Standalone ECU Monitor
01 November 2002, 12:31 PM
#124
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David, where???
I'm going to be in Lincoln the week after next. It's a bit more central than Southampton, so I may be able to get a bit more involved.
BTW, has anyone thought about monitoring the RX connector in the car with an AVR or something. (Discretely, of course) then going to a dealer to get the car select monitored? Could be a worthwhile investment. It would give us all of the addresses in one go.
I'm going to be in Lincoln the week after next. It's a bit more central than Southampton, so I may be able to get a bit more involved.
BTW, has anyone thought about monitoring the RX connector in the car with an AVR or something. (Discretely, of course) then going to a dealer to get the car select monitored? Could be a worthwhile investment. It would give us all of the addresses in one go.
01 November 2002, 12:36 PM
#125
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dnb, you didn't, but AFAIK they original Subaru ones are v.expensive so only option is a Dealer, or specialist who are friendly enough to let you play with one.
I didn't think they were handheld or small enough to easily transport
Stefan
I didn't think they were handheld or small enough to easily transport
Stefan
07 November 2002, 08:31 PM
#128
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Anymore updates on this lads. Being a bit of a Biff I have no techie knowledge myself, but if you need another Guinea Pig for a MY99, then let me know.
Works a bit slow at the mo, so I'd like something to interesting to work on
Stefan
Works a bit slow at the mo, so I'd like something to interesting to work on
Stefan
19 November 2002, 07:16 PM
#131
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C'mon guys....I really need this for the LeggyT!
Otherwise I am gonna have to find dash space for millions a guages.
and it will look pants. (Well....if the legacy CAN look more pants!)
=cajole cajole cajole=
c'monnnnnn...ya will ya will c'mon ya will ya will
Otherwise I am gonna have to find dash space for millions a guages.
and it will look pants. (Well....if the legacy CAN look more pants!)
=cajole cajole cajole=
c'monnnnnn...ya will ya will c'mon ya will ya will
20 November 2002, 09:44 AM
#132
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turbo_steve,
have spoken to Andrew and things are moving a little now. he's currently in the re-finement & 'add a few bits' phase!
(mainly adding things like intake temps etc)
He says that once that's done, he'll put the information on his WebSite so people can build one for themselves.
After that, it's phase 2 .. and lots of new & better things...
(again - see website!)
Steve
have spoken to Andrew and things are moving a little now. he's currently in the re-finement & 'add a few bits' phase!
(mainly adding things like intake temps etc)
He says that once that's done, he'll put the information on his WebSite so people can build one for themselves.
After that, it's phase 2 .. and lots of new & better things...
(again - see website!)Steve
20 November 2002, 10:42 AM
#134
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Stefan
not sure on that one ! I think Andrew is best left to answer this point.
I think he has tried it on several other year models. The main problem being the different locations of data & that pre97 cars cant do multi-reads from the ECU.
Andrew ?
Steve
not sure on that one ! I think Andrew is best left to answer this point.
I think he has tried it on several other year models. The main problem being the different locations of data & that pre97 cars cant do multi-reads from the ECU.
Andrew ?
Steve
22 November 2002, 06:24 PM
#135
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How are things coming along? Really itching to see this one turn to reality.
PS Don't mean to pressurise you guys, this is a great job especially making it available to all for no personal gain
PS Don't mean to pressurise you guys, this is a great job especially making it available to all for no personal gain
28 November 2002, 04:02 PM
#137
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No progress in the past couple of weeks, been busy with other things, my wife is so fed up with me spending time playing with electronics that she has started mentioning the D word 
She wants our bedroom repainted, including the floor stripping etc before christmas...this is not a small room, we're talking 18' x 15' with 10' ceilings and a 10'x8' walk-in wardrobe! I hate decorating as well, still if I do it myself I can buy a new turbo with the money I save
Andrew...
Seriously, I do intend to put some effort into the 99/00 version and will hopefully be updating the website with some DIY build information in the next few days.
