Vanagon EuroVan
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Date:         Tue, 30 Jul 2002 06:47:47 -0500
Reply-To:     Mark Ingalls <ingalls_mark@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mark Ingalls <ingalls_mark@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: DigiTool Pics or experiences anyone????
Comments: To: kevindobrien@YAHOO.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

HI, I posted this info and picture about my dash console to the list awhile back:

Hi, A couple of people asked me for a story about building Darrell Boehler’s Digi-Tool which is mounted in the EuroCampers Dash Console. I built the basic model digi-tool first, the one that is used with the digital multi-meter. I had never soldered before, especially not on an engine computer, so it was exciting. I learned to keep the soldering iron tip ‘tinned’ for proper heat transfer. Also I had to transpose the wiring for the digijet system. It was February in Nebraska, very snowy and cold, when I was ready to test the basic model. I held off for a few weeks for fear I would really screw something up in the van electronics. But then the temptation was too great; I just had to try it out. Strangely those weeks of driving around in frigid weather, not knowing if the ECU would fail because of my tinkering, are some of my favorite recent memories. The basic model digi-tool worked great. But I got tired of having the ribbon cable strung down the middle of the van, the digi-tool lying on the floor between the seats, and having to take my eyes off the road to look down whenever I was trying to monitor a reading. So I ordered the dash console. It’s pretty flimsy plastic, but the price is right. Darrell has rather cryptic instructions on his web site, but this turned out to be fine, all the info you need is there. You just need a Radio Shack catalog to translate some of the numbers. All the parts I used, except for the fascia, came from Radio Shack. The fascia was made by a Trophy Shop. The Liquid Crystal Display was a real adventure; they provide cryptic instructions also. It can be configured to read all sorts of parameters, you need to solder and wire on the back of this miniature thing to get it to display ‘volts’ with the decimal point where you want it. I used a magnifying glass to check my wiring and soldering. Figuring out the LCD wiring gives a feeling of accomplishment. The Digijet vans have the ECU mounted in the engine bay, so I used a 25 wire shielded printer cable to run under the van and bring the signals up to the dash. It comes up through the rubber seal where the heater hoses come into the van, behind that pull off panel in front of the gear shifter. The most expensive mistake I made involved the 25 wire shielded cable. Little did I know that they are not all wired straight through. The one I was sold at the local ‘computer store’ had wires 21 through 25 grounded to the outer shielding. So when I went to start the van, the wires that were grounded together shorted out the ECU. I still had a tach pulse, so the hall sender was still working, but no start. I pulled out my spare ECU and the van fired right up. I then tested the 25 wire shielded cable and found out what had happened. I found the correct 25 wire shielded cable, ONE THAT IS WIRED STRAIGHT THROUGH, on the Radio Shack web site. Also, I don’t know how well this 25 wire shielded cable will hold up exposed to the weather in Nebraska. Remember that these modifications involve a lot of risk. The Dash Console Euro-Campers sells is made for the ‘84 and earlier vans, I believe. So on the newer vans, the new dash console hangs over the old dash enough that the hot air from the windshield defroster is blown under the new dash console. To try to solve this, I securely glued just enough lightweight wood paneling to the underside of the new console to keep the hot air from being blown under the new console. The new dash console does not come with mounting instructions or hardware. Trying to explain how I mounted the console in the van is hard to do, but I’ll try. I didn’t want to drill any holes in my old dash. So for the upper right mounting, the console comes with a screw hole under the fold out writing pad. I used a long drywall screw that went over the lip of the old dash and into a hole I had drilled in to the metal. For the left side of the console I mounted a small 90 degree metal bracket to the wood strip that’s on the inside of the front of the new dash console. (The wood strip the console comes with, not the one I added.) Then I used a modified and insulated 1 & ½ inch C clamp to hold the bottom of this bracket to the old ashtray hole. I had also drilled a detent into the metal bracket, to give the C clamp something to grab onto. I also had wrapped the C clamp with electrical tape so if it did come loose and fall behind the dash, it wouldn’t short anything out. To provide a back up support to this mounting system, I home-made a couple of 90 degree brackets that are mounted to the wood paneling I added to divert the defroster air. These hang down and will catch on the old dash if the new console starts to slide off. These brackets are not fastened to the van, only to the new dash console. They only provide a backup to prevent the console from falling to the floor in case the primary mounting system fails. It is very hard to explain this mounting system I used, please p-mail me if you are going to actually use my mounting method so I can explain it clearer. It took me about 6 months to put the dash console together. I worked on for a while, then put it away for a while. I might have 40 hours in it total.

Doing these major modifications to the van entails a lot of risk. So remember to carry a cell phone, a spare ECU, and whatever else you feel you need to protect yourself, just in case building this console leaves you stranded somewhere! I am a TOTAL amateur auto enthusiast; it is up to you to make sure your work is safe. These instructions are in NO way complete! (Boy I hate Disclaimers…..) Good Luck, Mark Ingalls 85 GL 75 Beetle ingalls_mark@hotmail.com http://ernie_magoo.tripod.com/vwstuff/

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