DIY Raspberry Pi Racecar Dashboard: The Ultimate Guide

[@Bbeavis]

To answer the Frequently asked questions: How does it connect to the ecu? - Via USB connection from the Megasquirt MS3 ECU direct to the RasPi. Why didn't you use XYZ off the shelf product? - Because I like to tinker, and I can customise this how I like. What about OBD2, or some other aftermarket ECU? - Sorry, I have never tried this for anything other than the Megasquirt family of ECUs... You can check out a product called 'OpenAuto': bluewavestudio.io/shop/openauto-pro-car-head-unit-solution/ Or if you have a different aftermarket ECU, or OEM ECU with OBD2, or even a carby car, consider trying this software instead: OneGauge, theonegauge.com Or, I am sure you can find other info online though for software options that might work for your car!

[@Tarun_Kausthub]

I want to use this for my Bike, which doesn't have a ECU. Can you help me with a possible solution?

[@Bbeavis]

@@Tarun_Kausthub Hi Tarun, sorry to say that is quite a different solution to what I presented here, a bit too far outside of my realm - you are effectively starting from scratch from a software perspective.

[@Tarun_Kausthub]

@@Bbeavis Ok, Thank you for the reply!

[@saheemali]

Hi, reckon this can work with a haltech ecu?

[@Bbeavis]

For a different ECU you may need to try the OpenAuto software or instead: OneGauge.

[@gAccountt]

Crazy to see how people figure all this out and build it themselfes. Gets me very motivated

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you.

[@jarentimmer9226]

Years ago, building my first turbo miata, I found your channel and you had the exact videos I needed at the time! Today I'm here because I bought a 7" and 10" touch screen to build a pi dash for this season and low and behold the perfect video pops up aging from you! Thanks you for the forever great content 🤘

[@Bbeavis]

Awesome! Thank you for the kind words of appreciation Jaren, glad I could help - again!

[@evanwatling3897]

First?

[@josesanabria6414]

Am I the only one impressed that he’s still using Netscape? great job on the video by the way. 😅

[@Bbeavis]

I swear Netscape Navigator peaked in the mid 90's.... what a time to be alive.

[@Dave102693]

I wish it was still around

[@razif6916]

Lol

[@saidjohan2266]

Not "still using", check the URL just "about" while 'clicked' 🤭

[@michaelkillerman]

He couldnt escape from it

[@douglasverkaik4662]

Dude, this is amazing! I have looked into this many times before and always turned away because the results looked unpolished, but this is clear, concise and polished. Thank you so much for sharing!

[@Bbeavis]

Glad I could help!

[@unggoy8564]

Got mine up and running last night! Just wanna say thanks for making this video. My oem dashboard just shorted out and almost caught fire due to a design flaw in BMW's Rxd diagnostic bus wire. I had a 7 inch screen and a pi 4 laying around for another project so setting this up was the perfect solution. I downloaded some of your dashboard designs too, great work!

[@Bbeavis]

Great to hear!

[@davidallen5783]

This is really awesome. You might think about modifying your shutdown script to take advantage of a relay instead. Connect the relay to your 12v + and - so it detects when the car is on. When you turn the car off it would then close the relay invoking the clean shut down sequence.

[@Bbeavis]

I have considered it, and definitely that would make sense for some people/cars, but for my purposes i like the simplicity and control i have with the current setup.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

With a race car, you won’t want to wait 30 or 40 seconds every time you’ve switched off the ignition. My Fiat ignition switch goes from zero to start no problem. But just switch on but don’t start and you have to switch it off & on to start the engine. A Pi dash would need its own switch. Or maybe a relay connection with the door locking.

[@caspersmith7112]

basicly acts like a sense pin (looking fo acc. min.) for key turn i take it?

[@slwbys]

Hands down for your build! Everything you do has a purpose and you give us all that Info for free, you are absolutely killing it!

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you Felix, you are too kind.

[@re1v3r]

Underrated PC nostalgia FTW.

[@Bbeavis]

That 90's school library PC experience.

[@pan-soltys]

If your RPi doesn't write any state to flash memory during runtime, you could set it to mount the disk in read-only mode. This should allow you to skip the power down button, as I believe data corruption is the only concern not to unplug it directly. To apply patches, you would need to remove the read-only filesystem flag when needed.

[@Bbeavis]

This is a good point, thanks for sharing.

[@Fujikawa42]

This is a great guide, I will be using this info to remake the dashboard on my megasquirted 280Z

[@Bbeavis]

Good luck!

[@atihun2820]

I thought of doing something similar but with a different approach: automating the windows, air conditioning, and many other features of an 80s model car using a Raspberry Pi. However, from what I've seen, the operating system takes around 10 seconds to boot up on the screen. So, I thought of implementing this system with a PLC, using Arduino or Raspberry Pi to collect some data and sending ON and OFF signals to the PLC's HDMI unit. Maybe an external set of buttons could also be added, as it makes more sense to use the screen solely as a display behind the steering wheel.

