Modern Digital Displays Provide Abundant Info

Humans today are constantly bombarded with screens. Whether it’s a cell phone, a computer or tablet, a TV, an automobile’s interactive dash, a scrolling billboard, an LED sign indicating the highway is closed over the mountain pass, etc., modern digital displays are everywhere.

Some enable touch-screen interactivity, others do not. Within the automotive world, for example, some are a hybrid of motorized sweep needles and lights, others are displays managed via a control interface on a steering wheel.

Snowmobiles today are privy to this type of technology as well. LEDs, 4K OLEDs, IPS, TFT-LCDs, oh my. From TVs to sleds, these displays are everywhere and the true tech behind just making them light up and function is amazing. But the data presented to the consumer by our modern gauges is another great leap.

Basic Info, Speed & RPM

Remember that old speedometer on your 1993 Arctic Cat EXT that was driven by a spiral cable running into the back of the gauge to drive a 4-inch sweep needle, with a rotating ticker to record miles?

Those are replaced with a hall effect sensor that monitors your speed and relays it to the ECU, which then updates your gauge in a seeming instant.

Engine speed is another basic parameter long displayed on the dash in front of most snowmobilers on performance-oriented sleds. Knowing the rate your engine is spinning (RPM) is valuable for tuning to keep a snowmobile performance optimized, but now instead of watching a sweeping dial, more exacting numbers are shared.

We know some old-school tuners actually find the old analog dials easier to watch when tuning than constantly changing numbers, but there’s no questioning that the newer methods are more precise and accurate.

The odometer with a trip meter has always been tied into the info gathered by the speedometer, and still is. Now, though, there are multiple trips meters, engine hours, hours until the next service, average fuel economy and more that are easily calculated and displayed.

Know Your Levels

Longtime snowmobilers know that the original fuel gauges consisted of a float moving up and down a spirally wound metal rod, with a sweeping needle in the top of the gas cap telling your sled’s capacity on a scale of E to F. A fuel gas in the dash was reserved for more full-featured sleds.

Now, that has been replaced with graduated bars or even stated percentages indicating fuel level that is displayed in the gauge. These new systems, though, still aren’t as accurate as we wish they would be.

While thinking about fuel, some sled manufacturers now build in the ability to choose the type of fuel that you’re pumping at the gas station (like E10 or 91 octane non-ethanol) to toggle to a second or third “map” inside the ECU to deliver a different amount of fuel through the injectors or modulate spark advance. Or conversely, the ECU can determine by sensing knock and other conditions which fuel it is burning and change the mode itself, and then display that to the rider through the gauge.

Similar to fuel levels, the monitoring of coolant temperature has graduated a lot from the original “HOT” light that used to signal trouble. Now monitored via a thermistor style device placed in the flow of the coolant, the exact temperature is now displayed on the gauge in front of the rider on many models. That lets us know when it’s time to send some fresh snow to the heat exchanger.

That’s not the only under-hood temperature being monitored these days, though. Exhaust gas temperature sensors have been around for a while. Exhaust temps aren’t often displayed on the gauge, but they certainly could be. In fact, some aftermarket shops do just that on sleds they have modified.

The latest big addition is the CVT temp sensor that’s found on select Ski-Doo and Lynx mountain and crossover models. It utilizes a sensor monitoring the temperature inside a sled’s clutch housing and warns riders if their riding habits or other factors are making it likely that their drive belt will fail due to overheating.

Battery voltage has become another common item that is monitored and then displayed on the gauge instead of relying on a so-called “dummy light.”

Special Features

The increasing use of technology within snowmobiling is reflected by some of the other information that is collected by the snowmobile and can be displayed through the gauge.

Available from select manufacturers, the state of your suspension mode (if equipped) can be notated on the gauge. Whether it’s the “soft,” “medium,” or “firm” of a iQS3 shock or the mode of the semi-active SmartShock or Dynamix systems, riders can control and then display their desired ride characteristics feel via touchscreen or remote buttons.

