This DIY Digital Dash Will Completely Change Your Cars Dashboard

Want to BUILD one YOURSELF? Get a 3D Printer here 👉 amzn.to/4f1do1p
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00:00 Intro 3D Printed e30 Cluster
02:34 Downloading Raspberry Pi Digital Dashboard Software
04:44 How to Stylize Tuner Studio TSDash
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[@ianholmen888]

Why not make it with the hole for the screen already designed in the print?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@ianholmen888 for sure wanted to, but when I cut the hole in the 3D model it significantly increased the print time due to all the extra tree supports. Need to figure out the best layout. Still working through that part…

[@madmike5144]

This would be cool, but i would want bigger screen and looks like that oem e30 cluster is, but add some extra gauges at the backround

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Maybe could go with 10inch or two circular digital cluster gauges to the left and right 👍👍👍

[@Lawrence-uw6cs]

This looks pretty cool its takes a 90's styling and brings it right into the 80's

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Lawrence-uw6cs thanks, we tried to go with a mix of old/new. Can’t wait to get her on the road 🙌

[@Lawrence-uw6cs]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild I say 80's just because it reminds me of some of the digital displays of that era, less the colours.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Lawrence-uw6cs thx, not sure if the color pallet is 80’s 🤔

[@Lawrence-uw6cs]

@@Itsallaboutthebuildyou could have any colour screen in the 80's as long as green or orange! The styling of the incremental ramp instead of dials is more the 80's look i think, either way it's unique! Holden vk Calais or the Fairmont of that time from memory had similar so did Subaru, I'm doing similar for an 80's model but the easy way with a haltech uc10 to modernise it and have a tachometer redline that's matched to the engine!

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Lawrence-uw6cs oh nice, does the haltech have complete customization display options too?

[@kostaspolychronopoulos3653]

Hey so quick question. I'm thinking about doing something like this for my motorcycle or even a celica gts(1991 year). Can I use all this on a carburetted vehicle without any sort of ecu(only cdi) or on a car without obd2 with the stock ecu?(Stumbled upon this video and subbed you guys do some very interesting stuff)

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Much appreciated, so for non OBDII or just carb with some sensors you’ll need to add something like an audriuno that has analog to digital conversion. It gets a little more complex which is why we are going to go with speedunio standalone ECU connected to the Raspberry pi. Best of luck 👍👍👍

[@wheelsandstuff]

this is brilliant, i was thinking of doing a digital dash on a 2005 VW Passat, i have bought a broken cluster to use for dimensions so we can draft it up on CAD - did you do a fuel guage? im thinking of using up the whole space to add things like a digital fuel guage etc also - great job! - subbed!

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Thanks for the sub 👍. For fuel gauge you could add a circular gauge in TSDash as well. I should have covered that. Are you thinking of going with standalone circular gauges to the left and right of the LCD screen???

[@DJTJ13]

@wheelsandstuff if you do this please let me know because I would like to do my Passat also. 2005 tdi

[@wheelsandstuff]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild i was considering that, i also found some sharp form lcd's but not sure if they still produce those, i was thinking maybe using the form lcd to cut the shape of the cluster - just depends on availability vs cost i guess

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@wheelsandstuff you could cut more out of the cluster, but I think it would need to have higher infill for the 3D print. To get this one done quicker it was like 8% infill which didn’t work well when you start to cut into it 👍

[@TheMrbumpersticker]

Excellent video!! Ive always wanted to do this to my e30s. What write up did you follow? Do you need to be on standalone ECU?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Thanks much 👍 This e30 project is getting out of hand 🤣. Hope yours is in better shape. So we plan to go with a Speeduino standalone ECU and that will work with TSDash. You’ll have to replace the Jetronic or build some custom ADC to read the sensors which I couldn’t find any info on. I’ve written up on my findings here 👉 www.allaboutthebuild.com/blog/2023/12/can-you-tune-a-bmw-e30 Have Fun 🙌🙌🙌

[@ForgeSpace]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild does the speeduino send the signal over CANbus or is it using a different protocol ?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@ForgeSpace it uses usb or secondary serial interface. However Speeduino looks to also support canbus 👉 wiki.speeduino.com/en/reference/Interface_Protocol

[@brenonm10]

I want this on my 06 Arctic Cat Side by Side. However I have no OBD port. Any recommendations on wiring this in? Also any recommendations on what all I need raspberry pi wise?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

We have pre-obd ECU so we are going with standalone speeduino ECU. That ECU can then be hooked up to raspberry pi for display output. If you want to keep your stock ECU, you may have to look at other board such as audruino as it will have analog-to-digital converters. That will be needed to take existing analog signal and convert to digital in order to display. It gets a bit complex which is why we plan to change our ECU. Plus a different ecu will allow us to do more tuning for things like turbo in future 👍