[@Bbeavis]

Nice ideas. In general all of these things are pretty much 100% possible its just being wise around the electronics/technology and spending the time to learn how to do whatever it is you want to do.

[@atihun2820]

@@Bbeavis you are right

[@MW-cx3sb]

Not sure if you're still responding to comments on this video but I am super interested in making some type of retrowave/vfd type of display for my bike. I assume when you know how to it isn't that hard but would be interesting to see with the old 80's font types and VFD blue/green/orange/red colours.

[@Bbeavis]

This particular software probably wont be suitable for a bike. But the visuals I use in the dashboard are all just designed in photoshop, so anyone could do it - if you want a particular aesthetic, it should be possible.

[@simp-slayer]

I love VFDs! Some day, when I finally have some disposable $$$, I will be adding a VFD or at least an OLED made to look like a VFD to a car.

[@simp-slayer]

As well as a HUD.

[@TheSnivilous]

Stumbled on this video a few weeks ago, and today ordered the parts to build my own. Aftermarket digital dashes are all really small and would look weird in my stock gauge cluster (excluding the fact they're $1000+). I bought two screens to run independently and line up with my 1978 Hilux stock dash bezel. Never messed with a Raspberry Pi so I'm looking forward to this! I'll have an EMU Black talking to it, hopefully I can get the Tuner Studio to play nice but if not I'll just run the EMU Black tuning software and configure a dash inside of that to display. Thanks for all the info, I'll be watching this video a few more times!

[@Bbeavis]

Great, thanks for your interest, hope your build goes well.

[@omicron0mega]

Netscape? Hot damn, using that in its self is an impressive flex.

[@Bbeavis]

I can't let go of the 90's.

[@DM-qm5sc]

I had to google that on Alta Vista

[@hamzafarhan2515]

how does it read the car data like speed etc? is it connected to the obd2?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey Hamza, I'm running this dash in a track car with an aftermarket ECU, it uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software and they communicate using the ECU's proprietary serial protocol.

[@ateamm]

Might have to give this a go to update my current dash. I mounted mine in the center console and also removed the stock climate controls. Since it's a street car I have a tuner studio dash on it but also wrote a python app to control an Arduino that runs some relays and servos to have touch screen control of my climate control. Not fully implemented in the car yet but prototype is currently working.

[@Bbeavis]

Nice work mate, sounds like you have it all under control already, but maybe theres a few options offered here that you can get some benefit from.

[@loveplanes]

This is sooo cool.. thanks for sharing. If you can help me a bit will be more than appreciated. I’m planning to do a project that is going to collect a lot of data and store it. The data will be coming constantly from some devices connected by Wi-Fi. Data can be few Mb. Additionally, I’ll need some computer power to do some simple calculations and transmit some results over Bluetooth. All this needs to be powered using a regular cigarette socket found in a car. To be fair, I’m kind of stuck because not sure if a pi can be powered using the cigarette socket (12v

[@Bbeavis]

This video isn't the best place to ask a question about cigarette sockets, there are better resources online for that sort of information.

[@stevesloan6775]

Wild idea brought to light. Theres just not enough new automotive video tutorials on the web anymore. Sort of tempted to do this on my Audi mk1 TT centre console.

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you Steve. I think I tend to agree. My view is there are a lot of automotive vids on youtube, but they are more about doing crazy builds or making click bait, as opposed to more traditional info/how-to type videos.

[@rimurutard5150]

Hey , do you need standalone ECU for a NA/NB Miata?

[@Bbeavis]

In this case, yes. The good news is I am running this dashboard in my NB Mx-5 Miata - and I use a Megasquirt MS3 for which the software presented in this video is for. So you can pretty much exactly copy what I have here for any NA/NB and it'll work pretty great.

[@rimurutard5150]

@@Bbeavis thanks mate, I really appreciate it

[@richbonnau5807]

love the idea, simple enough, and looks useful for those of us needing a new dashboard where either a new one is too expensive or in my case nonexistent for my project. Thanks for the set-up idea!!

[@Bbeavis]

Glad you like it Rich!

[@hanyabi-habib8226]

This was LEGIT! I LOVE it when people have thought out and kind of practiced what they are going to say. I can NOT stand videos full of blah blah blah. Saved and Bookmarked for sure.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks mate, appreciate that a lot.

[@cyruslegg]

Awesome work! I created a very similar dash, the only difference is that I designed a safe-shut down circuit that utilizes the ignition signal and a little bit of hardware logic to automatically boot and shut down with the car keys. The initial prototype was just kluged together on a breadboard but I turned it into a PCB but have yet to get it made. Hopefully one day...

[@Bbeavis]

Nice work Cyrus, thanks for sharing your setup. For me, I have a hard battery kill switch, theres no ignition key in my track car, so that wasn't really going to work for my setup.

[@cyruslegg]

@@Bbeavis ah yes of course, because racecar. I love it! I’m definitely going to check out dietpi now though. Thanks again for the amazing content.

