Thread: Micro-Controller Digital Gauge

Hi,
Sounds like a great idea, but way out of my electronics pay scale
Maybe when you go commercial I'll look at buying one.

This is a thread started a year + ago. Haydent seems to be moving slowly with it.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-t...unit-50-a.html

I'm watching with interest..

Tony

If you have an android phone... the "Torque" app is very good. Depending on the year of manufacture of your Defender, if it is OBDII compliant then this app ($5 approx for the full pro. version or free for the limited one) plus an ELM bluetooth OBDII plug/sender (about $25 from ebay) ... for Td5 Disco see

Torque App for Android Review - Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum where he lists all the parameters available incl turbo boost, vacuum, volts, MAF, O2 sensors etc
if you're not a member of that forum and the pics won't open , then have a look at an example of availalble gauges on a Thor engined P38...see post #1 of High Long Term Fuel Trims - why?

A cheap 7" or 8" android tablet permanently mounted might suffice and encompass all your needs incl. GPS/Mapping/RAVE etc as well

it may be a start to design your very own "glass cockpit" !

Recently installed an Ultra Gauge unit in my 2012 HCPU130 with Puma 2.2L engine. Had to unclip the OBDII connector and re position it so that the fuse cover could be closed. Brought a horizontal mount and placed the gauge in front of the RH side center air vent which is easy to see and does not obstruct vision through the screen, also does a nice job of stopping my left elbow from freezing on long trips .
Obviously as with the App type phone units it will only read what the engine ECU is reading so I do not get engine oil pressure or EGT. It does not take long to install and takes about 20 min to set up and enter basic vehicle data such as fuel tank size and engine capacity. So far it appears to work OK but I am still playing with the page layout. You can set up 9 pages of gauges with 2 to 8 gauges per page and have the pages scroll on auto at what ever time you chose. once set up you can turn the different pages on or off depending on how much data you want flashing in front of you. I like that you can read ambient temp and engine temp, the 130 runs at 91 deg C at 28 Deg C amb and 93 Deg C at 31 Deg C amb on the highway.
Anyway so far I see it as money well spent, I chose to cut a small slot in the dash to pass the cable through which becomes hidden once you re install the center dash panel, you have to use a slot because the OBDII plug is fairly large. Next step will be to fit an EGT gauge if anyone has a neat mounting position or gauge type for this purpose.
Regards

Here is a picture of it connected to the computer, showing the display; they figures are made up as there are no sensors connected.

I am on this path right now. My list of sensors tops about 30 connections at the moment, so I bought an Arduino Due with 50 something input/outputs - but the board is too new for most existing libraries so I have hit a wall at the moment. I am happy to colaborate here if you would like! Ive moved back to the uno for now.

google mpguino or arduinoGUI for some good info.

My plan had me using most of the existing sensors - water temp, rpm, gearbox temps etc using simple voltage dividers but I do not know if this will affect the value the ECU sees just yet.

This seems to be a very good idea, i did consider using the existing sensor on the TD5 aswell, however my programming stills are not up to scratch, and i didnt want to muck around with the ECU. The only thing that i will try and tap into is the RPM feed. I have done some reading on mpguino and arduinoGUI, and there is some real potential there.

My next project with the arduino will be a controller for my lights, 12v accessories etc, there i will use a UNO, some shift registers and some relays to control most on my 12v accessories, as opposed to have 10+ carling switches, it will probably be cheaper too.

I look forward to hearing how you go with your project.

Originally Posted by Fraz

I am on this path right now. My list of sensors tops about 30 connections at the moment, so I bought an Arduino Due with 50 something input/outputs - but the board is too new for most existing libraries so I have hit a wall at the moment. I am happy to colaborate here if you would like! Ive moved back to the uno for now.

google mpguino or arduinoGUI for some good info.

My plan had me using most of the existing sensors - water temp, rpm, gearbox temps etc using simple voltage dividers but I do not know if this will affect the value the ECU sees just yet.

RPM is simple - If I remember right, the grey/white wire in the back of the instrument cluster is the signal. Its just a matter of making sense of the logic signal, which I believe is very weak so it may need a boost to reference properly.

I have a tacho so this isnt high on my list of priorities but I want to add everything and anything for the sake of it

Could someone please tell me what the recommended maximum settings on the following should be:
Boost - Max
Oil pressure and temperature - MAX
EGT - Max
Water Temp - Max
transfer box temp - Max

Currently the defender is stock

Thanks