How to Run Multiple KrispyGauges on One CAN Bus

You can run more than one KrispyGauge on the same CAN bus — a popular setup is one gauge for engine vitals and another for boost and AFR. There are three things to get right: wiring, termination and keypad identity.

1. Wire them in a chain

The supplied JST XH cable is designed to daisy-chain. Run the bus from the ECU to the first gauge, then on to the next, and so on.

Each gauge needs ignition-switched 12V, ground, CAN High and CAN Low. They can share a power feed — just make sure the circuit and its fuse can handle all of them.

We recommend no more than four gauges on one JST XH cable. Put any extra gauges on a separate power feed; they can still share the same CAN bus.

2. Terminate the last gauge only

A CAN bus needs a terminating resistor at each end and no more. Your ECU usually provides one end, so only the last gauge in the chain gets the 120Ω resistor switched on. Gauges in the middle don't.

If you're not sure, measure the resistance between CAN H and CAN L with everything switched off. The termination resistor guide explains it fully.

3. Give each gauge its own keypad ID

This is the one people miss. If you use CAN keypad emulation (on supported ECUs), each gauge needs a different keypad ID — one on A, one on B — set under Keypad in the Web UI.

Two gauges with the same keypad ID on one bus fight each other, and buttons behave unpredictably. The same goes for a physical CAN keypad — don't give a gauge the same ID. With only two IDs, at most two gauges can emulate a keypad; turn keypad emulation off on any others. More on this in using KrispyGauge as a Haltech keypad.

Setting up each gauge

Every gauge has its own WiFi hotspot with its own Krispy_XXXX name. Check the name on the gauge (Menu → Info) so you know which one you're connected to.

Set them up one at a time. With several hotspots on at once, it's easy to change the wrong gauge without noticing. Once you're done, turning off Auto-Enable WiFi on each gauge keeps things tidy — turn WiFi on for just the gauge you want to change.

A faster way to set up the second gauge

Set up the first gauge exactly how you want it, take a backup, and restore it onto the second gauge. You get all your themes, warnings and layout in one go.

Then change two things on the second gauge: its keypad ID (or turn keypad emulation off), and its pages — otherwise both gauges show the same thing.

Troubleshooting

• One gauge works, the other shows NO CAN SIGNAL — check the chain wiring to the second gauge, and that CAN H and CAN L aren't swapped at that join.
• Both gauges drop out now and then — usually a termination resistor problem.
• Keypad buttons behave erratically — almost always a duplicate keypad ID.

Anything else, email [email protected].