What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Grandpa’s Blazer gettin fixed up…

Papa is fixing up grandpa’s ole Blazer
Overview Gallery Discussion
so any input on new dash cluster? I see all original is about 1000$ or…. I am a nerd. I can build a touch screen programmable LCD complete replacement 12” screen hosts dozens of gauges and can make look anyway I want for 200$.


Raspberry pi build gauge cluster. Any thoughts or ideas?
 
I did a Raspberry Pi gauge cluster. It's not without some pitfalls.
  • First of all, you have to think about how it will boot up and shut down. You can't just power it from switched ignition. It's also necessary to avoid corrupting the SD card. This requires software support and a hardware implementation. Most just put a UPS/Li-Ion hat on it. I made my own circuit with a logic-level SSR.
  • You have to think about boot times and that you will be driving sometimes with no dash. An SSD conversion helps, especially on the later Pi's with PCIe. It also helps greatly with the corruption issue. I put in a discrete oil pressure gauge so if something goes wrong I don't have to 2nd guess that.
  • You have to implement screen dimming somehow. Otherwise, you either can't read it in the sunlight or can hardly drive at night. I'm using an optical sensor. You could also have it step down when the headlights come on. I thought about making it variable with the dash light dimmer switch (which doesn't have as much to do anymore), but didn't get around to designing an interface to do that.
  • You'll need to bring in discrete signals that the ECU doesn't have, like the turn signals and high beam indicator. I built my own circuits on a proto-board kind of hat. Any analog signals you need (for example transmission temp) will have to go through the ECU. Otherwise you'll need another ADC interfaced to the Pi and that has to have real automotive type I/O in it to avoid getting fried by transients.
  • Sometimes settings get messed up and you have to be prepared to deal with it. I keep a little wireless keyboard/touchpad in the truck. It also helps because sooner or later (i.e. regularly), you'll want to mess around with the tune and settings. The one I haven't fixed for good yet is that it often loses the GPS settings. The speedo says 8000MPH the whole time.
I'm using a Shadow Dash setup that uses the Pi as a WiFi access point and lets another device connect (i.e. laptop or tablet), so you can do tuning and sync tunes without unplugging anything on the car. It does not work right for me very often, so I end up tuning using the Pi and then copying files manually.

https://ck5.com/forums/threads/rebuild-of-blue85-post-fire.350134/page-4#post-4378752
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom