Who wants an Arduino-based Aux Instrument Panel?

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
Wow - seems like a great candidate for an interface PCB to plug all these boards onto - very cheap when bought in bulk

There is no SD card reader on the back of the LCD?
Yes, the LCD panel has an MicroSD slot but no clock, and the slot is inaccessible from outside the box, hence the “datalogging” card in the back of the case.

In hindsight it would have been easier to combine the RTC, MicroSD, 12->8 volt buck, and K-line drivers into a single board then have them made, but that process was outside my skill set. Building a dozen of these up from discrete parts seemed reasonable at the time... 50 units is a different scale and I should have regrouped with the increased volume. But these work, and I’m steadily getting through them, so live and learn. Maybe I’ll pull a “Tom Sawyer” and convince my sons how much fun they can have soldering!?

-dave
 
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cian128

Well-known member
Yes, the LCD panel has an MicroSD slot but no clock, and the slot is inaccessible from outside the box, hence the “datalogging” card in the back of the case.

In hindsight it would have been easier to combine the RTC, MicroSD, 12->8 volt buck, and K-line drivers into a single board then have them made, but that process was outside my skill set. Building a dozen of these up from discrete parts seemed reasonable at the time... 50 units is a different scale and I should have regrouped with the increased volume. But these work, and I’m steadily getting through them, so live and learn. Maybe I’ll pull a “Tom Sawyer” and convince my sons how much fun they can have soldering!?

-dave
yeah I know what you mean

https://xkcd.com/1205/

if qty increases and you want to explore it, let me know. schem and parts list should be easy enough to make a board to have all these components drop in place
 

az7000'

2007 Navion on a 2006 3500 chassis
If not using the logger function or downloading data is there any downside to using the device in multiple sprinters? I have 2 friends with 2006 T1N's and wondering if they were on a road trip and I was not if it would just plug in?? The only downside I see is they would want one, and the demand currently waaayyy outpaces the supply :thumbup:

It should work across different vehicles, correct?

And again amazing work, thanks for the effort!!!
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
You can certainly move it between 2004-2006 T1N’s.

The “litres of fuel burned” counter on the details page is stored in EEPROM and would continue to increment, so you’d need to update any notes you’re keeping, but everything else is read from the ECU in real-time.

-dave
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
An update from the trenches:
I've now shipped the first 9 units, averaging one final assembly per evening. This isn't the pace I'd hoped for but, with the time required to cut the display windows in the box lids and solder up the dozen-odd internal wiring connections, it is what it is...
The good news is that it's COLD outside this week, so distractions are few.

Hang in there folks, it's happening!

-dave
 
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prsiii

New member
Got home and found I had a package arrive in the mail today, YAY!!!
The build looks clean, I will fire it up tomorrow and give it a run!
Thank you, Dave/Nautamaran!
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
The current design connects only to the k-lines of the engine and transmission (pins 7 & 11)

There have been other enquiries about connecting to the k-line on Pin 15 (K-ATC/IC/HBM/CHM). Comms for these modules have been decoded so this can be added, but the current ECM/TCM programming is already very close to the Arduino Mega’s runtime memory capacity, so an Espar/IC/ATM data feature didn’t make the cut.

-dave
 

prsiii

New member
Update: Finally had a break in the weather to try the instrument panel out... WOW this thing is awesome! Now I just need to find the right voodoo to VHB velcro it to the dash at the proper angle. I like all the detail screens, btw.

Side note, why does Sump turn yellow when hitting the accelerator? The depth measurement doesn't appear to drop, am I at the very edge of the low point? Nominally 38mm.
 

Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
Glad to hear you like it! :cheers:

Sorry about the oil alarm. I saw it pop up last week on mine during a cold warm up...
Yellow is the first stage alarm (second stage goes red) The alarm points are a function of the oil level, oil temp, and rpm. The idea was to back-calculate what the “hot settled” dip stick level would be based on the current oil temp and idle/cruising rpm level (the sump level drops slightly at higher rpm).

