A bracket that really works without voiding the warranty!

Nobody wants to admit how it happened. It’s one of those business screw-ups for which no one is ever responsible. Here’s the deal. Edge Manufacturing of Ogden, Utah, created an Attitude Monitor for controlling their computer chip for diesels. As fate would have it, the monitor was just the right size to fit in the standard opening in the overhead console of ’01 to ’05 GMC and Chevrolet pickups. To secure the monitor in that overhead console, the unit needed a special faceplate/bracket.

The bracket that suddenly appeared on the market required that the monitor be separated into its halves by removal of four screws, one at each corner of the unit, to mount it securely into the faceplate/bracket. Unfortunately, Edge, the manufacturer, did not want the monitor opened for fear of tampering. To prevent unauthorized people from unscrewing the monitor and opening it, Edge affixed a stick-on label on the side of each unit. Removal of the label would immediately void the manufacturer’s warranty.

However, there was one serious wrinkle in the plan. None of the existing faceplate/brackets on the market for positioning the monitor neatly into the overhead console of a late-model GM pickup could be mounted without separating and opening the monitor. And no Edge Attitude Monitor could be unscrewed and opened without removing the stick-on label. And no label could be removed without voiding the manufacturer’s warranty. Are you still there? If so, you’ve got the picture.

Enter Jesse Garcia, a front office full-timer at Rolling Big Power, the diesel performance specialists in Corona, California. In his spare time, Garcia designed a new faceplate/bracket that incorporates a Groove into the design that holds the Edge Attitude Monitor securely without the need for opening the unit. Problem solved? Indeed.

At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be a big deal. But think about the number of ’01 to’05 GMC and Chevy diesel pickups on the road. Then think about how many of those are equipped with an Edge Attitude Monitor. Then consider how many of those owners would like to tuck their monitor safely, easily and neatly into the standard overhead console. And finally, guess how many of those owners would like to do that tucking without voiding their Edge warranty. Suddenly, it’s a big deal after all.

The accompanying photos illustrate the problem with the old style faceplate/bracket and how the new RBP bracket works.

To fit the monitor into the first-generation faceplate/bracket at right, the label must be removed and the unit unscrewed and opened.

Four screws, one at each corner, must be removed to open the monitor. When the unit is opened, the label on the side must be removed and the manufacturer’s warranty is, thereby, voided.

Each half of the unit is fitted into the faceplate/bracket.

The halves are then screwed back together with a screw at each corner to secure the monitor into the faceplate/bracket.

Our technician prepares to demonstrate mounting the Edge Attitude Monitor into the new RBP faceplate/bracket.

With no disassembly required, the monitor is fitted securely into the groove in the new RBP faceplate/bracket.

To complete the assembly, all that remained was tightening four tiny set (or Allen) screws, two on each edge of the monitor.

Inside the truck, the overhead console had been removed. Previously, the monitor had been mounted on the mirror, so the wires for the monitor were already ran under the headliner. The wires are moved under the headliner and connected to the monitor.

Now the console can be reattached to the headliner with the wiring and monitor ran through the front opening of the console.

The new RBP bracket housing the Edge monitor will then fit right into the opening very nicely.

And there you have it, a quick way to install your Edge monitor into a factory location that has a much cleaner appearance and is still in a nice viewing range.