The MSD DashHawk is an OBD-II based digital gauge. Unfortunatly, the OBD-II cable fails and no spare is currently offered. FES makes a replacement OBD-II cable as a favor to the community. We use the most compact right angle OBD-II connector meaning that our replacement OBD-II cable is less intrusive than the original from MSD! Many users had asked for a power button to switch the power to the MSD DashHawk off. Instead of some hack in-line switch like we read about on the boards, we integrated it into the OBD-II housing for a more professional look and feel. This item is built when ordered, and we are happy to provide custom lengths. Just ask!
Features |
Image Gallery |
Downloads & Documentation |
FAQs
Features
Compact Connector
We use the smallest right angle OBD-II Connector available anywhere to make the MSD DashHawk replacement OBD-II cable even less intrusive than the factory cable! There's really no chance to kick this with your clutch foot as you drive.
Small Push Botton
It took us a while to find one that fit inside the compact right angle OBD-II connector, but we did! The small button only sticks out a few millimeters when off, and even less when in the ON position! Now you can turn off the DashHawk when you're not using it.
Custom Lengths Available
Each MSD DashHawk replacement OBD-II cable is pretty much built to order, so if you want a custom length, just ask! As long as it's not much, much longer, there will be no additional charge!
Image Gallery
Downloads & Documentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are you making this?
One of us has a DashHawk. We found that there were several people who had cables that failed and MSD wasn't selling any replacements. Seems kind of dumb to have to throw away a perfectly good gauge because the cable is bad, so we decided to offer one to the community.
Why did you add a power button?
For two reasons: First is some want to turn the unit off but not remove it or unplug it. This button makes that easy. The second reason is the unit keeps pinging the CAN bus to see if the car is running (so it can start showing data). Some cars don't like that, as it can keep the CAN bus of the car from going to sleep. This in turn can lead to a larger battery current drain. This feature prevents that as well.
Is it the same as the factory cable?
We use Molex 8 pin connectors for the end that plugs into the DashHawk, not some cheap clone. We don't use the same OBD-II connector as the MSD DashHawk cable. We use a lower profile connector that doesn't take up as much space, nor does it stick out as much into the driver footwell. We spun our own connection boards that allow for integration of the power button into the OBD-II connector housing. Electrically, the pin out is EXACTLY the same as the factory unit.
Why does your replacement cable have less pins than the one that came with the DashHawk?
While the MDS DashHawk cable has all 16 pins installed, only 5 of them are connected to anything. There is power, ground, signal ground, CAN-HI and CAN-LOW. The rest of the pins don't do anything. We use those 5 plus one more (Pin 9 on the OBD-II connector) so that the PC board inside the connector is stable.
