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3. Hardware installation
3.1 Mounting
IMPORTANT: This unit is not fully sealed against water ingress and is designed primarily for use in closed cars.
However, if care is taken when choosing a mounting location it may be possible to use in an open car providing
that it is not subject to direct water spray or rain.
The unit may be installed in either landscape or portrait orientation. However, portrait mode is only recommended
for users who wish to use the dashboard primarily as a large digit gear position indicator.
The 4 x M3 rear panel screws may be removed and the holes used for attachment to a flat panel providing that
the screw length does not exceed 8mm protruding through the panel. An optional carbon-fibre mounting bracket
is available, as is an anti-vibration mounting kit consisting of four M3 rubber ‘AV’ mounts. Alternatively, some
users may choose to use 3M ‘Dual-Lock’ or heavy duty Velcro type fixings.
When choosing a mounting location, care should be taken to ensure that the dash is not obscured by the steering
wheel, or that the driver’s hand is not forced to pass through the wheel when operating the page select or alarm
buttons. If necessary, it’s possible to fit external page and alarm buttons connected to the digital inputs on the
main connector.
Ideally the dash should be mounted in the direct line of sight of the driver, and as high as possible, but without
obscuring the driver’s view of the road. If this is not possible then a location to either side is acceptable. Although
the TFT display has a very wide viewing angle, when mounted to one side, it’s recommended that the unit is
angled towards the driver.
Optional mounting kit.
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3.2 Wiring & connector pinout
The dashboard is supplied with a 14-pin Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 connector fitted with four wires, 2 for power and 2 for
the CAN interface. Additional wires with crimped terminals are supplied to fully populate the connector as may be
required by your installation. All wires are high quality Raychem 22awg Spec-44. An optional 6-pin Molex
connector is also available for users who wish to connect to the second CAN port or the RS232 serial port.
Pin 1 (red wire) should be connected to a 12v ignition feed that comes ‘live’ at the same time as the engine ECU.
Pin 8 (black wire) should be connected to a secure chassis ground point.
The two CANbus wires should be continually twisted where possible, with a twist interval of approximately 10-
20mm.
IMPORTANT: The CAN bus must be terminated with a 120ohm resistor at each end of the bus. The G-Dash unit
has in-built terminator resistors that are switched into circuit using a miniature ‘DIP’ switch on the PCB. See the
appendix at the end of this manual for information on correct CAN termination.
When making connections, you should always use good quality crimp connectors. We recommend the Deutsch
DTM range of connectors or similar sealed connectors using MIL-spec crimp contacts. Do not make soldered
joints, and do not use cheap ‘red/blue/yellow’ insulated spade terminals or ‘bullet’ connectors as these are
extremely unreliable.
Note: connectors are viewed looking at the rear of the dashboard.