[@blaneandgame9]

Could you elaborate a little more on this? I'd like to be able to use this setup on mine as well.

[@cyruslegg]

@@blaneandgame9 automotive electronics (battery/alternator) are inherently noisy and contain a lot of transient voltage spikes. That said, sensitive electronics like RPi’s need protection from these voltage transients to avoid eventual death from the shock treatment they will certainly receive. Additionally, memory for computer systems like RPi’s can be corrupted when not safely shutdown (eg: yanking the power plug without pressing “shutdown” in the system menu). My circuitry provides three main features: 1. Protection against high voltage spikes, 2. Turn on with ignition on, 3. Safe shut down of the RPi when the ignition is turned off. Meaning the control circuitry has hardware logic working in conjunction with a Python script in the RPi to shutdown the RPi safely despite ignition telling the circuit to turn off… I hope that helps highlight for you the problems I encountered and the methods I took to address those problems.

[@hurst_luke]

​@@cyrusleggI've used OSH Park to have small batch PCBs made for my own car projects. Very affordable and fairly fast turnaround.

[@northernlightz_]

I have a Toyota 22RE that was converted to propane. Is there a way to get this to work without an "ECU"? Is there a way to connect the sensors to the Pi's GPIO pins?

[@Bbeavis]

This solution/software relies on the ECU connection. There are some products on the market that are more suitable to feeding sensors direct via inputs, check out OneGauge, theonegauge.com

[@therealtpain90]

THIS BRO! I was literally thinking of a way to make something like this yesterday lol. Hell yeah man thats sick, im 100% doing this!

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks mate, hope it goes well :-)

[@suyashwarke335]

Thanks for the detailed video , i was actually thinking of building one for my daily driver but it has a stock ecu so i don't know from where to pull the parameters from.

[@Bbeavis]

Hey Suyash, So sorry, that is something I glossed over, if you wanted to use OBD2, perhaps the OpenAuto software would work for you... or consider trying this software instead: OneGauge, theonegauge.com. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@suyashwarke335]

@@Bbeavis Thanks for the info this will surely help.

[@EricFritz-emf]

A nice bundled answer - I’ve had similar luck using ASL’s solutions with my AIM and standalone data loggers in RR cars. You’ve got a great build, thumbs up x100.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks very much Eric.

[@explodingrob]

This is great! Can you show us how you assembled the raspberry pi electrical in the last bit of the video and put links where to buy the parts or what they look like? Truly love this build!

[@Bbeavis]

The circuit is rather basic, as follows: crcit.net/c/76405c09cb11400ab9f697d3f3d343a0 Parts required: - Raspberry Pi 3+ / 4 / 5 - Toggle switch - 12v to 5v DC converter - Optional: 5v or 12v fan to suit Pi, to your preference - Various cables/wires/solder etc.

[@exsimedia73]

⁠@@BbeavisThank you for the diagram! I have one more question (I apologize as I’ve never worked with Raspberry Pis before). I am looking for the 12vto5v step down, but I’m unsure how to find one that will connect to the GPIO pins. Is that something I can buy premade or do I have to create those connections myself? If I do have to make them, is there a name for those types of connections?

[@Bbeavis]

@@exsimedia73 You will find some good examples of the 12v to 5v DC converter via this link: www.amazon.com/s?k=12V+to+5V+3A+Step-Down+Waterproof+Miniature+DC-DC+Converter+Power+Supply+Module&ref=nb_sb_noss Then, you will need to solder the wires, or use "dupont connector leads".

[@BLBlackDragon]

This is impressive. I've been thinking of doing something like this to supplement my vehicle's existing dash. Add gauges for things that currently only have dummy lights, or nothing (like the turbo).

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you Black Dragon.

[@pascaleow299]

😊😊😊😊

[@bigfwopl4873]

This is one of the coolest things I've seen all year

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks mate you are too kind.

[@captainjacksnap]

I’m researching making a pie based dash for my ski boat and this is great help to show how the basics work

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks, good luck with your build Jack!

[@witchcraftauto]

Of all the car videos i've watched over the years, this one is by far the one I've waited for! AMAZING

[@Bbeavis]

Wow, thanks very much, may I ask what did you find so valuable about it?

[@jims.3987]

@@Bbeavis He doesn't realize you need an aftermarket ecu to make it work yet. LOL You probably should have let everyone know in the beginning that you can't do this project with an OBDII stock ecu. Or at least these instructions won't help you with that project. I am sure there is a way to take a Pi and pickup the neccesary pids for the gauges from the OBDII it's just not in this video.

