Dakota Digital tach error?

red65

Member
Apr 12, 2003
411
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17
Ann Arbor, MI
My Dakota Digital dash for a '65 has a bar-type tachometer (faster the engine turns, the more bars). The whole bar seems to be offset, though, relative to the printed numbers. In other words, the first bar doesn't light until about the 800RPM mark, and it appears to idle at 1600-1800 RPM. The reality (verified with a separate hand-held tachometer) is that it's idling at about 850RPM - the whole display is offset by ~1000RPM. The tach seems to change correctly - i.e. a 1,000RPM increase in actual engine speed reads as a 1,000RPM increase on the tach. It's just the starting point that doesn't seem right.

Of course, first I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get a reasonable idle speed. Turns out the engine was running fine the whole time and the tach was incorrect. :bang:

I'm about to call Dakota and see what they've got to say. Anyone had the same experience with the Dakota setup?
 
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Dakota Digital

I have a Dakota Digital in my 66, and my tach reads low. I'm running a MSD 6AL and have a seperate tach going to the port on the 6AL. I'm guessing that if I put the Dakota to the same port rather than where the instructions suggest it might work correctly.
It doesn't really matter that much since the bars were hard to figure anyway. The rest of the Dakota gauges I find to be real accurate although the fuel is a little sensitive.
 
I spoke to a technician at Dakota - he suggested that the circuit board back of the panel can be 'shifted' relative to the glass face, where the tach numbers are etched. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm not thrilled about the prospect of monkeying with it. He also indicated their willingness to take the IP back as defective and replace it. FYI