I want to expand a bit on this subject...

I got an amazing deal on the Dakota Digital gauge a few months ago ($210 new) and bought it. Installed it and it works fine. I like the extras it has like head temperature and voltage and somehow DD makes the trans gear indicator work on the '07 Sportster where supposedly it won't work below an '08 on the Harley 70900274 gauge. One thing to know about the DD gauge, make sure which year it's meant for as at some point HD changed the data bus and the gauge looks the same but has to be the right one for your bike's data bus type.

Still - I think the H-D gauge looks better and I was willing to give up some of the DD functionality, and it's only gone a few miles since installation so I think the mileage can still be set for another person's bike before it locks in permanently. I found someone offering the Harley gauge on Ebay for fairly cheap (about $200), bought it from apparently a pawn shop seller - not the person who actually had bought it new - and it was in the box with original receipt, the gauge itself appeared perfect and spotless like it had never gone a mile on a bike. The seller claimed most seriously that they were told it had never been used.

Before the gauge even arrived I found out about the possibility it might not sync if it had already been, and would therefore be of no use, and when I contacted the seller they agreed that we'd both cross our fingers it would work otherwise they'd be getting it back. UN-fortunately... when I tried to sync it to the ECM on my bike using the data connector it read out 'VIN ERR'. It had already been sync'd to someone's bike and will never be usable on any other including mine. (This is probably why HD sells it on their accessory site as 'no returns on this item', because once it's been sync'd it's worth zero on any other bike.) It's on the way back to the seller for a refund.

Right now (2/14) there is a different seller with one of these on Ebay, asking $214 or offer I think, listing it as used but in great shape and showing ~16,000 miles. Well it won't show any miles for anyone who buys it, just 'VIN ERR'. I emailed them under 'ask a question' and let them know that this gauge is worthless to anyone who doesn't own the bike it came off of but they never responded. It ended the first week with 7 watchers and no bids but has been re-listed with the same description and claiming it shows 16K miles - which it won't show anything but an error message.

If you buy one of these HD gauges (and I think they look great!) either be absolutely sure it is brand new / never sync'd to a bike or else that you are sure you can get your money back if it doesn't work. The one I bought doesn't appear to have put any time in on anyone's bike in actual use but apparently they couldn't resist connecting it to their data connector and loading the mileage (and VIN) to it, thus rendering it worthless for anyone else's bike. I don't know if the odometer will even work as as a trip odometer or if the speedometer will work either. As for the one on Ebay, $214 would be a great price if it was new; obviously being used it's worth $0.00.

 

I just re-read your post and noticed you properly used the datalink wire, so skip first 2 paragraphs. I left everything I wrote though because it is a common mistake by many who try to install gauges.

While what you say is quite accurate that you want to ensure that the gauge has not been "married" to another bike, gauge being synchronized to the VIN# are you sure you installed the gauge correctly? I only ask because a common step that people seem to miss is using the small cord that comes with the gauge to first hook it up to the datalink under the seat and ensure your "RUN/STOP" is in the "RUN" position. This allows the speedo to sync with the ECM (I believe) and draws the ODO to the speedo. You then hook it up to the speedo harness for installation

If the steps are not done correctly then it will pull the VIN ER code. Also, if your battery is too low or you have some form of a draw/short toward the speedo it may also pull up the VIN ER. Lastly, you could also try a soft reset if you haven't.

In either case, if it pulls up a VIN ER I would try to do a code scan to determine what the codes say. I have also read that old firmware may be a cause of VIN ER code as well.

Just trying to pull up potential VIN ER issues in hopes that you did not waste any money on the gauge because it pisses me off that things like this happen and people usually lose money because of this.

We need to make a STICKY WARNING for gauges on all the forums lol

 

Thanks for your comments... as you noticed I did use the data link jumper first. But what I think may have happened in my case is this: the instructions don't specifically mention that you must have the original HD speedo in place during the process and I had the DD installed - and I'm thinking that could have broken the first part of the process. I'm going to drop my seller a note and ask if they'll send it back so I can try it one more time. I still have the factory speedo and the bike didn't go 20 miles with the new gauge so I can put the HD one in and the miles will be just about perfect anyhow.

I was up half the night thinking about this, and wishing I could get to sleep!

 

Don't waste your time. If it shows vin err it's already locked to another ecm. Below are the notes from the instructions and it clearly explains that vin err means it is locked/married to another ecm....



Both the ECM and speedometer retain the odometer value. If the speedometer is replaced, it displays the odometer value stored in the ECM. The replacement speedometer will become locked to the ECM after 50 km (31.1 mi) have been accumulated. The trip B odometer displays the countdown mileage. Once the countdown reaches zero, the speedometer is locked to the ECM. If installed on another vehicle the odometer displays "VIN ERR". If the speedometer is removed from the vehicle before the countdown reaches zero, it has not been locked to the ECM. This mileage countdown allows for a road test to verify that speedometer replacement was the proper repair.

 

When I bought the Dyna SG from my next door neighbor it had the original factory speedo but no tach. A week later he came over with this brand new in the box:



He'd forgotten he ordered it and gave it to me. We just plugged it into the ECM and it transferred the mileage and quickly learned the fuel consumption curve. This new one obviously gives me a nice tach and digital speed, displays all 6 gears and has 2 trip odometers, range, fuel and total miles. I think he paid about $200 for it.

 

One hell of a nice neighbor!

 

+1

The lack of fogging and ability to read the taco has me sold.

 

Well I do have the gauge on its way back for another try and am still crossing my fingers. It was on the way already before I read your response. I saw another post here someplace where someone had tried to install one of these and it wouldn't work because the guy had already sold his old speedo to someone (not sure if he'd put in a DD or just didn't have a speedo at all) and he couldn't get the data link part to work. I noticed when I tried doing the data link part it didn't work and the way the speedo-tach responded was not exactly like how the instructions describe in the troubleshooting section. Also when I then tried plugging it into the regular speedo connector I got two messages, VIN ERR was the second, but the first I think was 'NO CAL' or something like that.

The instructions for installing the speedo tach are certainly geared towards someone just replacing the factory speedo with the new gauge, and don't cover the chance that you might have already replaced the factory speedo with something else or just flat removed it before doing the sync process. I don't see any warnings of 'DO NOT REMOVE THE ORIGINAL GAUGE UNTIL AFTER... etc.' which either could mean it doesn't matter, or else that they just don't think anyone would normally do that.

Perhaps VIN ERR can also turn out to mean that there is no VIN in the gauge at all, which also would then not match the one on the bike? Like I said, it's not the first error that comes up when I plug the gauge into the speedo housing cable and turn on the key... first I get an error about 'NO CAL' or something, then it flips to the VIN ERR.

Hopefully the speedo tach gets back here in the next day or two, I'll put my factory speedo back in place, try the data link one more time, and I'll update after I find out what happens. I really like the Dakota Digital's functionality, i.e. it can show gear position on the 2007 Sportster while the HD gauge only says it shows it on 2008-up, and I like the volt readings and head temperature readout, but the HD gauge looks more like it belongs on the bike and does accomplish the main goal of getting both a speedo and tach.