[@colossalbigfoot256]

I would definitely run this in my car. So glad you did. Now if we could just get that sequential.. 😂

[@Bbeavis]

Still on the wishlist :-)

[@asemotadesigns4294]

Big thanks! Just did this successfully. One quick tip is right click the etcher app on the desktop and run etcher as administrator first. I had to do it that way or it etcher would give an error trying to upload the OS from file. I’m on windows 10 btw

[@Bbeavis]

Glad it was useful! And good tip. :-)

[@carloslvm]

Amazing Raspberry Pi project. It's awesome, the amount of things you can do with that tiny board.👍

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@A.Musa76]

i was looking for something similar to this for CAN-Bus to read A/F, Turbo Boost Pressure and Oil Pressure. My other ideal is to get into the ECM and see if I can code it.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks for watching.

[@davidfuller9537]

This is awesome and has definitely encouraged me to try to build a pi dash. Although Ill be using an ecu masters standalone instead of the ms3 but I believe it should still work via their extension port

[@Bbeavis]

Great David, good luck I hope your build goes well.

[@oenvhandel4917]

did you get it to work with your ecu master?

[@pesosenjarmo]

Very nice instruction video! But one thing what i missed was the communication from the vehicle, is there some specific can database or how and where the rasp is taking the data out?

[@Bbeavis]

Hi pesosenjarmo, The interface between the Pi and the cars ECU is via USB, to the ECU's serial interface. The car runs a Megasquirt MS3 ECU, this uses it's own serial protocol over USB to communicated with the TunerStudio software on the Pi. Unfortunately in this case, TunerStudio will only work with a Megasquirt family of ECU. Hope that helps.

[@Gfunkbus76]

Very nicely done video! I've been making my own diy VW Digifiz inspired software for a dashboard in my classic pre-obd car. Good fun! Thanks for your perspective.

[@Bbeavis]

Sounds great! Thanks Gavin.

[@LunaTheCRX]

Hello Gavin, did you find any doc or info how to wire RPI to stock ECU? I'm currently thinking about how to make it in my 93 honda delsol. I can't find any sources how to do this without standalone ecu

[@ShahrezanSickander]

how you do it

[@grommyjohnny824]

I wonder if you can also run say your own headunit thru this system as well for more of a daily race car.

[@Bbeavis]

You certainly could, there are raspi based headunit type solutions out there, you'd need to find a way to control or switch between headunit and car dash, so perhaps a touchscreen would be a good choice.

[@jmac636]

Clearly no one reads comments before posting a comment…ugghh. Sorry you have to keep answering the same question over and over again. “NO IT DOESNT WORK ON YOUR MAMAS STOCK PCM COOTER MOBILE!!”😂

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks mate! I am just glad lots of people are discovering these solutions are out there, yes a lot of people ask the same thing, but its an opportunity to give them more info in a new video for the different people and their different needs.

[@RotorKartel]

@@Bbeavis is it possible to us the gpio pins to run a VSS to tuner studio? I don't have a spare io on my microsquirt and want to get my car road legal with this set up. TIA

[@stevenoe6395]

Bad ass I had a similar idea years ago but never got ahold of a mega squirt back when gen 2 came out and they were a really small company selling there own stuff to people. Killer video. When things start going better I'm going to try to do a build with this in mind makes all the gues work taken out lol thank you so much for the video!!!!!!!!

[@MRC_Garage]

I've wanted to do this for years but was unclear on a few things. You cleared up so much, thank you for a great video!

[@Bbeavis]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SammyRavage]

This is awesome. I'm goofing off with getting a speeduino ready for a car and saw this and was like this is definitely an alternative from using Dash MS on a tablet.

[@Bbeavis]

Awesome, good luck! I found the android ShadowDash app to be a little less usable than the Pi based solution.

[@Disrupter37111]

Has anyone done this with a Gen III LS? Im using a tuned Stock ECU for my swap and im not too sure where i could start for my application. Any info is greatly appreciated as I'm exploring all my options for guages.

[@Bbeavis]

If your Stock LS ECU supports OBDII, you can use software called OpenAuto for that. Try this link for details: bluewavestudio.io/shop/openauto-pro-car-head-unit-solution/

[@Disrupter37111]

@Bbeavis Awesome, I will definitely check that out and hopefully I can get this done. Will be my first time messing with anything of this nature so it'll be fun. Thank you for the info!

[@bethk1521]

I run a Haltech on my MX5 and want to try this hopefully i can figure out a way to run the Haltech application instead! Ty for the tips!!

[@Bbeavis]

Good luck! Since you have a different aftermarket ECU, perhaps either the OpenAuto software, or OneGauge theonegauge.com, may work for you. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@woznaldo]

I looked at Dash options and saw several solutions but, needed something I could make a custom dash with. In particular I wanted something like retro Smiths instruments and options were limited. I looked at Pi Dash but was uncertain on what it could and couldn’t do. Noting how powerful a little Pi is, I considered starting from scratch but, that’s a little beyond me. Your solution looks good but I’d want to use it with a non-MS ECU via CAN. I’ll look into you solution a little deeper. Nice clear presentation by the way!

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks woznaldo, there is some CAN based dash software out there for the Pi, that may work for your needs.... You'll need to get a little inventive.

