Interacting with Onboard Car Computers? 41
joshmccormack asks: "I've seen lots of projects where people are making great looking computers that fit into the dashboard of their cars that play MP3s, movies and even some that do some GPS and mapping stuff. I'd love to find projects where computers connect with the on board computers in most cars from the mid 90s on to show temperature and performance of various parts of the car. There are diagnostic tools that mechanics use, and that you can get to get data, but I'm particularly interested in real time, in-dash, open source options."
Similar to TEC (Score:4, Informative)
Maybe it's time to start developing OpenTEC?
Update: (Score:1)
Re:Similar to TEC (Score:1, Offtopic)
Trending off-topic, but in their FAQ [electromotive-inc.com] they say "We have systems for all vehicles with spark ignited engines."
Even this one [cruisin66.com]?
(I had a friend who bought one of those... it had rust in the door frames within a week of purchase!)
Obstacles (Score:5, Informative)
On OBD-II equipped vehicles, the port is typically located to the right of the steering wheel in the driver's side footwell. It is trapezoidal.
There are many systems available for reading this information, from scan tools to computer interfaces.
It sounds like what you want is something like the PSI data display unit [psi3.co.uk] (DIN-sized). These connect up to OBD-II enabled cars.
The big problem you may run into is that the OBD-II standard requires only that the most basic parameters be reported to scan tools. Manufacturers are notorious for obscuring the most interesting information and it's typically been up to enthusiasts to reverse engineer manufacturers' proprietary additions to the OBD-II protocol.
Re:Obstacles (Score:1)
Re:Obstacles (Score:2)
I've always wanted to build one. The protocol seems straighforward (RS232-like) but there is this talk about routers and such that I don't fully understand.
The kicker seems to be that the plugs needed to fit the OBD-II connector are notoriously difficult to get and expensive.
Something open-source would be cool. Maybe also pool some funds to get a large order of OBD-II cables for cheap.
Oligopoly (Score:3, Interesting)
Best chance for you is to wire into the analog sensors that they are using!
Re:Oligopoly (Score:3, Insightful)
1) Probably break the car's computer system, which relies on the proper function of those sensors
2) Require you to understand how each sensor operates (Which I'm sure are equally undocumented)
3) Build your own interface circuitry
4) Do your own calibration and correction
5) Understand what the sensors tell you, and how to deduce the status of the vehicle from them
The onboard computer does all that. All you need to do is ask it what's going on.
At least the hookup is designed for car/co
False (Score:2)
2) 99% of the sensors themselves are very well documented for diagnostic purposes. For example, I can tell you that the oxygen sensor used in late-80s/early 90s Chrysler vehicles ranges from 0-5v depending on air/fuel ratio, with 0.8-0.9v being the optimal level, less being lean, and higher being rich.
3) Not that difficult
4) Again, not that difficult. Most of these sensors are either pu
Re:Oligopoly (Score:2)
Insert sued by SCO joke here.
Do I know what I am talking about? (Score:4, Insightful)
A lot of the auto mechanics shops just have error code readers, with the capability to disable the error codes. That is all they need pretty much.
I also bet that most car computers dont have the output capabilities that you desire. Probably you would have to use a whole custom computer from a 3rd party. Those are probably expensive too.
False (Score:2)
The manufacturers have special readers.. (Score:2)
Unfortunately, it is illegal to drive a aftermarket ECU equipped vehicle on the road - compliments emissions laws almost everywhere. Not that it stops anybody, but you should be aware of this.
Almost all cars have a facility to blink you a warning light, usually the only tool you need is a paperclip, at least in the c
Here's an old site (Score:3, Funny)
http://www.knightrideronline.com/
Ask for 'Michael'.
Delta Dash (Score:5, Informative)
Personally, I'm going to just buy (now a slashdotter is going to buy software? A sign of the apocolypse!) Delta Dash [ecutek.com.au] because it is supposedly great with my WRX.
Well sourceforge to the rescue (Score:5, Informative)
a. Google
b. SourceForge
c. neither
And the correct answer is c.
While a. or b. would be even correcter!
freediag [sourceforge.net] that I have found on sourceforge [sourceforge.net] which I have googled [google.com] with "open source obdii".
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Re:Well sourceforge to the rescue (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well sourceforge to the rescue (Score:1)
Returns freediag as number 3...
Re:Well sourceforge to the rescue (Score:1)
Yes. Thanks, I'm familiar with the Internet.
Freediag is interesting, but not really easy to understand if you're not familiar with this technology, and hard to tell just how well it works. The project is changing hands, considered alpha, hasn't had a lot of development, etc.
