The RGB dash project

[Ivan141]

Almost done with a first draft for a speedo PCB.
Less fancy than the tach as far as LED control is concerned, but more complicated to design. Still need to do a ground plain and some additional supply and ground routing to make things as reliable as possible.
[img name=]http://www.aeu86.org/files/sp/speedo_board_nogndplane_185.jpg[/img]

This one has:
-An ATMEGA328 MCU (plenty of power)
-256kb eeprom for storing settings.
-Opto isolated input for coil- tach signal (can be converted to other sensor types with jumpers should anyone need it).
-USB serial interface
-5V 3A switching power supply.

Both boards have a driver onboard for a needle backlight PCB, which is coming up next, furthermore separate drivers for fuel, oil pressure and engine temp lighting are present.

[cavey]

Nice!

Going to opensource the project somewhat?

Would be nice to have some kind of computer keeping track of fuel consumption, mileage etc in the dashclock, or just hidden away in the oil/temp panel... which you could replace with rgb lcd screen? interval changing to
- Voltage
- Water temp
- Oil pressure
- Mileage/day/total/fuel left



Ok, that might be just a wee bit crazy Looking good!

For the initial RGB tests, did you reuse the current lightbulb locations, or did you use custom wiring for that too? (hmm, you do mention using a MCU... so probably custom wiring eh? I guess I answered my own question)

Since my dashboard light is somewhat flakey, has to do with a malfunctioning dimmer too.

[Ivan141]

The initial tests where with 10mm RGB led's (the ordinary kind), in the original positions. I wired them up to a driver IC that was controlled by a microcontroller.

I will do no such thing as replacing meters with lcd's, I like the original just fine, I just needed some distraction and thought this would be a nice place to start (I could have done something easier in hindsight, but I have the tendency to escalate things when they dont go my way, such as the initial RGB led test that where too dim).

I only built in stuff that is directly related to the cluster, so the only possible extra's I could try to build would be measuring the speedo and fuel signals.

If I pull this off I will start a datalogging board next with accelerometer and other data inputs, and maybe try to hack a custom LCD (rgb backlit) in place of the original clock (just bigger).

[cavey]

Still very interesting. Quite inspiring actually.

hmm, although I'm no EE, nor designer nor anything, I do like electronics, and try to understand it all.

Would be nice to hack into the ECU for some feeds and process it with an MCU.

Well,l ooking forward to how you progress with this project regardless ^_^ Giving me food for thought

[Ivan141]

The first PCB designs (gerber files) have been sent off to China for PCB production today. Hopefully I can start practicing my SMD soldering skills shortly (they dont come assembled sadly).

[Vaptor]

Hmm... This looks like something I would buy, if it works and it isn't to cost full :wink:

[Ivan141]

Well, cost is all a matter of perspective.
A set of PCB's only costs about 10 euro's to make, then the parts
have to be added, which I suspect will exceed 40-50 euro's, and then there's the amount of f'ed up soldering work needed to assemble all the smd without a reflow over (dont have a converted toaster oven yet so the first batch will be hand soldered).

And I havent even started on the firmware.

So if this thing flies, it will have a slightly more exotic pricetag on it than you might expect, certainly for the first few boards.

[Bravothreezero]

very cool!

[RGeris]

Wow that looks really nice! Good job

[Ivan141]

Okay, so I got me some PCB prototypes knocked out by a chinese factory (through iTeadStudio in case anyone is interested). I am pretty darn pleased and proud, even though I still need to assemble everything and see if it works as anticipated (hope so ).

Here are some pics:

Front & Back:


Detail of needle boards. The cobbled together logo came out nice in silkscreen. The holes line up perfectly like I hoped. Just looks like I will have to file out the middle hole a little so the needle stem can pass through it if necessary.