[@greggrant6976]

Look brilliant, how do u connect to ecu. I’m guessing needs to be a 3rd part ecu

[@Bbeavis]

The interface between the Pi and the cars ECU is via USB, to the ECU's serial interface. The car runs a Megasquirt MS3 ECU, this uses it's own serial protocol over USB to communicated with the TunerStudio software on the Pi. TunerStudio will only work with a Megasquirt family of ECU. If you want to run an OEM ECU, perhaps using OBD2 for comms, then maybe the OpenAuto software would work.

[@S3by200]

Hey man, can this work with a haltech ecu by any chance?

[@Bbeavis]

This software is specifically for the Megasquirt family of ECU's, I'm looking into another software option to make a similar dash setup for a broader range of ECU's.

[@S3by200]

@@Bbeavis That’s awesome man, would love to help, I own a Haltech Elite 1500 if you need any testing done, currently a third year student in mechanical engineering so that might help as well

[@199854a]

this is pretty badass and might end up making one, would wire mine to ignition for power on and off. thanks for the starting point

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks. There's some clever add-on circuits people have made to auto power on/off their pi with car power if you want a more automated power solution.

[@Omniwoof]

I love how the clock on the dash is outputting something (gforces?) as well. Nice project mate.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks :-) Assuming you mean the blue digital gauge, which is AFR.

[@llanzafa]

Great video, where did you get the led steering wheel rev gauge from

[@Bbeavis]

I made it. See here: DIY LED Sequential Shift Light: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpPclYibn999kJo

[@67comet]

This' very good. I had no idea there were guys out there taking raspberry pi / car combo setups seriously .. I've been using an Android headhunt to get all my data and it's been "not so good". RPM lags behind actual RPM, temps are okay, but vacuum pressures are sketchy, and voltages are a little hit or miss.. Bookmarked all the way :). Thanks much, I've got my winter project defined now :).

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you. I initially ran an Android tablet and found the feature-set and responsiveness to be inferior to this solution.... but maybe with a more modern tablet, and the newer Apps on the market it would be worth a revisit now.

[@franciscocuerno1710]

woooooow amazing configuration but for example if i want mount in a normal car works connected with ODB2 adapter?

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks very much Francisco. In this case I am using the TunerStudio software which is specific to the Megsquirt ECUs. My car runs an 'MS3' which connects to the Pi via USB cable. I'm sure there is some OBD based dash software out there for the Pi, that may work for your needs.... You'll need to get a little inventive and look into what options are out there.

[@NemuiJin]

Is there a way to have a preloaded animation run on screen while it boots in the background? It wouldn't shorten the boot time but would make for a cleaner look

[@Bbeavis]

True, some neat 'car-logo' boot-screen would be cool.

[@NemuiJin]

@@Bbeavis I went down a rabbit hole last night and found that people have done it. Also found some people claiming ~5 second boot times when booting from SSD instead of micro-SD. Seems like that would make it almost practical for a street car.

[@jex8046]

Is it possible to wire the pi/screen assembly to a relay to turn on with ignition? Also can it be programmed to do a safe shut down after the ignition is shut off? Wouldn't require a separate battery?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey J, yes definitely. You could wire the pi to auto power up with the ignition, and then trigger it to safely power off when the keys are switch off. You'd need a short term power source to keep the pi alive just long enough to shut it down, perhaps with some capacitors rather than a battery.

[@brianlourds]

Amazing tutorial, I wonder if it is possible to design the aesthetics of it? Like your own custom layouts/animations.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks. I generally use photoshop or similar type image editing tools for creating my dash layouts.

[@brianlourds]

Ok it’s good to know I can design it with photoshop!

[@DirtyGarageTx]

Do you have a video on how u connected everything from the power supply ,fan ,power down the inverter etc?

[@Bbeavis]

Hi DG, what in particular did you want clarification on that wasn't already covered in the final part of this video? I don't have another video as yet, was there something about the hardware side of things that you specifically wanted more detail or description about? I can definitely get more detail for you.

[@DirtyGarageTx]

@@Bbeavis good morning this for the reply free looking at the video again I believe I understand the power supplier u have setup ,I do however would like to know how would I run my ecu system as I’ll be running kpro for my Integra with boost gear

[@Bbeavis]

@@DirtyGarageTx The solution I have shared does depend on using the Megasquirt family of ECU, so you'd need to see if there is a software/hardware solution that can communicate with Honda computer. This is not something I have experience with sorry.

[@The100R]

thank you very much for this video, i was wondring how you connected the pi to the car to read all the data. is it through obd can interface and any adapter is required? thanks again

[@Bbeavis]

Hey 3wasAl I'm running this dash in a track car, that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. If you run a Megasquirt family of ECU in your car, then you can apply the same software process as I have detailed in the video. If you run another ECU, or the factory computer, then you'll need to find some appropriate software for your car. Thanks very much for your question.

