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- Joined
- Aug 7, 2007
- Messages
- 1,733
- Reaction score
- 536
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Costa Mesa, CA
- Vehicle Year
- 2002
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- 4.0 V6
- Engine Size
- 4.0 SOHC
- Transmission
- Manual
- 2WD / 4WD
- 4WD
- Tire Size
- 33"
Dakota Digital speedometer calibrator
I originally wanted to install a Superlift TruSpeed calibrator but found out Superlift does not sell them anymore. I kept searching for a solution and found Dakota Digital has a calibrator that costs about 1/3rd of the TruSpeed. It doesn't have the capability of holding 2 programs but is fairly easy to recalibrate once you understand how to do it. It has good reviews regarding reliability but some people had problems figuring out how to install it and calibrating the speedometer/odometer.
I bought one and installed it this past weekend. It is not an easy install but not that difficult once I figured out what to do.
There are no Ranger specific installation instructions that come with the Dakota Digital unit but I downloaded the TruSpeed installation instructions as a guide because both are installed similarly.
The TruSpeed instructions does have Ranger specific installation instructions but was not completely correct. There is supposed to be a grey/black wire coming out of the ABS controller, at pin 14, that is the wire feed for the speedometer and can be spliced into for the calibrator. There was no wire at pin 14 and I could find no grey/black wire. I looked at my Ford repair manual for speedometer diagnostics and it did reference a gry/blk wire going to the speedometer but it only referenced it at the back of the instrument cluster.
I had a light burned out behind my tachometer and this gave me and excuse to pull the dash apart to see if I could find the wire I needed for the calibrator and replace all the instrument cluster lights. Getting to the instrument cluster was not difficult, just time consuming. I did find the gry/black wire at pin 1 on the black connector. I still wanted to make sure it was the right wire before cutting it. I removed the pin from the connector and reattached the connector. I then lifted the rear tires off the ground and put it in gear to see if I got a reading on the speedometer. The speedometer didn't work so I was sure that gry/blk wire was the right one.
That gave me the courage to cut that wire and splice in the Dakota Digital calibrator input and output. I connected into fuse 11 as recommended by the TruSpeed instructions. It is a switched power source and fused at 7.5 amps. I also located a good ground source and got all the wires hooked up to the Dakota Digital calibrator. When I turned on the ignition, a green LED came on as it was supposed to and when I spun up the tires it flashed like it was supposed to. All was good so far, now I just needed to actually calibrate.
The Dakota Digital calibration instructions are not simple but they have all the information needed to do the calibration if enough time is taken to understand what is written. There are many options to go with and I took the recommended option (Application 1) for speedometer calibration. They also give a second option if that doesn't work. You can also calibrate while driving the vehicle or calibrate while the vehicle is parked.
I elected to calibrate while the vehicle was parked because I knew the odometer was 11.3% fast. I went through the kind of unusual calibration process as described in the Dakota Digital instructions. Everything seemed to be working as it should. I put the dash back in place kind of loosely so I could take it for a quick drive to see if the speedometer was close to being correct. The speedometer was very close so I finished assembling the dash.
I then took it for a longer drive to see if the odometer was correct compared to my GPS. With a 13 mile drive, the trip odometer matched exactly with the GPS trip readout. I thought for sure I would have to do a final recalibration to get it right but the Dakota Digital chart was right on.
I liked doing all the wiring in the cab. I didn't have to find a place to get the wires through the firewall and everything is protected in the confines of my cab now. The Dakota Digital calibrator is very light and I found a good spot that I could just Velcro it to a surface instead of attaching it with screws. This will make it easier to detach when I need to recalibrated for my other tires.
I am very happy with the results so far and should be reliable for years to come if the reviews are correct.
I originally wanted to install a Superlift TruSpeed calibrator but found out Superlift does not sell them anymore. I kept searching for a solution and found Dakota Digital has a calibrator that costs about 1/3rd of the TruSpeed. It doesn't have the capability of holding 2 programs but is fairly easy to recalibrate once you understand how to do it. It has good reviews regarding reliability but some people had problems figuring out how to install it and calibrating the speedometer/odometer.
I bought one and installed it this past weekend. It is not an easy install but not that difficult once I figured out what to do.
There are no Ranger specific installation instructions that come with the Dakota Digital unit but I downloaded the TruSpeed installation instructions as a guide because both are installed similarly.
The TruSpeed instructions does have Ranger specific installation instructions but was not completely correct. There is supposed to be a grey/black wire coming out of the ABS controller, at pin 14, that is the wire feed for the speedometer and can be spliced into for the calibrator. There was no wire at pin 14 and I could find no grey/black wire. I looked at my Ford repair manual for speedometer diagnostics and it did reference a gry/blk wire going to the speedometer but it only referenced it at the back of the instrument cluster.
I had a light burned out behind my tachometer and this gave me and excuse to pull the dash apart to see if I could find the wire I needed for the calibrator and replace all the instrument cluster lights. Getting to the instrument cluster was not difficult, just time consuming. I did find the gry/black wire at pin 1 on the black connector. I still wanted to make sure it was the right wire before cutting it. I removed the pin from the connector and reattached the connector. I then lifted the rear tires off the ground and put it in gear to see if I got a reading on the speedometer. The speedometer didn't work so I was sure that gry/blk wire was the right one.
That gave me the courage to cut that wire and splice in the Dakota Digital calibrator input and output. I connected into fuse 11 as recommended by the TruSpeed instructions. It is a switched power source and fused at 7.5 amps. I also located a good ground source and got all the wires hooked up to the Dakota Digital calibrator. When I turned on the ignition, a green LED came on as it was supposed to and when I spun up the tires it flashed like it was supposed to. All was good so far, now I just needed to actually calibrate.
The Dakota Digital calibration instructions are not simple but they have all the information needed to do the calibration if enough time is taken to understand what is written. There are many options to go with and I took the recommended option (Application 1) for speedometer calibration. They also give a second option if that doesn't work. You can also calibrate while driving the vehicle or calibrate while the vehicle is parked.
I elected to calibrate while the vehicle was parked because I knew the odometer was 11.3% fast. I went through the kind of unusual calibration process as described in the Dakota Digital instructions. Everything seemed to be working as it should. I put the dash back in place kind of loosely so I could take it for a quick drive to see if the speedometer was close to being correct. The speedometer was very close so I finished assembling the dash.
I then took it for a longer drive to see if the odometer was correct compared to my GPS. With a 13 mile drive, the trip odometer matched exactly with the GPS trip readout. I thought for sure I would have to do a final recalibration to get it right but the Dakota Digital chart was right on.
I liked doing all the wiring in the cab. I didn't have to find a place to get the wires through the firewall and everything is protected in the confines of my cab now. The Dakota Digital calibrator is very light and I found a good spot that I could just Velcro it to a surface instead of attaching it with screws. This will make it easier to detach when I need to recalibrated for my other tires.
I am very happy with the results so far and should be reliable for years to come if the reviews are correct.
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