Mastering Geotab
★ Geotab Harnesses · Heavy-Duty Deutsch Harnesses
The HRN-DS06S4 is a 100 cm straight harness that connects a GO device to the 6-pin Deutsch diagnostic port on older heavy trucks and moves it out of the driver's space. It covers the port completely, so nothing else shares that connector.
The HRN-DS06S4 is Geotab's straight 6-pin harness for North American heavy-duty vehicles that use the standard 6-pin Deutsch diagnostic connector. It is 100 cm (39 in) long and carries the GO device away from the port so the unit is not in the driver's way.
Geotab is explicit about one trait: this harness does not leave the Deutsch connector exposed. Once it is plugged in, the 6-pin port is fully taken, with no second connector for a shop tool. That is the main thing separating it from its sibling, the HRN-DS06T2-A, which is a T-harness. It replaces the HRN-D6HD.
For fleet owners, the 6-pin port is a clue about the truck's age. Geotab's cheat sheet associates it with some heavy trucks built from 1997 to 2007 and with some Ford F650 and larger and Freightliner medium-duty models. A business that keeps trucks of that age in service still needs to know where they are and how they are running.
It suits heavy and medium-duty vehicles fitted with the round 6-pin Deutsch diagnostic connector, an older layout than the 9-pin port on later heavy trucks. Count the pins before ordering; a 6-pin and a 9-pin can look alike at a glance under a dark dash.
The device question is more important here than on most harness pages. Geotab's cheat sheet states that the GO10 does not support older vehicles with a 6-pin connector. For a GO10, Geotab's listed route on these trucks is a three-wire HRN-XCW03K3 install with an IOX-CLAMP, not a 6-pin harness. The HRN-DS06S4 belongs to the generation of harnesses designed for earlier GO devices, so in practice it goes on 6-pin trucks running GO9-family hardware. When a fleet is moving to GO10 elsewhere, we plan these older trucks separately.
Older cabs were not designed with telematics in mind, and the 6-pin port can sit wherever the original builder had room, sometimes close to the clutch pedal or the driver's shin. A device plugged straight into it is vulnerable to boots and to the driver's bag being tossed into the footwell. The straight 100 cm run lets us move the device up onto a kick panel or into a space behind trim.
The covered-port design is a benefit on trucks that live in dusty or dirty conditions. With the harness occupying the connector, there is no open socket collecting grit. Fleets that rarely put diagnostic tools on these older units lose little by giving the port over to the GO device.
It is also the simplest fit when the owner wants the cleanest install possible: one connector at each end, nothing extra to tie off.
We work with the truck parked and the key off, as Geotab requires for any device or harness work. On older trucks we look closely at the existing 6-pin port first: corrosion on the terminals, a cracked housing or a loose mount should be dealt with before anything is connected, because the harness can only pass along the signal the port provides.
The 6-pin connector goes onto the port and is locked fully. The cable then runs to the chosen device location along existing wiring, kept away from the clutch, brake and throttle pedals and the steering column. The GO device plugs into the far end, is oriented with its antenna side up, and gets cable-tied in place together with the cable so neither can move.
Geotab sets the connected cable allowance at 2 m (6.5 ft) and prohibits linking two T-harnesses; at 100 cm this straight part leaves room inside that budget if the harness guide permits an added piece. With everything secured, start the engine, let the device boot and show its LEDs, and complete the MyInstall check, then confirm in MyGeotab that the truck reports engine information along with location.
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Part number | HRN-DS06S4 |
| Type | Straight 6-pin heavy-duty Deutsch harness |
| Length | 100 cm (39 in) |
| Replaces | HRN-D6HD |
| Vehicle connector | Standard 6-pin Deutsch diagnostic connector |
| Port access | Does not leave the Deutsch connector exposed |
| GO10 note | Geotab states GO10 does not support older 6-pin vehicles |
| Max connected cable length | 2 m (6.5 ft) |
| Country of origin | China |
Ask the fleet which GO device the truck is getting before you order, because a 6-pin truck slated for a GO10 needs Geotab's three-wire route rather than this part. Clean and inspect old terminals; a green, corroded pin causes intermittent engine data that looks like a device fault. If the maintenance shop regularly diagnoses this truck through the port, the T-harness version is the better fit. Leave a short service loop at the connector so a later panel removal does not strain it.
Geotab's cheat sheet says the GO10 does not support older vehicles with a 6-pin connector and lists the HRN-XCW03K3 with an IOX-CLAMP instead.
No. Geotab notes that it does not leave the Deutsch connector exposed, so the port is fully used by the harness.
It is the current replacement for the HRN-D6HD.
Older trucks deserve the same careful install as new ones. We supply the HRN-DS06S4 and the GO device, fit them on site at your yard, and check the port's condition while we are there; call 803-513-1009 or open Get a Quote.
Sources: Geotab Harness Identification and Application, Geotab harness cheat sheet, Geotab guide to telematics harnesses. GEOTAB is a registered trademark of Geotab Inc. API Signal is an independent installer and is not Geotab.
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