She wants our bedroom repainted, including the floor stripping etc before christmas...this is not a small room, we're talking 18' x 15' with 10' ceilings and a 10'x8' walk-in wardrobe! I hate decorating as well, still if I do it myself I can buy a new turbo with the money I save
Andrew...
Seriously, I do intend to put some effort into the 99/00 version and will hopefully be updating the website with some DIY build information in the next few days.
30 November 2002, 06:19 PM
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Much repsect out to you my missus complains about the amount of time I spend just meesin around wit my pooter and car......Keep up the good work and thanks for keeping this in the public domain and free.
09 December 2002, 02:21 PM
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Amazing, absolutley amazing. Would love something like this for my car. Mainly as I'm prob going to be getting one of the adaptor ECU things from www.scoobyecu.co.uk and it's been mentioned having an AFR monitor would be good, and this seems to do that. Question though, does it display knock correction? (is that the 'advance in degrees'? thing?) sorry but I'm thick! If it does then whooo hooo! As homer would say.
All I need now is the ECU, and one of these chappies for a MY94 WRX Wagon
All I need now is the ECU, and one of these chappies for a MY94 WRX Wagon
11 December 2002, 11:57 PM
#146
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Andrew is there any chance of releasing a provisional version of the module? I imagine you're probably still working on the code but for those of us with programmers who are itching to get this thing going it would be a great thing to try out and perhaps even help with the development by reporting bugs etc.
I for one am itching to see this brought to reality, especially since it will save me buying a boost gauge into the bargain
BTW I have a MY97
Keep up the good work
I for one am itching to see this brought to reality, especially since it will save me buying a boost gauge into the bargain
BTW I have a MY97
Keep up the good work
12 December 2002, 12:19 AM
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Andrew,
If it is possible to do what Paul has suggested that would be fantastic! I too have the electronic circuit sorted out (I actually have access to a ATMEL STK500 programmer as well as doing in system programming), yet I am still having problems sorting out the communication with the ECU. I originally started trying to use a software UART (when I was using the STK500) but couldnt get the ECU to send back any data, so I am now thinking of using the hardware UART. I have never done any communication like this with micro's so its a bit of a learning experience. I have found a lot of useful info through yourself, a few other web pages, the BASCOM mail list (I have seen you pop up a couple of times in there) yet am still having trouble. Getting inputs and outputs to work, the LCD working, etc, etc, has not been a problem - just getting the communication to work with BASCOM is causing me grief (and I dont want to do this through assembler...). Are you using the hardware or software UART?
Anyway, its been fantastic seeing this come to light, but, as Paul said, I think that there may be a few of us that are keen to do it (and are close!) but just may need a little 'help' in the right direction! So if you are willing to release ANY part of the code now that would be sensational! Cheers, thanks, well done and good luck!
Adam
If it is possible to do what Paul has suggested that would be fantastic! I too have the electronic circuit sorted out (I actually have access to a ATMEL STK500 programmer as well as doing in system programming), yet I am still having problems sorting out the communication with the ECU. I originally started trying to use a software UART (when I was using the STK500) but couldnt get the ECU to send back any data, so I am now thinking of using the hardware UART. I have never done any communication like this with micro's so its a bit of a learning experience. I have found a lot of useful info through yourself, a few other web pages, the BASCOM mail list (I have seen you pop up a couple of times in there) yet am still having trouble. Getting inputs and outputs to work, the LCD working, etc, etc, has not been a problem - just getting the communication to work with BASCOM is causing me grief (and I dont want to do this through assembler...). Are you using the hardware or software UART?
Anyway, its been fantastic seeing this come to light, but, as Paul said, I think that there may be a few of us that are keen to do it (and are close!) but just may need a little 'help' in the right direction! So if you are willing to release ANY part of the code now that would be sensational! Cheers, thanks, well done and good luck!
Adam
12 December 2002, 03:11 AM
#148
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Don't get the impression I've got even half the understanding that Adam has - I'm decent with electronics but don't have a clue about the ECU communication et all.
