Digital TEMS Controller

[Smartparts]

I don't know if this should belong here or the build forums:

I did not want to spend $400 for a HKS TEMS controller, when there are other cheaper, better(I think) options available. I wanted to automate certain functions in my car, automatic lights etc. I wanted this all to be able to be controlled from a central unit, think idrive or mmi in BMW and Audi.

I started working on a TEMS controller that was menu driven that could adjust the TEMS setting to my liking when I wanted. It displays the status at on the LCD screen.

Along the line I installed a new fuel gauge, and it didn't work. It may have been the one i bought, which i doubt, but the fuel sender is showing as in spec. I decided I can just as easily display it on the LCD and then I have a cool way to see how much fuel is remaining in the tank. I just started working on this recently, and just thought of the fuel gauge idea tonight.

I am open to comments and criticism of what else to do and better ways to implement what I have. I took a poor quality hd video of it with my droidx.

[video=youtube;xASijp4XP50]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xASijp4XP50[/video]

 

[spencyg]

Can you explain what board you're using for your inputs as well as what you're using as an interface to change your TEMS settings? I'm always facinated by projects like this mostly because I'm a "mechanical guy" and when electrons start flowing, my head starts spinning. I've thought about installing a "carputer" in addition to PLC to control all the functions onboard, but when it comes time to actually do a project like this, I usually fold. More details please!

SGinNE

 

[jstricker]

Neat idea.

I've always disliked the "Sport/Hard/Soft" etc. settings. How about instead of that have the front and rear adjustable with two knobs and have it show up on the LCD as a couple of bar graphs that shows front and rear settings and where it's at with respect to soft and firm instead of pre-programmed settings? I'm sure yours works fine, this would just give you far more adjustability if it's even possible to do. As far as what else to show on the screen, how about a digital boost gauge if you're runing a turbo motor? Voltmeter would also be simple to implement if you were so inclined.

Neat project no matter which way you go. I'm like spencyg, I'm a mechanical guy and wish I had more knowledge and skill on the electronics side of this stuff.

John Stricker
Russell, KS

 

[Smartparts]

Sorry for the lack of explanation.

The project is powered by an arduino mega. I guess its fairly simple as all im doing is have it power 5v relays to automatically adjust the tems. I never thought about being able to adjust beyond the 3 stock settings but I like that idea. Would be a tad more complicated however because the arduino is run off 5v power and tems is 12v.

As for a gas gauge I disconnected the fuel sender and connected a multi meter to read the out put in ohms. Then on the coding side it maps the min and max values which I found with the multi meter between 1 and 100 to get the percent remaining. The project is in very early stages at the moment as I just started last night but there are many possibilities. Boost gauge is doable, air fuel, battery, all sorts of stuff can be done I took some still photos since the video came out poorly

 

[Smartparts]

Here is what the setup looks like. It is an Arduino mega plugged into a breadboard powering a LCD, IR receiver, and 4 buttons, and remote. This was when I was working on setting up a menu before I got the idea for TEMS and Fuel gauge. For those that don't know what Arduino is, its a programmable microcontroller that is open source. It's based on c++ and its pretty awesome. You can do just about anything with these things, and they are cheap as hell. As you can tell in the other picture, the LCD is no longer attached to the breadboard(for prototyping). I have it connected to the top row of an IDE cable, its 20 pins, and works perfectly. This will make installing it in my car a breeze.

When you turn on the device This is the first screen you are greeted with. Since it isn't just a TEMS Controller anymore I should update it. I was thinking of making a Toyota symbol spashscreen that gets displayed for a few seconds before I give it an option.

The Fuel gauge is nice, but I want it to be kind of a main screen. That way after options are selected it comes back to this main screen where it displays the TEMS status and Fuel level. I'm going to be updating the code to reflect that.

 

[tcsupra]

This is a cool idea. Keep it up.

 

[RazoE]

Nice idea but it looks way too old, like something an old GM car would have..

 

[northwestsupra]

are the tems units only able to do the 3 stages? can a Potentiometer/rheostat to control them? so you could set % of stiffness?

 

[Smashey]

Im 99% sure that you can only use the three settings as the struts only have the 3 mechanical settings in them iirc.

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[D.J.T.]

Anything to compare the size of it? I Personally wouldn't like to be looking like Paul Walker with a screen on my seat... unless were at a dyno..

 

[Smartparts]

Anything to compare the size of it? I Personally wouldn't like to be looking like Paul Walker with a screen on my seat... unless were at a dyno..

Right, while I haven't put it in the dash yet. I don't think its that big. The backlight and contrast are adjustable so it could fairly stealthy. The screen is smaller than my droidx. And compared to the TEMS controller, its a tad thinner, and twice as tall about.

 

[RazoE]

oh wow, that is small, I thought it was the size of a double din or something...

in that case, you may be able to put it in place of one of the vents in the cluster, and be able to turn it off when you don't want anyone to see..

 

[northwestsupra]

Im 99% sure that you can only use the three settings as the struts only have the 3 mechanical settings in them iirc.

Sent from my GT-I9000M using Tapatalk

How about if you were to make custom motors?

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