I have set the coefficient wrong, so the calculation is over-compensating for thermal expansion, and so is predicting an over-full condition once warmed up and drained back into the sump.

-dave
 

Carminooch615

Active member
I too got my magic sprinter box in the mail the other night and I’m blown away.

There’s something EXTREMELY appealing about the green screen, the analog looking font, the top-to-bottom loading on the display, the switch and enclosure. That said about the exterior...

The functionality of this little gadget is really awesome. Having the ability to see your oil info, all the different temperature info, trans torque slip everything. I have an issue with my torque converter locking up prematurely (such as going up hills and whatnot) so I’m really excited to see this on this road, in real time.

The yellow and red indicating something needing your attention is also a great idea. I also noticed my sump was yellow and have enough oil but it quickly went away

Thanks for your time invested and dedication to the community





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

prsiii

New member
Folk's ideas for placement and mounting? I was thinking the left side of the dash but the angle is not quite optimal and the dash curve there looks a little complex. Probably could be modeled in 3d, but I don't have a 3d printer, but can probably find someone who has. Then I was thinking something like Sculpy or Fimo clay (plastic clay you low-temp bake in the oven) would do the trick, then use a combination of VHB of the device to the custom shim, then VHB Velcro between shim and dash.
 

kkanuck

LUV my T1N
Folk's ideas for placement and mounting? I was thinking the left side of the dash but the angle is not quite optimal and the dash curve there looks a little complex. Probably could be modeled in 3d, but I don't have a 3d printer, but can probably find someone who has. Then I was thinking something like Sculpy or Fimo clay (plastic clay you low-temp bake in the oven) would do the trick, then use a combination of VHB of the device to the custom shim, then VHB Velcro between shim and dash.
Something like this setup can be used to connect to the rear view mirror stem on the windshield and have it above or below, with the wire tucked into the headliner over to driver A- Pillar and down behind the grey A-Pillar cover and then under the dash to the OBDII port


https://www.amazon.com/RAM-RAM-B-14...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
 
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Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
I’m so pleased to see these responses. :thumbup:

FWIW: mine sits on a wedge, velcro’d down to the speaker grate next to the A-pillar. The forward location cuts the reflection I was getting in the driver’s door window when I had it mounted further back over dash vent. I like this spot as it’s easy to glance down at and the cable tucks nicely under the foam A-pillar trim and down to the OBDII outlet.
(you do run a risk of launching the microSD down the defrost vent...)

If extending the cable, you only need four conductors:

RED & ORANGE: run/start (+12v)
BROWN & bare: ground
YELLOW: k-ecm
BLUE: k-tcm/radio

The other five conductors are connected to the other k-lines but are not active in the enclosure:
White: k-skreem
Black: k-abs/shifter
Grey: k-ctm/ssm
Violet: k-acm (srs)
Green: k-ic/atc/hbm/chm

The k-lines run at 10400 baud so nothing too fancy is required for shielding... a length of Cat-5 cable should be fine?

-dave
 

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kkanuck

LUV my T1N
I’m so pleased to see these responses. :thumbup:

FWIW: mine sits on a wedge, velcro’d down to the speaker grate next to the A-pillar. The forward location cuts the reflection I was getting in the driver’s door window when I had it mounted further back over dash vent. I like this spot as it’s easy to glance down at and the cable tucks nicely under the foam A-pillar trim and down to the OBDII outlet.
(you do run a risk of launching the microSD down the defrost vent...)

If extending the cable, you only need four conductors:

RED & ORANGE: run/start (+12v)
BROWN & bare: ground
YELLOW: k-ecm
BLUE: k-tcm

The other five wires are connected to the other k-lines but are not active.

The k-lines run at 10400 baud so nothing too fancy is required for shielding... a length of Cat-5 cable should be fine?

-dave


What is the OBDII cable length that comes out of the enclosure, is it as long as the scangauge II or is it shorter, as that cable length works with mirror mount location.
 

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