[@HeliWrk]

Great video! I originally fitted my PiDash using a Mausberry Circuits 5v converter/switch. The Mausberry converter eventually failed and I decided to wire mine up like yours, constant 12v to switch, to converter. It's nice to be able to leave it on and make changes or not shut down the Pi if you only need to turn the engine off for a few minutes. However....have you experienced any involuntary shut downs of the Pi on engine restarts? If my engine doesn't start immediately I think the voltage drops just enough to kill the Pi. Which requires a full reboot cycling the switch. It'd be nice to add a small battery pack just to keep the voltage high enough.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks very much for sharing. Yes your issue is something I have also noted. Voltage drop due to cranking pulls juice away from the Pi. My solution was to add some capacitors to keep the Pi powered just long enough to mitigate a drop due to cranking, so far it seems ok, but I am still testing it.

[@HeliWrk]

@@Bbeavis Good idea! What kind of capacitor setup are you using? Something on the 5v side?

[@Bbeavis]

@@HeliWrk 3x 2.7volt 10uF Super Capacitors, on the 5v side with a diode so they aren't feeding back to the car.

[@HeliWrk]

@@Bbeavis Cool! I'll look into that as well! Thanks! While researching I saw a post about an idea of using a lithium battery that'd take over at less than 10volts similar to the capacitors and you'd get probably a year or two of starts before needing to be replaced.

[@Bob.Jenkins]

That's one sweet dashboard - I tried building a similar dashboard for my Volvo XC90 but the bloody cars electronics were too sensitive... the slightest unexpected power draw from a line pulled up error message after error message.

[@Bbeavis]

Wow, interesting to hear, good on you for trying at the very least! More modern cars are definitely getting complex.

[@murmisrs5092]

Thank you for sharing! How it would be connected to ODB2 or CAN bus to interchange data?

[@Bbeavis]

I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software.

[@tht1guyfromtht1place70]

Great video! I'm trying to use this type of system in my v6 Camaro but I'm also adding some "exhaust acoustics" with the rpm readings. I'm curious if you have ever heard these active exhausts for the Mach E mustang or Tesla's with acoustic exhaust, systems similar to the BMW's design with these small speakers in a metal bubble, and on open pipe the size of a muffler tip, literally playing exhaust sounds of v8. Any thought please comment

[@Bbeavis]

I have that in my daily driver. I usually turn it off, I like a quiet car :-P

[@TheeMustangBro]

I’m super excited to try this! I’m experimenting with screens and found a thinner 12 inch screen I will try to use and emulate an oem type design with customizable flare. How do I make my own gauges and such? Is it literally as simple as just using the correct file type? I’ve never tried, but I’m not technologically stupid either, as I’ve done tons of pi research for arcade cabinets too and other audio, computer, and camera maintenance. Any tips would be helpful, I’m usually just a plug and play type guy, but I’m eager to learn

[@Bbeavis]

All my images/gauges are created using a standard photo editing application - if you don't have photoshop, photopea or Gimp are great free alternatives. Then, they may be imported into TunerStudio as gauge backgrounds. If you are normally a plug-n-play type person, this is perhaps the complete opposite of that - so you will need to be ready to tinker, and get your feet wet with this project.

[@masonvalentine1204]

For some reason, my raspberry pi wont even load anything. followed the instructions step by step and got nothing on my touchscreen. Only thing i could think of is that my SD card is a San disk image smart card... going to try again when i get a new one. Any other suggestions would be fantastic

[@Bbeavis]

I did have issues getting a video output initially, commenting out the HDMI settings at the bottom of the config.txt fixed that for me. You could try hdmi_force_mode=1, or change dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d or dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d in the /boot/config.txt

[@ErikB750]

Great video !! But did I miss the part where you link to any OBD reader or GPS/gyro signal ?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey Erik, So sorry, that is something I glossed over forgetting that not everyone viewing would have the context that this is for a Megasquirt ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. Note that the TunerStudio software is specific to the Megsquirt ECUs which is what my car runs. If you wanted to use OBD2 or if you have a different aftermarket ECU, I have another video coming soon on how to build a similar dash solution in that use case. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@milberto2729]

Great video, one question, how do you connect all the sensors to the Rpi?

[@Bbeavis]

So sorry, that is something I glossed over forgetting that not everyone viewing would have the context that this is for a Megasquirt ECU. I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. Note that the TunerStudio software is specific to the Megsquirt ECUs which is what my car runs. If you wanted to use OBD2 or if you have a different aftermarket ECU, I have another video coming soon on how to build a similar dash solution in that use case. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@dejantunjic6146]

You are a legend man great tutorial and I hope to see many more like this in the future its time for tech guys into cars to start more DIY videos!

[@Bbeavis]

I appreciate that!

[@joysticktabby4520]

This goes hard as nails bro can't wait to put this in my car whenever i buy a car

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks very much.

[@TejashviSingh-sq1cx]

my wired keybord is not working with Diet Pi dash Image the problem is even listed on their website soo can you plzz provide the older 1.5.3 image file to me

[@synjones520]

I found it it’s on their site

[@Bbeavis]

1.5.3 image is on their (Bartonek Drag Racing) website.