Would just like to fiddle really and try and learn something along the way
Would just like to fiddle really and try and learn something along the way
12 December 2002, 10:28 AM
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Paul,
Its not that difficult actually (says me that cant get it to work!!!). What I mean is that getting to the point of actually being able to load code (and have it run) on a micro chip is not all that difficult. Especially with the Bascom-AVR language. Bascom is a BASIC based language and is fantastic. A free demo edition (limited to non-commerical use and only 2K of code possible (which shouldnt be much of a drama)) is available (but I think I will purchase it just to support the efforts of the guy behind it – pretty impressive actually) and a reasonably useful mail list which the author of the software heavily contributes to. BASIC is just that - basic! A really easy language to use and if you have ever used Visual Basic on the PC (mainly in Excel) or even BASIC on a Commodore 64 then you know the structure of the language – very logical and interpretive (probably the simplest language to learn). Running an LCD with it is dead simple (if you've ever tried to do this through assembler you'll just laugh at how easy it is - send an init command and then ‘write text to lcd’ commands!). I am most impressed with it, but it is more my lack of understanding communication with micros (I am a mechanical engineer - not software or electronic) that is catching me out. The data sheets for the Atmel chips are very useful but it is just taking me a little while to 'work it all out'. And thanks to the people like Andrew, some Japanese guy and his website, and a few others, the actual communication protocol (1953baud, 8,E,1) is known and so to are the ECU commands, the structure of the commands and received back data as well as all the addresses (plus conversion factors when needed) of all the relevant sensors. So all people, like yourself and myself, need to do is work out the electronic circuit (dead simple - a couple of switches, a diode here a capacitor there plus a crystal for the chip clock - actually the circuit is on the web already!) and then how to programme the bloody thing. As long as you're willing to put in the time and effort (if you actually have interest in something, learning is so much easier) its not as difficult as you may think (but, like I said before, I still haven't got it to work!) - but I hate to be beaten by things which is always good motivation!!
If you are interested, I can provide you a list of all the relevant website address to get started: ie bascom, Atmel, the mail list, the AVR freaks website (great source of info about the Atmel-AVR chips but more catered towards assembly coding), the Jap website with info etc, etc.
Bottom line is that I think this is a FANTASTIC project. I was actually looking for a suitable project so that I could learn more about the practical use of micro-controllers (its handy for my job - Im reasonably proficient with software and electronics but Im still ONLY a mech eng) and this was perfect. So I think Andrew definitely deserves a big THANKYOU for kicking this off and all the work he has done. Without him I wouldn't have got started. Building stuff for yourself (especially at a fraction of the cost) instead of purchasing it off the shelf, plus learning something along the way, is bloody great!!
Andrew, if (for whatever reason) you would prefer that I didnt start offering the information that I have gathered, please let me know as I am only happy to oblige (like I said, I know what I know because you got me motivate to start - so essentially I see it as Intellectual Property).
Cheers,
Adam
Its not that difficult actually (says me that cant get it to work!!!). What I mean is that getting to the point of actually being able to load code (and have it run) on a micro chip is not all that difficult. Especially with the Bascom-AVR language. Bascom is a BASIC based language and is fantastic. A free demo edition (limited to non-commerical use and only 2K of code possible (which shouldnt be much of a drama)) is available (but I think I will purchase it just to support the efforts of the guy behind it – pretty impressive actually) and a reasonably useful mail list which the author of the software heavily contributes to. BASIC is just that - basic! A really easy language to use and if you have ever used Visual Basic on the PC (mainly in Excel) or even BASIC on a Commodore 64 then you know the structure of the language – very logical and interpretive (probably the simplest language to learn). Running an LCD with it is dead simple (if you've ever tried to do this through assembler you'll just laugh at how easy it is - send an init command and then ‘write text to lcd’ commands!). I am most impressed with it, but it is more my lack of understanding communication with micros (I am a mechanical engineer - not software or electronic) that is catching me out. The data sheets for the Atmel chips are very useful but it is just taking me a little while to 'work it all out'. And thanks to the people like Andrew, some Japanese guy and his website, and a few others, the actual communication protocol (1953baud, 8,E,1) is known and so to are the ECU commands, the structure of the commands and received back data as well as all the addresses (plus conversion factors when needed) of all the relevant sensors. So all people, like yourself and myself, need to do is work out the electronic circuit (dead simple - a couple of switches, a diode here a capacitor there plus a crystal for the chip clock - actually the circuit is on the web already!) and then how to programme the bloody thing. As long as you're willing to put in the time and effort (if you actually have interest in something, learning is so much easier) its not as difficult as you may think (but, like I said before, I still haven't got it to work!) - but I hate to be beaten by things which is always good motivation!!
