Digital dash (finally)

It's been nine years since I started talking about it but it's finally happening. I have purchased the digital dash extension of the MS3 Pro, referred to as DD-EFI. I opted to the 12.3" Pro Dash model. It comes with with all the analog and digital inputs you need to display all parameters you would expect. The display is touchscreen but I purchased the wireless keyboard regardless.
Here is the stock instrument panel before I started taking things apart:

(Note the disjointed plastic surround at the top that I have never been able to get to seat properly since I had the binnacle recovered. Good thing that will be gone.) 

I made a mock-up of the display including the computer to doublecheck that the stock binnacle can be used:

Looking at it from the front. I have a custom, extra-wide bezel on order to fill the entire width of the binnacle. Set me back $50. A steal:

Work is underway:

   

There are basically five separate connectors on the DD-EFI dash: Power, CAN-Bus, USB cable (b/w ECU and dash), Digital In, and the Analog In. There is also a GPS for speedometer and odometer but at this point I think I can trigger the speed input signal from the Crank Shaft Position sensor so the somewhat less accurate GPS is my backup for now. 

For the power you need:

12V always on
12V switched
12V optional switched (for triggering dome lights, door switch etc)
12V dimmed
Ground

I was pleased to find that the plug for the digital clock in the console holds all the above power parameters (check on 12V dimmed) so I made a harness for the clock's power plug. The clock didn't work regardless so I will be more than happy to retire it (for the moment).

(pic of power plug)

Binnacle re-recovered including custom sized Bezel

Here is what the re-recovered binnacle from Shawn Cook Auto & Trim in Murphy, TX looks like. He did a good job smoothing out the sides of the binnacle and also creating a distinct step for the bezel to mount against from the back. He matched the vinyl and stitching from before to make sure it it matches the rest of the interior. 

For the CAN-bus I traced the two wires from the ECU and soldered in an extension between it and the dash. The 6 ft USB cable turned out to be short so a longer, 10 ft d:o, was procured.

Digital In: The following discrete inputs were chosen: (may change)

DI1: Left turn signal            DI5: Oil light

DI2: Right turn signal          DI6: Low fuel  

DI3: High beam                   DI7: Door ajar

DI4: Low beam

Analog In: This is where the confusion started. The so called Pro Dash Complete Manual is indeed detailed and is (almost) accurate (several screenshots with software selections that did not exist in my Tunerstudio) but to my astonishment it only covers the input/output aspects and the settings for such. It completely leaves out how to create a dashboard and how to build your gauges and how to make your input selections. It may sound intuitive but there is myriad of selections that if not completely correct, the gauge wouldn't read right. Also, you need to be clear on which inputs come from the ECU and which ones come from the external sensors, and there is no common sense delineation between the two. I did come across a list of the ECU parameters and once I learned that, then I realized why a given input that resides in the ECU could not be read from the vehicle sensors, and vice versa. An example: I tried to make Battery Voltage as one of the analog inputs to the Digital Dash but the analog in selections only consisted of pressure, temperature and travel - so what about voltage? Once I learned that voltage comes from the ECU then I had a working battery voltage gauge in minutes, and so on. So for posterity, here are the ECU parameters (need to find where I found them):

RPM                                           Boost                                        Voltage

Coolant temp                              Target Air/Fuel Ratio (AFR)    Spark timing

Manifold Air Pressure (MAP)    Actual AFR                              Miles per gallon  

Manifold Air Temp (MAT)        Closed Loop Idle                      Shift light

And here are the Analog In inputs that were chosen:

AI1: tbd                  AI5: Oil temp

AI2: tbd                  AI6: Oil pressure (pre-config)  

ADI3: tbd               AI7: Fuel level (pre-config)

ADI4: tbd

A pic of your truly, working away during the coldest couple of nights of the year, trying to get it ready for the upcoming North Texas Irish Festival: 

Feb 18, 2025. Quite possibly the coldest evening I had ever experienced in Texas. But, hey, gotta carry on... 

The void inside the bezel/behind the digital dash computer was used to house the terminal strips. In this picture you can see three terminal strips:

The two top ones mimic the vehicle's stock instrumentation the way the connected to the stock instrument panel with connection points A1-A16 (ref. Delorean wiring diagram) at the top and B7-B12 below that. The bottom one connects the outputs from the Breakout Board (further down) to the digital dash. I also put heat shrink wire labels for easy identification.

Terminal strips

Terminal strips as seen thru the windshield

work in progress

Another thing I learned was that my stock Delorean oil pressure sensor would not work. It is of the one-wire type so I think it is simply a circuit with a variable resistor. Not that it was explained explicitly in the manual but before long I realized why DIYAutotune sell sensors too, as the Digital Dash is designed for a 0 - 4.5V input signal and those are the types of sensors DIY Autotune offer. I opted for the combo oil pressure/oil temperature sensor by Low Doller Motorsports. It had an 1/8" NPT, just like the stock sensor, and was easily replaced. The cable was routed into the cabin via the (electrical cover) and was just long enough to reach the little cubby under the shelf where the ECU goes. Here I mounted the Breakout Board where I terminated the oil pressure/temperature sensor wires. I also pulled the Fuel level input wire to the breakout board, and from there I connected the three signals to the digital dash up front. That part worked out really well.

open breakout board to the left; cover installed to the right (below ECU)

Once I understood the delineation between data from the ECU and vehicle sensors, another quirk in the manual was it showed that you needed to make that selection (MS-ECU vs DD-EFI) up front. I searched high and low for that selection only to find that, in my software version, it has been changed to a local setting within the parameters you are working on. It may sound simple now but caused unnecessary confusion nevertheless.

Another minor curveball was that the screws that attached the display to the bezel had become too short. Reason being that the upholsterer had wrapped the vinyl around the back of the bezel (as I had expected him to) which resulted in the display being separated by 3-4 mm from the bezel. The solution was M2.5 x 12 mm screws specifically for plastic, from McMaster-Carr. Perfect.

Original (black) screws being replaced with longer (stainless) screws

The dash could now be test fitted in the binnacle:

The entire binnacle assembly installed very nicely in place. There was plenty of space to tuck in the terminal strips and excess wiring.

To facilitate binnacle removal in the future I decided to only use the two rear-most M5 studs to secure the binnacle and to my amazement it held perfectly in place. Instead of the two regular nuts I ordered some 20 mm long nuts - reaching up above the steering column and around the A/C duct is a pain, so the tall nuts will surely help. Another thing I added was a pair of USB extension cables for two of the dash computer's USB ports; basically a 18" cord with male/female ends that extend down under the dash which provides easy access to the little dongle for the wireless mouse as well as inserting a thumb drive.   

Another pic of the almost completed job... only seat and steering wheel left: