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looking at replacing my original speedo and idiot light setup with Dakota Digital in my 68, i am mainly looking to clean up and get rid of the steering wheel added tach and 3 pod gauge setup. My main questions are does the setup come with the sensors and how does the speedo setup with no cable. Here is a pic of the setup i am looking at. Thanks
Transport Gauge Measuring instrument Machine Number
 

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I have Dakota digital gauges in my car and I'm disappointed with them, in fact, I don't like them at all. I've had these ''p.o.s'' for more than 6 years and still haven't been able to figure out how to have the odometer to work. :rolleyes: Their way of 'calibrating' them with the use of two separate push buttons which you have to push a certain amount of times and in a certain order, etc... They're definitely not user friendly.:poop: I found it so complicated that I've surrendered and have been driving my car for over 6 years now without knowing how much mileage the car has.
If I had to get new gauges, I'd probably go with another brand (Intellitronix, Classic Dash, New Vintage, etc) .
Claude.
 

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I have the Dakota Digital VHX in my car and am quite happy with them.

Mine use 2 push buttons to setup and it’s pretty easy.

The speedometer uses a sensor and electrical connection to the brain box.

Claude - you only have something like 100 miles to set the odometer and after that it is locked. So if you didn’t set it when they were first installed and drove for 100 miles, you can’t set it now. The only way to fix that is to pull the brain box and send it back to Dakota Digital who will unlock it again for you so you can set it.
 

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I have the Dakota Digital VHX in my car and am quite happy with them.

Mine use 2 push buttons to setup and it’s pretty easy.

The speedometer uses a sensor and electrical connection to the brain box.

Claude - you only have something like 100 miles to set the odometer and after that it is locked. So if you didn’t set it when they were first installed and drove for 100 miles, you can’t set it now. The only way to fix that is to pull the brain box and send it back to Dakota Digital who will unlock it again for you so you can set it.
Thanks ''lucifer'' for your suggestion, but I'm going to leave them like that for now but once my EFI conversion will be done, then I might get rid of the Dakota dash altogether and get something else. Now that I've been ''had', I don't feel like purchasing anything from them again. (The same goes for that ''RetroSound 'p.o.s' radio which will end up in the trash can someday).
Claude.
 

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That 100 mile limit to commit to an odo mileage is clearly stated in the DD Installation Manual. Send it back to them to unlock it and then put whatever you need for an odometer mileage in it. I'm guessing that would be a free service.

Calibrating the speedometer is also easy and they give you two different methods. I used a GPS app in my cell phone along with the "Adjust" method in the DD speedo to get it to read with exact precision. Nothing could be easier than that.

Rick
 

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That 100 mile limit to commit to an odo mileage is clearly stated in the DD Installation Manual. Send it back to them to unlock it and then put whatever you need for an odometer mileage in it. I'm guessing that would be a free service.

Calibrating the speedometer is also easy and they give you two different methods. I used a GPS app in my cell phone along with the "Adjust" method in the DD speedo to get it to read with exact precision. Nothing could be easier than that.

Rick
Good to know. Planned on putting one in my '68 GTO convertible clone (restomod) I'm working on, and then one into my '67.
 

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I actually just bought a set of RTX gauges and am currently 2 beers deep in prep to put it in tonight, here are the pics I have of it—anything else just ask and hopefully it isn’t in the car yet

702345
702346

702347
 

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I had Dakota Digital HDX dash installed in my '67 a couple of years ago and I like it very much! After reading the directions a couple of times I got the hang of pushing the two buttons in the correct sequence to access various settings. My odometer works fine. I verified its accuracy with the GPS speedometer app on my smart phone.
 

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I installed the VHX gauges on my 71 and I love them!


You can get the GPS speedo, which I would prefer to have as I change my tires of different sizes so often.

Figuring out the factory wiring to tie into for the blinker switches and such can be a bit tricky, but once it's done... they work so much better than stock.
 

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66 RTX and I absolutely am impressed with the thing. I use the GPS-50-2 with it for the speedometer. It doesn't really need any set up. Once all wired I called Dakota Digital and the tech guy walked me right through the set up. My speedometer is dead accurate with all of the roadside speed check radar we have. I'm at 81 miles with it. Did I say how much I like Dakota Digital RTX on my 66?
 

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I installed Dakota Digital gauges in my 72 Elky and in my 81 Camaro. I used the GPS speedo in both. I Love them.
And yes, I had a setup issue w/ both cars. But I called Tech Support. They actually speak English and were very helpful. In 15 minutes, my problems were solved.
If I do another car, it'll have Dakota Digital gauges in it too.
 

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I have Dakota guages in my '71 Chevelle. I just bought the car about six weeks ago and the guages were already installed. I like them a lot, but I am having a problem with the clock. it resets to 12:00 frequently when the key is turned off. If it were every time, I'd suspect the hot wire not being connected, but since it is intermittent, I'm puzzled. I've been looking under the dash for the control unit and as of right now it is eluding me. I'm a big guy and worming around under the dash isn't my cup of tea...I'm open to suggestions.
 

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'67 RTX. some of it is very cool. I really like the original look. The tach is not exactly intuitive, hard to get used to.. The app is a little ricey, the setup takes a while to get the values right, but overall a nice piece.
I am currently having an issue with the speedometer/ odometer. It won't read until I hit about 62 mph. I've replaced the sensor in the trans and it appears to be putting out the correct amount of milivolts, which means the ecu might be faulty which would suck because it's tucked pretty tight and will be a ton of fun to pull, unwire, and replace...

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I have Dakota guages in my '71 Chevelle. I just bought the car about six weeks ago and the guages were already installed. I like them a lot, but I am having a problem with the clock. it resets to 12:00 frequently when the key is turned off. If it were every time, I'd suspect the hot wire not being connected, but since it is intermittent, I'm puzzled. I've been looking under the dash for the control unit and as of right now it is eluding me. I'm a big guy and worming around under the dash isn't my cup of tea...I'm open to suggestions.
I just finished mine earlier today and I haven’t programmed the time yet—but it’ll keep time if it is getting a constant 12v from the harness, but when I disconnect my battery it goes right back to 12:00 when I plug it back in. It sounds like your constant 12v wire came out of the little hole for it on the control box, or maybe the fuse is out if it’s wired to the courtesy circuit for the cigarette lighter. Either way you should find the box and look at it, and there should be a status LED that lets you know

in the manual for your problem it says to “ensure constant power has 12v even when key is off”
 

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What's wrong with original speedo, old school mechanical gauges and tach that provide accurate readings? I've put Dakotas in customer's cars but most I know are perfectly happy with quality old tech.
Nothing wrong with it, I still have my analog cluster and like it a lot. But I was getting tired of the inaccuracy, and my custom oil pressure gauge was being finicky. Now it’s nice and neat behind the cluster, and looks relatively stock with the RTX. I put in a modern wiring harness and vintage air already, after that I thought “why not go a step further?”

plus I’ll get to laugh when I see my single digit gas mileage readout now
 

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A dying 12 volt battery allows the memory keep alive voltage to the DD control module to drop thus losing clock time.

Rick

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