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kevinbdavis · 03-31-2020, 07:31 AM

Hey guys!

I'm embarking a renovation of my 1996 Newmar which is on an F53 chassis.

I hate the steering wheel (angle mostly) and also want to bring the entire cockpit up to a more modern look as I bring the whole coach up to that.

QUESTION: does anyone know how the gauges are fed in this era of chassis? Is there a can-bus system or is it fed more by just gauge sensors in a more old-school fashion? I'm considering doing either electronic gauges (digital) or an autometer set.

I'm a hot rod guy and build cars and Jeeps, so I'm fine with wiring, but kind of wanted to get the group's take on what the backend might look like.

Thanks!

BCarp · 03-31-2020, 08:07 AM

That's a tough call as far as CAN bus or not.

I know that the 2001 F53 Chassis is CAN, but that doesn't help you exactly.

Many people know that cars where required to have OBD II starting in 1996, but medium duty trucks weren't required to do so until later.

One easy check would be to look for the OBD connector, usually attached on the right side of the steering column. If you have that, it's CAN bus.

Does anyone know the model year ranges are for the F53. Ford has manuals back to 1997 for body wiring as provided to the coach builder.

fordbbas.com/publications

I don't see mention of sending unit wires for oil pressure or coolant temp in the 1997 document, but that's not conclusive.

Good luck with the remodel, please take pictures!

EDIT: Page B62 of the layout book for 1997 refers to the Electronic Analog Speedometer, which gets its signal from the vehicle speed sensor in the back of the transmission. So, no CAN in 1997.

kevinbdavis · 03-31-2020, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BCarp

That's a tough call as far as CAN bus or not.

I know that the 2001 F53 Chassis is CAN, but that doesn't help you exactly.

Many people know that cars where required to have OBD II starting in 1996, but medium duty trucks weren't required to do so until later.

One easy check would be to look for the OBD connector, usually attached on the right side of the steering column. If you have that, it's CAN bus.

Does anyone know the model year ranges are for the F53. Ford has manuals back to 1997 for body wiring as provided to the coach builder.

fordbbas.com/publications

I don't see mention of sending unit wires for oil pressure or coolant temp in the 1997 document, but that's not conclusive.

Good luck with the remodel, please take pictures!

EDIT: Page B62 of the layout book for 1997 refers to the Electronic Analog Speedometer, which gets its signal from the vehicle speed sensor in the back of the transmission. So, no CAN in 1997.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I have the obdii port, so that's a duh moment for me, but thanks for the reminder. Worst case, I suppose I can just add senders manually for the various gauges if I need to.

We have an aftermarket cruise control in one of our Jeeps that works well, and the speedo in the coach sucks already (it's inaccurate). Or, I could always go GPS speedo. Not that it matters, you can't really speed in this beast. ;->

chuckbear · 03-31-2020, 09:02 AM

My 1999 has the OBD port but it also has a speed sensor on the rear axle that feeds to the speedometer. Probably through the OBD. Chuck

subford · 03-31-2020, 11:05 AM

Your 1996 F53 is OBD 1 EEC-4 system.
Your PSOM speedometer is fed from the VSS at the Parking Brake mounted just behind the E4OD transmission.
The temp gauge is fed by the Temp sender and the oil gauge is fed from its own oil pressure switch both are mounted on the 460 (7.5L) engine.
The fuel gauge is fed from the sending unit inside the 75 gal fuel tank.
The voltmeter is fed from fuse #4 in the fuse panel under the dash.

/

kevinbdavis · 03-31-2020, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by subford

Your 1996 F53 is OBD 1 EEC-4 system.
Your PSOM speedometer is fed from the VSS at the Parking Brake mounted just behind the E4OD transmission.
The temp gauge is fed by the Temp sender and the oil gauge is fed from its own oil pressure switch both are mounted on the 460 (7.5L) engine.
The fuel gauge is fed from the sending unit inside the 75 gal fuel tank.
The voltmeter is fed from fuse #4 in the fuse panel under the dash.

Wow, that's exactly the info I needed, thank you! Everything looks pretty easy to get to, I just need to trace the oil pressure sensor location, but that should be easy too. I probably also need to know what the fuel sender ohms range is.

Should be an easy swap. I might even be able to tie into the OEM cruise buttons.

Still don't really know what to do about the steering. It makes it so uncomfortable to drive since the tilt angle sucks.

subford · 03-31-2020, 01:32 PM

The oil pressure switch (not sensor) is located at rear top center of the engine.
Sensors are used for the PCM and senders are used for the cluster.

The steering angle is adjustable. The lever is on the side of the column.
Column release:

/

subford · 03-31-2020, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevinbdavis

Should be an easy swap. I might even be able to tie into the OEM cruise buttons.

Maybe this will help:

It is call Speed Control and not cruise in the Ford diagrams.

/

kevinbdavis · 03-31-2020, 02:02 PM

Yeah, sorry, I was being lazy with my sender/sensor words, I know the difference.

Even all the way down, the steering wheel's angle is not comfortable for me for some reason. I typically drive a normal vehicle with it relatively far down, and the limit on this one is pretty high, not much of an angle really. I've seen some mods, so I'll look into that too.

Thanks for all of the info and the wiring diagram, it'll help a LOT! I'll post back progress when I finally get to it. Summer is just around the corner, so the weather will be warm enough to get started.