[@synjones520]

But they keyboard n mouse is still not working

[@synjones520]

@@Bbeavis even with that it still doesn’t allow for keyboard n mouse

[@francisdd4274]

good job , but its for what kind of interface/protocol , ELM327 work with or need a standalone ecu ?

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks It is only for standalone ECUs that use TunerStudio software

[@ghoulishfrog8579]

Love it, can’t wait to create some scripts to make it like a newer car, preferably to make it only turn on when receiving power on ignition and shutting down after turnt the key over

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you. Yes you can definitly make the boot and and sleep/shutdown process more streamlined if you wanted to.

[@damarlo1]

Ngl i would 100% buy this setup from ya. Im terrible with tiny wires. So i can see me messing this up so quickly if i were to do this on my own

[@Bbeavis]

It's all achievable for pretty much anyone, the video takes you through it all... you can do it!

[@damarlo1]

@Bbeavis def gonna be trying my hand at it soon 😁

[@R53_trackaddict]

That's absolutely brilliant. Would it be possible to add external sensors to it like an oil temp sensor? My car doesn't have an oil temp sensor as standard. Would I be able to program that sensor into the program I stead of it reading it from the ECU? Also an amazing video. Very detailed and easy to follow.

[@Bbeavis]

Thanks Craig. For me I wired additional sensors, such as the oil temp/pressure into my ECU. This was the best way for me to easily get the data displayed on the dashboard.

[@INVINET]

Very Nice Video, I like to put this in a Daily Driver car. the only thing im Missing in this video is how the Pi gets all of the informations? How is it connected to the Engine Values?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey, So sorry, that is something I glossed over forgetting that not everyone viewing would have the context that this is for a Megasquirt ECU. I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. Note that the TunerStudio software is specific to the Megsquirt ECUs which is what my car runs. If you wanted to use OBD2, perhaps the OpenAuto software would work for you... or if you have a different aftermarket ECU, or even a carby car, consider trying this software instead: OneGauge, theonegauge.com. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@JaysMan19]

I want to make one to replace my fuel/temp gauge on my 1992 honda prelude... but I can't find a screen that will fit. also is there a way that I can have it turn on and off without me making it? and lastley is there a way I can make it look like the OEM fuel/temp gauge if I can find a screen that size

[@Bbeavis]

Yes, you can create (or buy) circuits that trigger the Pi to shutdown when you turn off the car via the key.

[@trevorseals6588]

I’ve watched the whole video but what interfaces the dash to the vehicles sensors or ECM? every ecm brand does things differently and I was hoping to learn how that was interfaced to the pi

[@Bbeavis]

I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software.

[@tarojoy7537]

Great job mate. Looking to get a digital dash for a coach bus motorhome. Would be keen to get your thoughts/help

[@zahaidrahman2052]

How can you get custom inputs from the vehicle? Like a speedo and temp sensor and so on if u don't have an obd port?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey, I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. If you don't have OBD, and don't have an aftermarket ECU, it would be trickier, but you could achieve it with some additional custom electronics, not something I can help with unfortunately. Hope that helps though!

[@mkivst180]

would be good if u have a video about how to integrate this dash with other ecu like link g4 etc etc

[@Bbeavis]

My car uses a Megasquirt ECU, I dont have experience with other ECUs sorry. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU and the TunerStudio software is specific to the Megsquirt ECU Perhaps the OpenAuto software or OneGauge, theonegauge.com would work for you...

[@AlexHernandez-yi2bj]

Could this be set up as an app option instead of the only thing the pi does? So could use when at the track then switch to music etc after For instance if I am also using pi to run stereo other things in vehicle.

[@Bbeavis]

Absolutely. There are alternative software options, such as OpenAuto, that offer 'headunit' type functionality.

[@matthewward627]

I would like to build a supplemental instrument cluster,for my daily driver. Can you recommend a wireless obd2 dongle.

[@Bbeavis]

I'm not sure about that sorry, i dont use any wireless obd2 dongles.

[@BlessedLifeMI]

This is awesome. Can it display all fault codes displayed by ecm? Wondering if I can do this on my 04 gallardo to facelift the dash

[@Bbeavis]

In my case, yes I can make the display say anything I want, based on whatever the ECU can see.

[@street_bull03]

Me and some friends are looking to build a custom “go kart” type thing using a gsxr bike motor and ecu would I be able to set this up for it? The bigger digital dash would look so good for it

[@Bbeavis]

The software in this video doesn't really work exactly for a bike. If you are tech savvy I sure you can find a way :-)

[@jmac636]

You could run the engine with a microsquirt and then this would be an option.

[@Nikuk81]

Thank you for the thorough walk through! Big question: Do you have any idea about feeding CAN data into the Pi4 and then getting it into the PiDash software? I'm using a different standalone and would like to get its CAN info into an aux dash as well as some of the chassis CAN message.