If you are interested, I can provide you a list of all the relevant website address to get started: ie bascom, Atmel, the mail list, the AVR freaks website (great source of info about the Atmel-AVR chips but more catered towards assembly coding), the Jap website with info etc, etc.
Bottom line is that I think this is a FANTASTIC project. I was actually looking for a suitable project so that I could learn more about the practical use of micro-controllers (its handy for my job - Im reasonably proficient with software and electronics but Im still ONLY a mech eng) and this was perfect. So I think Andrew definitely deserves a big THANKYOU for kicking this off and all the work he has done. Without him I wouldn't have got started. Building stuff for yourself (especially at a fraction of the cost) instead of purchasing it off the shelf, plus learning something along the way, is bloody great!!
Andrew, if (for whatever reason) you would prefer that I didnt start offering the information that I have gathered, please let me know as I am only happy to oblige (like I said, I know what I know because you got me motivate to start - so essentially I see it as Intellectual Property).
Cheers,
Adam
12 December 2002, 10:31 AM
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Guys,
I have been planning on putting some more information up on the website, but just haven't had the time recently. I will do my best to get this done in the next few days.
I am not going to release the full source code publicly, not because I want to do anything commercial but because I am not going to support it, if I publish it I WILL get asked questions about it and I have neither the time nor the patience to answer these. I will publish my routines for reading the ECU and some sample programs to help anyone wishing to do something similar, however, the full monitor code will be a binary-only download (or I will supply pre-programmed chips).
There are some (hidden) functions in the monitor to assist in debugging and I will probably leave these in so anyone wishing to assist in resolving bugs or finding new parameters will be able to help using these features.
Adam, I am using a s/w UART, mainly due to the slow speed of the Select port I am reserving the h/w UART for data logging at a much higher rate, if you send me an email I will send you the source code for my 'dumper' program which as the name implies just dumps portions of ECU memory out to RS232, it is however an invaluable little tool for many reasons.
Andrew...
[Edited to say there are some AVR related links on the website and that I use Dontronics DT104/107 PCBs which are very cheap and easily obtainable globally]
[Edited by AndrewC - 12/12/2002 10:42:24 AM]
I have been planning on putting some more information up on the website, but just haven't had the time recently. I will do my best to get this done in the next few days.
I am not going to release the full source code publicly, not because I want to do anything commercial but because I am not going to support it, if I publish it I WILL get asked questions about it and I have neither the time nor the patience to answer these. I will publish my routines for reading the ECU and some sample programs to help anyone wishing to do something similar, however, the full monitor code will be a binary-only download (or I will supply pre-programmed chips).
There are some (hidden) functions in the monitor to assist in debugging and I will probably leave these in so anyone wishing to assist in resolving bugs or finding new parameters will be able to help using these features.
Adam, I am using a s/w UART, mainly due to the slow speed of the Select port I am reserving the h/w UART for data logging at a much higher rate, if you send me an email I will send you the source code for my 'dumper' program which as the name implies just dumps portions of ECU memory out to RS232, it is however an invaluable little tool for many reasons.
Andrew...
[Edited to say there are some AVR related links on the website and that I use Dontronics DT104/107 PCBs which are very cheap and easily obtainable globally]
[Edited by AndrewC - 12/12/2002 10:42:24 AM]