Similarly, drive modes from throttle-by-wire systems are now controlled or at least displayed on the gauge. We’ve also seen aftermarket companies “break-into” the ECU to add their own maps and then display them on the gauge.

The increasing use of turbochargers on stock or aftermarket modified machines has added another potential digital display: The gauge can indicate a qualitative value (0-100%) of maximum boost level.

Even something as simplistic as hand and thumbwarmer setting have become high tech. Who would have thought that the simple switch that used to be down on the console or up on the handlebar would be replaced with a fancy interface to stagger your heating between the right or left handlebar, select a percentage or even set and then maintain an actual preferred temperature of the bar end?

Throwing Codes

Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) are stored and presented by many gauges. Whether a parameter is out of range, a failure has occurred, or a service is due, the DTC indicator helps riders isolate and fix problems.

Beyond just displaying the code, the ECU has a memory of all operating conditions. So if you drop off your machine for service, the technician can examine the report card showing, for example, that you spend 82 percent of your time below 30 percent throttle, .5 percent over 80 perfect throttle, your maximum RPM achieved was 8212 RPM, maximum speed was 81 MPH, total oil consumed was 4.2 quarters and the total engine run time was 37.1 hours.

It can all feel rather Big Brotherish, and frankly it is. But it has practical applications as well, particularly for riders who know their codes (which follow the Society of Automotive Engineers numbering system). A couple of years ago, we were testing an Arctic Cat demo model that was running poorly and threw a code to the gauge that we recognized. That allowed us to immediately isolate the problem to a misrouted cable on the variable exhaust system. Within minutes, we had our Kitty purring like normal again.

Getting Connected

We’ve always felt that one of the best things about snowmobiling is the fact that you can disconnect from the world and just focus on the ride.

Some modern displays reverse that trend, feeding riders all sorts of information that was previously unavailable.

Other than the departing Yamaha, all brands now have high-tech gauges that can be paired with a cell phone. Depending on the system, a rider can see text messages or even make/accept/reject incoming calls. Helmets equipped with headsets take great advantage of this with a mic and earphone built right in – or usage of standard earbuds.

Similarly, an increasing number of riders we know listen to music while they ride – once again, through a Bluetooth or USB connection. Playback and volume can be managed from the gauge and handlebar controls.

But being connected means far, far more than merely letting your spouse text you incessantly wondering when you’ll be home while interrupting your AC/DC jam! Indeed, software updates are increasingly a USB or WiFi connection away. Riders can load new firmware into the gauge to keep it up to date with feature improvements, fix bugs or more – just like how a computer or your phone runs updates to stay current.

Even More Connected

Perhaps the most popular feature of the latest-and-greatest digital display is the available on-screen mapping and all that goes with it. The GPS tech integrated into the display is massive and attracts so many consumers today. The ability to pre-plan trips, retrace breadcrumbs back to your trailhead or re-ride prior loops or treed sections can be fun, and it also can provide a guiding light to a rider lost in the woods in a blizzard as darkness approaches.

To facilitate all of this, manufacturers install an antenna to gather the triangulated position of a snowmobile to display it on the gauge – and log the path traveled if enabled. Direction/heading is also available as a built-in compass.

On select machines, if riders choose to pair themselves together into one group, you can see the location of other riders in their posse. Such group-ride functions come in handy in many different ways, whether finding wayward friends in the backcountry or monitoring stragglers in your trail ride. Two-way radio connection is also enabled in some situations.

Elevation can also be determined and displayed via a combo of GPS-gathered elevation or via a sample of the barometric pressure when the machine is first started. GPS can also be a factor in gauges that automatically set the time of day.

The Actual Display

Depending on the complexity of the actual screen, some modern digital displays may have a brightness level to adjust. Others that aren’t full touchscreen have a red or blue backlight to toggle between along with brightness.

Even more techy are those that can change between a day/night mode where the whole display inverts colors (whiter during the day, blacker during the night) to not disrupt eyesight on night rides yet be bright enough to see in direct sunlight.

Connectivity and development with modern display tech will continue to advance. One day maybe the sleds will drive themselves and the machines will rise up against us, Terminator style? Until then, enjoy the ride!