Our new digital dashboard is, without a doubt, the coolest component that has ever adorned our FJ40 – the Racepak UDX-SR Street Dash digital dashboard. Imagine if you will, the cockpit of a Formula 1 racecar, where every important piece of information is conveniently displayed in a sophisticated, easy-to-read electronic pod – This is what a Racepak dashboard is like.

The Racepak Street Dash has all the amenities needed on a street-driven and off-road vehicle. Through a combination of your existing sensors and those included in the kit, this dash will provide you with the ability to display;

• Engine RPM
• Speedometer
• Odometer
• Water temperature
• Oil temperature
• Oil pressure
• Battery voltage
• Fuel level  

The Racepak UDX SR also has indicator and warning lights for such items as; 

• Low oil pressure
• High water temperature
• Turn signals
• High beam
• Parking brake

As you can see, the Racepak UDX SR replaces every needed indicator, dummy light and gauge you can possibly need, and then some and does it with style.

A relay for an electric fan controller, and a minimum/maximum recall function, are included in the Street Dash kit. What’s more, additional functions can be displayed with the purchase of V-Net sensors and module combinations.

UDX dashes are capable of displaying up to 21 different functions. There are five numeric displays, plus the engine RPM sweep bar, on each of the four screen ‘pages’. Scrolling from one page to the next is accomplished with the push of a single button. The 7.25” x 2.62” LCD screen is backlit for night time operation. Each dash has output for a shift light, and shift point programming is done right on the screen. Warning lights are located on each side of the display screen. You also have the ability to assign high or low threshold alarms to your choice of monitored functions too, which is very handy if you’re doing some technical 4-wheeling and aren’t actively watching the screen.

The buttons at the bottom of the panel are used to scroll through the screen pages as well as to activate various functions. Additional sensors can be added by using the popular individual V-Net sensor and modules

Overall dimensions of the UDX bezel are 4.0” tall and 10.2” wide. It will stand out .750” from the mounting surface. The dash can be mounted against any flat panel which permits a depth of 2.00 inches behind the mounting surface for clearance of the dash and its rear mounted V-Net cable. The dash weighs a mere 1.3 pounds.

Installation

Installation of the Racepak UDX SR Street dash is pretty straightforward, but will require good knowledge of 12 volt wiring and a few specialized tools, such as wire crimpers, wire strippers, a solder gun and so forth. First things first – we needed to replace our nasty old dashboard with something a little nicer. We started with a 4’ X 8’ sheet of aluminum and cut out the shape that we needed with a jigsaw. 3” blue painter’s tape works wonders and will keep you from scratching the surface. To mount the new Racepak UDX SR street dash, we used the supplied template and marked the area where we wanted to mount the Racepak.

Next, we carefully drilled holes in each of the corners of the areas we wanted to cut out so that we could use a jig saw to carefully cutout the metal. Take your time and cut slowly and smoothly. Patience will pay off in spades if you are careful and patient. Continue to work the area with files and such to get the exact fit that you need.

It’s now time to start the task that may be difficult for some people – wiring. The Racepak UDX SR comes supplied with blank plugs and female barrel connectors, so that you can connect the Racepak dash to your wiring harness. You will need to get your hands on a set of high quality wire crimpers that are designed to be used with these types of connectors. You can pick up a set at Radio Shack or any other electronics store – do NOT use regular 12 volt crimper/strippers. They won’t work.

The wiring is pretty straightforward and the instructions and wiring diagrams provided by Racepak are top-notch.

Once you have all of the female barrel connectors crimped and soldered to your harness, start sliding them carefully into the connector plugs. Pay VERY close attention to which hole you place each wire into. Once you slip the wire into it, it will lock into place and you will need a special tool to extract it. We have one and we used it a few times after erroneously pushing the barrel pin into the wrong hole of the plug. If you don’t have one of these inexpensive tools, get one.

Once you have both connectors built, the next step is to hook it up and turn on the power. Check to make sure all of the functions on the dash are working properly and make any fixes as needed.

The last step is to bolt the Racepak dash into your dashboard and program it accordingly, which only takes a few moments.

The Verdict

The Racepak UDX SR Street Dash, as mentioned before, is by far the coolest item we’ve ever installed in our project FJ40. For that matter, it’s the coolest item I think we’ve ever installed. In one convenient package, the Racepak UDX replaces a slew of gauges (and more) that will clutter your dashboard and replace it with a very progressive, clean and functional electronic dashboard. Its backlit face is bright enough in the darkest of nights, but not too bright to ruin your night vision. There are several display options you can select from, showing various engine functions – we like the big sweeping RPM gauge the best.

With a  Racepak dashboard in your rig, you will without doubt, be the envy of all of your friends.

Carling V-Series Contura II Switches

As mentioned, our goal for our FJ was to have one bank of switches that would control every switchable electronic function within easy reach of the driver. We looked at a slew of different types of switches on the market, and we settled on the Carling V-Series Contura II snap-in rocker switches as they are very durable, water / weather proof, very easy to operate (they are a slap-style switch), well lit and easy to hook wires into them. They also feature removable actuators (the rocker cover) and can be replaced with varying styles and covers too. We settled on black.

If these switches look familiar to you, you will notice that they are the same switches used by ARB for their air lockers.

The Carling V-Series Contura II switches have a sealed front panel and are certified to IP66 and IP68 standards which give you complete protection against dust, prolonged spray and submersion under pressure. They are also vibration, shock, thermoshock, moisture and salt spray resistant and can safely operate in temperatures ranging from -40°F to 185°F.

Carling manufactures dozens of different types of switches, but ordering them can be very difficult as they don’t sell directly to the public. They’re also very expensive switches, and our switches ranged from $20 to $30 each, depending upon the functions we needed.

We ordered thirteen total switches;

1. Headlights – 3 position, off-on-on (off, side markers, side markers + headlights)
2. Interior lights – 2 position, off-on
3. Rock lights – 2 position, off-on
4. Takedown lights (spot lights) – 2 position, off-on
5. Backup lights – 2 position, off-on
6. Windshield wipers – 3 position, on-off-on (low, off, high)
7. Front Locker – 2 position, off-on
8. Engine Fan – 2 position, off-on
9. Cab heater – 3 position, on-off-on (low, off, high)
10. Driver’s Seat heater – 3 position, on-off-on (low, off, high)
11. Passenger’s Seat heater – 3 position, on-off-on (low, off, high)
12. Blank (for future use) – 2 position, off-on
13. Blank (for future use) – 2 position, momentary on
    

The Verdict

The Carling V-Series Contura II switches are industrial / commercial quality switches that should outlast our FJ40. They have a sleek, progressive look to them and their large indicator lights make them easy to see (even with your peripheral vision) if they are in the “on” position. Moreover, even with gloved hands, they can be operated quite easily, even those multi-position switches. We ordered two 6-gang switch bezels which not only align the switches into one bank, but they also make installation much easier.

The switches can be difficult to install if you have a multi-position switch and are using them for things like headlights, but a regular on-off switch is very easy to install. On the whole, we’ve had these switches installed in our FJ40 for about 6 months now and really like them.