DIY auxiliary displays and datalogging

[rayy]

Hey everyone, I'm a long time lurker, and a new poster.

After a few years of playing around with ideas, I'm starting to work on an auxiliary display to replicate the stock gauges and show additional information- engine and air temp, error codes and descriptions, charging system voltage, power level for heated clothing (I will be building a power regulator as well).

I plan to use a hobbyist microcontroller board called an Arduino Mega to communicate with the ECM and run the displays, as well as to control my heated clothing and log engine data. This also opens the possibility of adding additional sensors to the bike, and thermostatic control of heated clothing in the future.

I plan to have a custom handlebar clamp machined to hold the displays, I'll hide the arduino behind the flyscreen, the power supply in the airbox, and the buttons on the handlebars.

I'm open to any ideas on parts, suggestions, or collaboration- I will keep posting as things progress and I work out details.

Major Components:
Displays: https://www.adafruit.com/products/1393
- I plan to use two of these mounted in the handlebars. They are E-ink (Like a kindle) so will be daylight readable. I will be edge-lighting it with an LED and using a light-diffusing overlay to light it at night (like a kindle Paperwhite)

Buttons :
http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/ha...czkaAszA8P8HAQ

Power Supply:
http://www.powerstream.com/daa-1209.htm
This will eat the voltage spikes and regulate the power to something reasonable; input power on the arduino is 7-12v

Ill keep posting as things progress.

[marcel]

sounds AWESOME!!!!! You could also integrate a gear indicator! In the Netherlands there was a guy who was working on a project of adding a tablet as dashboard to his bike. unfortunately the bike got stolen and the project came to a hold.
If I'm not mistaken he also used an Arduino. If you could make this you can sell this big time! Not only can you display the Speed and RPM, but also temp, gear indicator, navigation (how cool is that) and he was even thinking about a rear viewing camera so he could eliminate the mirrors!

Keep up the good work!

[Sirius815]

You can probably find smaller dc-dc buck converters for cheaper and in smaller packaging than the one you listed. The arduino isn't going to take much power. Check on ebay, searching for "DC buck converter"

Good luck!

[XB12SSGAMBLE]

Sounds like a awesome idea, I'll be keeping an eye on your posts for sure!

[AZmidget91]

If you search, someone already did some stuff similar to this. He was able to get the display working, and even do a tps reset from his arduino. I have an arduino and a touch screen sitting in my garage for the same reason.

[rayy]

Marcel, it will be straightforward to add a gear indicator as you mentioned; it is reported by the ECM as part of the runtime dataset. Information on runtime data: http://ecmspy.com/cgi-bin/runtime.cgi. I would like to add navigation as well, but due to apparent limitations in the Google Navigation/Maps Android app, it is a lot more work than I want to take on for now.

Sirius, I agree that there are better options for power supplies- I'll be looking around before I make any purchases and haven't ruled out just building something myself. I'm concerned about transient voltages destroying my project, but even more so about power system noise causing random bugs- there is nothing more frustrating than poring over code for hours, only to find a bad ground or some power issue to be the problem. As far as power output goes you're right, the Arduino will max at about 10W, and the displays power use will be minimal. I figure a little extra clean power for expansion isn't a bad thing though I know the right pile of mosfets, capacitors, and diodes would be easy to solder up, but I'm no engineer so Ill probably leave this part to the professionals. If you have any suggestions or expertise- I would appreciate the help!

AZmidget, this guy did some datalogging and hp/torque estimates for a class project: http://arduinobuell.blogspot.com/, and Ive seen another similar project someone did including a display hacked into the stock gauges, but I cant find a link now. Once communication is up and running between the arduino and ecm, it will be straightforward to run all of the tests that ECM spy can do - coils, injectors, fuel pump, tps, etc.. I know I'm not doing anything really new, just doing it the way I want to

I had an idea this morning that I thought a few folks could find useful: It wouldn't be all that difficult to load custom maps to an SD card and set up the arduino to reflash the ECM on command.. You could have a map for the track, a map for commuting, and a map for those damn 8,000ft peaks just West of here..

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

[mrlogix]

where are you getting the mapping addresses for the variables to display?

[rayy]

where are you getting the mapping addresses for the variables to display?

The guys at ECMspy did all the hard work and were awesome enough to publish it. Runtime Data info is here: http://ecmspy.com/cgi-bin/runtime.cgi and info on communication is here: http://ecmspy.com/eeprom_info.shtml

[mrlogix]

cool, nice links. +1

[TeamHennis]

Following. I built an LCD gauge setup for my diesel using Arduino and have given some thought to using it on the bike as well. I had seen the previous Arduino project that AZmidget had mentioned (I've got the code saved somewhere I think) but I haven't been able to decide on a display or the direction I want to go with it. I'm interested to see what you do.