[@Bbeavis]

As far as I am aware, the TunerStudio software presented here does not support CAN direct via the Pi. Instead perhaps either the OpenAuto software, or OneGauge theonegauge.com, may work for you.

[@DrivenBy_Seb]

amazing, just how you connect to the stock ecu and than have from OBD to this dash??

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you. If you wanted to use OBD2 or if you have a different aftermarket ECU, perhaps either the OpenAuto software, or OneGauge theonegauge.com, may work for you. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@tyabrahamse2461]

This is really cool. I want to build this for my Overlander. I'm going to watch more of your videos because I want to find out how you connecting the pi to the can lines. Thanks so much!

[@Bbeavis]

Have fun!

[@PedroLeBoursicoteur]

Thank you for your tutorial, is it compatible with old Toyota vehicles, as my English is not perfect I don't understand how you retrieve the vehicle data?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey sorry, this is for a Megasquirt ECU, so not going to work for you if your Toyota still uses the original computer, or is carby'd.

[@romeo032982]

Sorry I just came across this video and was wondering how do you hook up all the engine harness or dash harness to this ? Is it all wireless or dose Thia use an aftermarket market ecu and harness for what ever project it’s being used on ? I’m primarily in the Honda street scene so I’m curious what it would take to put together something like this let’s say for a 1990 Honda civic four door ?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey Uzumaki I'm running this dash in a track car, that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. If you run a Megasquirt family of ECU in your car, then you can apply the same software process as I have detailed in the video. If you run another ECU, or the factory computer, then you'll need to find some appropriate software for your car. Thanks for watching.

[@saleemmurudker9639]

Do you have or know of a "bare bones basic" version, I'm talking about a simple as possible version that only displays lap times? Just as minimal as possible, something like a GPS lap timer but with a giant display I could mount in my car?

[@Bbeavis]

For just lap timer, there are other specific solutions. Even mobile phone apps. And they would work better in this case.

[@dAg-1-2-3]

If I wanted to use this just for sensors like boost oil pressure etc would this still be a good option using pressure sensors and this?

[@Bbeavis]

I have boost, oil, water etc sensors going into mine... its perfect for it.

[@daviddetweiler7658]

The Raspberry pi5 looks like it would immensely speed up the boot up procedure. I am gonna use this guide with the pi5 since boot times are much lower now!

[@Bbeavis]

I have recently purchased a Pi5 myself, hope to find time to update and test it out... will be great to see how it compares in performance.

[@gabribotha2403]

Ive been wanting and trying to build a rpi dash for my golf for years now - Its a lot of work to make it look nice - I need materials and a 3D printer and etc. and etc.

[@Bbeavis]

If you are a tinkerer, and hobbyist who likes to DIY, then owning a 3D printer can be really valuable, and they are surprisingly cheap these days - especially if you find a used one.

[@maikinmoves]

Thats pretty. Awesome job, now i just have to figure out how to port and mount this concept to my Harley.

[@Bbeavis]

Hah Harley isn't a use case I had envisioned but no reason why you cant give it a go!

[@MorrWorm8]

Wonder if I could link this to my gaming PC & create a gaming cluster for the race car I’m racing online?

[@Bbeavis]

There are some good dash software options out there already, such as "SIM Dashboard" with an Android app to show the data. That's what I use.

[@andreasdekrout5209]

looking awsome. just getting into cars myself. Just one comment: maybe keep the power input for the fan away from the pi. just using it for signals makes them live longer ;)

[@Bbeavis]

Cool idea, thanks for the advice, I'll re-wire it direct from the cars power source.

[@ROSQUILLA02]

awesome video cant wait to use my old Pi as a cluster. just one question what is used to transfer the data from the car to the screen? any type of OBD to USB connector?

[@Bbeavis]

Hey so sorry, that is something I glossed over forgetting that not everyone viewing would have the context that this is for a Megasquirt ECU. I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software. Hope that helps, thanks very much for watching.

[@R55LSD]

Hi this is exactly what I’m looking for, do you have any info on how you connected it all to the ecu and got required signals?

[@Bbeavis]

Thank you. I'm running this dash in a track car that uses a Megasquirt MS3 ECU. So all my sensors, speed, temps etc go direct to the ECU. Then the ECU has a USB connection direct to the Pi to feed the data for the dash software.

[@daviddaigle7327]

Thanks for the video. I do have a question So I would line to do this for a race car also Old manual car what sensors can I use 3pin 5v ? And what other items would I need to make this work thansk

[@Bbeavis]

All the sensors I have feed into the ECU for datalogging and reporting/checking. My ECU has a custom board to accept various analogue inputs. This video covers a dashboard display to show the data from the ECU. If your race car runs an aftermarket EFI based ECU, then you may be able to do something similar. If you're running a carby.... then it's potentially a whole new project in itself.

[@kidkhaos6427]

I'm planning to microsquirt my ultralight and this would be sick if I can figure out how to convert the speed signal to airspeed. Cool video, thanks!

[@Bbeavis]

Cool idea :-D