground for the display system. A wire should be run from this terminal to
the vehicle’s main ground location at the chassis or engine block. This ground wire should also
be connected to the control box case. One of the mounting screws or case lid screws can be
used for this. Do not use the dash or a dash support brace for the ground connection.

Use 18 AWG or larger wire to ensure sufficient grounding. Proper vehicle grounding is
extremely important for the gauges to read and operate correctly. The engine block should
have heavy ground cables to the battery, frame, firewall, and body. Failure to properly ground
the engine block or the control box can cause incorrect or erratic operation.

DIMMING

The gauges are designed to dim down when the headlights are turned on. This is to
reduce the display intensity at night so the gauges do not cause eye strain or reduced night
vision. Connect this to the tail light or parking light circuit so that it has 12 volts whenever the
headlights are on. When this terminal does not have power the display system will be at full
brightness. When power is applied, the display dims to an adjustable level. The night
brightness level is adjustable two different ways.

The default method is to have the system to dim to a preset level when the lights are
turned on. This brightness is adjusted by turning the shaft protruding from right side of the
control box, next to the display system connector. Turning the shaft clockwise will decrease the
brightness. The shaft will rotate ¾ turn from stop to stop. Do not attempt turn it past the stops.
See DIM ADJ for a description of the second method.

DIM ADJ

The second method allows you to have a dash mounted control to vary the brightness
while the headlights are on. This requires a 10k potentiometer or Dakota Digital’s DIM-1 kit. A
stock headlight rheostat will not work. The dash mount dimmer has two wires, one connects to
the DIM ADJ terminal and the other connects to ground. To allow the dash mount dimmer to
have full control, the shaft on the side of the control box must be turned fully counter-clockwise.
The dash mount dimmer will only vary the display brightness when the DIMMING terminal has
power.

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SPEED

The vehicle speed sensor (VSS) connects to this to tell the system how fast the vehicle is
moving. For two wire speed sensors, like the one Dakota Digital supplies with this system, the
polarity of the wires does not matter. Connect one wire to ground and the other to the speed
terminal. The speed sensor ground wire should be brought back to the control box to ensure a
proper signal is received. Twisting the ground and signal wires around each other provides an
additional level of interference protection. The speed signal wire should not be routed along
side ignition or other high current or high voltage wires.

For vehicles which already have a vehicle speed signal, tap into the VSS wire and
connect it to the speed terminal. You may have to consult a vehicle service manual or wiring
diagram to determine wire color and location.

This system can accept 4000 ppm – 128000 ppm speed signals. The sensor that Dakota
Digital provides is an 8000 ppm type. The speedometer is fully adjustable and calibration is
discussed in a later section. Failure to calibrate the speedometer may cause your odometer mileage to

increase very rapidly if the speedometer is reading too fast.

TACH

Depending on the type of system that you have there may be no tachometer, a bar graph
tachometer, a digital tachometer, or both bar graph and digital readouts. Connect the tach
terminal to the ignition system. On vehicles using a separate ignition coil, connect to the
negative side of the coil. The negative side of the coil will be the wire that goes to the points or
electronic ignition module. For GM HEI ignition equipped motors, connect the tach terminal to
the terminal marked “TACH” or on some systems, to a single white wire with a spade terminal
on it. On MSD ignition systems, connect to the TACH output terminal. With magneto system
connect to the kill wire for the tach signal. Do not connect the TACH terminal to the secondary,
or high voltage side, of the ignition coil. To ensure that the ignition system does not interfere
with any other dashboard functions, do not run the tachometer wire along side any other sender
or input wires. DO NOT USE SOLID CORE SPARK PLUG WIRES WITH THIS DASHBOARD
SYSTEM. Solid core ignition wires cause a large amount of electromagnetic and radio
frequency interference which can disrupt the system operation.

The tachometer is compatible with 4, 6, 8, and 10 cylinder gasoline engines. There are
DIP programming switches inside the control box that set the number of cylinders, tach bar
graph full scale range, and tach display type. These settings are discussed later in the section
on internal adjustments. If a diesel engine is being used and the alternator has a tach output,
then Dakota Digital’s DSL-1 interface will convert the alternator signal to operate the
tachometer.

WATER

The water temperature sender included with this system must be used. Other senders
will cause incorrect readings. The sender mounts on the engine block or into the intake
manifold so that the end of the sensor is in the engine coolant flow. The sender gets its
electrical ground connection to the engine block through its threads. Do not use Teflon tape or
thread sealant on the sender threads. Doing so can cause incorrect readings or cause the
gauge to display an out of range indication. A sender with 3/8 NPT thread size is normally
included and 1/8 NPT thread size is available. If the engine you have requires a different thread
size you will need to use an adapter to convert the thread size. Adapters can be found at your
local auto parts dealer or hardware store.

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