I was hoping to find people who could share experiences, maybe even supply some accounts of their experiences and photos.
Specialty shops do this now (Score:4, Insightful)
I doubt though that car manufacturers are going to standardize on anything electric except the emmissions part, and that's probably the goverment forcing them to. Geez, take a look at aftermarket radios, If they could standardize on anything it could be that.
Now, if someone *would* build a custom touch screen LCD screen that fit perfectly where my radio and environmental controls are and then made it open enough I could plug a laptop into it (MP3s, Maps, etc..) then I would be one happy camper. Of course, it would have to be skinnable (for my mood) and environmental controls would have to be included in the touch screen LCD. Well hell, just include the lights, wipers, hazards, defogger, yadda yadda ya.
Hmmmm, I should get to work on that now. To the patent office! First comez za money, then comes zee power. Bwooo ha ha ha ha.
Re:Specialty shops do this now (Score:2)
Re:Specialty shops do this now (Score:2)
They are standardized as far as the general wiring and chassis sizes go, with the exception of the power and battery leads. I just RTFM and pay the $15 for the harness adapter.
Auto manufacturers OTOH tend to throw standardization in the trash when they design dashboards and wiring setups. Ever have a look at a mid 90's Taurus or Sable? The radio is oval and the face is integrated with the climate controls.
Re:Specialty shops do this now (Score:1)
Better still, make it a Head-Up Display! How cool would that be
Cheap Code reading tool (Score:3, Interesting)
I wrote up some functions to grab different data from the box, and drop it in a struct for later processing. I also wrote up another function to handle the later processing and give you the raw value. Pretty simple code really.
The only problem I ran into (which was the kicker for me), I was only able to get about 3 samples per second from my Jeep's computer...Hardly fast enough for a realtime display of all the normal dashboard information, but cool none-the less.
Maybe I'll zip up the code I wrote and post it on the net, now that it's getting warmer I might be interested in spending some time on it.
Re:Cheap Code reading tool (Score:2)
It might not be very useful, but damn wouldn't it look neat
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
dashpc.com (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.dashpc.com [dashpc.com] has all the juicy details about how to build your own DashboardPC and how to interface with your car via your PC.
megasquirt (Score:3, Interesting)
Here ya go (Score:5, Informative)
Inexpensive [obddiagnostics.com] Free software for Win or Mac. Inexpensive cable.
Expensive [autotap.com]. Very pro display, and you can get all the extended codes sets.
Opensource [sourceforge.net](you still need to build/buy the cable)
There are others out there. Google for obdii
All you need do is hook this up to the serial port of whatever car PC you make, and run the s/w. Presto, virtual dashboard, with more readings than you will ever use.
Friend of mine at work has the cheaper one, and it works quite well. You can even record a drive, and play it back later. Output to OO.org or excel compatible csv for further analysis.
BMW Radar Detector (Score:2)
With alot of manufacturers switching to the MOST bus, I think we'll see more integration like this in the future and it would be cool if someone created a simple interface so that we could write our own apps to be displayed in the car.
AutoXray (Score:1)
Been there done that (Score:2)
If you go custom, you get the ability to do lots of other interesting things too.
Auterra (Score:1)
Interaction with computers while driving (Score:3, Insightful)
A couple observations:
1. The interface should not be mouse driven no matter what. You need buttons. Buttons are BETTER than a touch screen in this case.
2. A numpad can be used for interface, but a serial module with built in buttons or some other contraption would be better.
3. Very few commercial programs are suitable to this interface method. Expect to do some heavy lifting in code to pass the girlfriend test. The girlfriend test is the same one I have for MythTV. If she sits down with no instruction, does this gadget improve the experience, or at least not degrade it in any way?
4. Audible interface is nice. You need a music pass through for a regular CD player, on top of whatever lossy compression you're using to store music. Any type of audible, no-eyes-off-the-road notifications are great. A good text reader would be even better but I doubt you could get it to work well enough.
5. Forget speech recognition. It's still just barely good enough to be acceptable in a lab environment. Road noise will completely kill any chance you have of running it in your car.
6. Certain applications should not be used while driving. No, not even stuck in traffic. Ideally, if the car is in drive, they will simply be unavailable. E-mail is a maybe. Video playback is a maybe. Any program requiring more than three or four buttons to operate should be avoided while driving.
Re:Interaction with computers while driving (Score:1)
Hardware buttons around the edge of the display are fairly intuitive, like an ATM display. Just try to
MoTeC or nothing... (Score:1)