[@ourclock9273]

does it work for an old car with obd1 I mean can I use digital inputs of raspberry as I want?. I got an old car that all signals of the dashboard are analog and 12v bulbs I know i can lower 12v to 5v to be connected to raspberry pi imputs but I wonder if I can use Tuner Studio TSDash to do that ?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

You’ll need an audrunio with some analog inputs. The raspberry pi doesn’t have the right inputs 😔😔😔

[@tylermiddaugh1515]

so is the power routed from your ignition? does it have a battery or anything for safe shut down or that not an issue? also, im assuming you're routing an obd2 cable or Bluetooth for data? im wanting to make a small secondary screen for my truck to display extra information on my dash. your set up seems the easiest so far.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

We are replacing the non OBD ECU with a standalone ECU, Speedunio unit. The raspberry pi will connect to that via USB. Plan to power up via ignition start. Also, there's small UPS battery daughter boards you can get for Raspberry pi which can auto power off the unit gracefully when main power from USB is shut off. Thinking of going that route to make things automatic with safe power shutdown.What type of truck do you have?

[@tylermiddaugh1515]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild 2005 4runner. i broke my AC units display lcd while doing a led swap so it gave me the idea to use the empty screen slot for a custom readout

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@tylermiddaugh1515 oh I see. If you have OBDII, you could use openautopro or real dash on your raspberry pi to get additional info from your ECU.

[@RotaruCosminLeonard]

my dude 3d printed the dash, then sawcut the size of the screen into it. the dials are not even linked to the car data

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

It’s all work in progress. Just finished making a bezel, but I think I’ll modify the 3D print to have the hole premade.

[@dev1360]

Lol yea, it's really really dogshit work quality.

[@dragospatru432]

Hello, how do you get the data from the car, like speed rpm and others, is it via OBD?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

We are using speedunio. If you have OBDII you can load open auto pro or real dash on the Raspberry pi

[@MannyRodriguez555]

Have you figured out one with the hole already cut out for the screen ?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

So I created a nice clean 3D printed bezel for this one. I’m trying to cut out the screen in the original 3D print, but the supports are crazy. The print will take tons of extra hours 😥😥😥 Still trying to figure it out 😁😁😁

[@ssskids123]

Great build! Question for you if you know: how resistant to heat are these components? I live in Texas, and inside the car. It can get very very very hot. :-)

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Thanks much. We printed this with PLA, which isn’t the greatest for hot sun but this was more of a prototype. We’ll print the next one with a cut out already in ABS filament. ABS filament is way better for parts that will be in the sun. ABS is good up to like 180F degrees 👍

[@ssskids123]

Thank you! Do you happen to know if the electronics are also heat resistant? Worried mainly about the screen, but that may be based on older screens.@@Itsallaboutthebuild

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@ssskids123 looks like most of the newer screens are the same make as what car radio vendors use. In that case they should hold up to the same spec car radio touch screens can withstand 👍

[@ShanaginsTactical]

Hey I know this videos old, how do you get it to communicate with the Pi? Can you use an OBDII, to USB and plug it in to the Pi?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

If you have OBDII check out openautopro loaded on the raspberry pi instead. Then you can go OBDII via Bluetooth to raspberry pi with a Bluetooth dongle 👍

[@gyrfalcon-6]

I just bought an e30 it was a desert find and boy does it need alot of wireing fixes

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Nice, our e30 had tons of rust which looked like it worked its way from the inside from the sun roof. The passenger floor was really bad and the passenger trunk section had to be cut completely out. This build is getting a little crazy, but there’s no going back now 😁

[@octaviofranciscosalcidoroc9226]

Hi!, what could I do if my car is iold (1977) and do not have ecu or obd2?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@octaviofranciscosalcidoroc9226 great question. Research using a audrunio and sensors to read different stuff like oil pressure, engine temp. Etc… An audriuno can read analog signals and convert it into dc which can be sent to Radpberry pi. Other folks may have some stuff out there you could use 👍

[@Rousan_e30]

Nice work, what about the fuel level gauge ?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Thanks, oops did we forget that one…

[@LoadedClipse1]

what hardware is used to connect to the car obd2 port to the pi

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Our 1984 e30 doesn’t have obd2 so we are going with a Speeduino standalone ECU, BUT if you have OBD2, you can use openautopro software instead of TSdash loaded on the Raspberry PI and use a Bluetooth obd2 scanner to connect to the Raspberry pi 👍

[@gorkagonzalez1014]

Hello, first of all, congratulations for the great work. But once I saw the video I decided to buy it and install it, and I don't know if it's just me but it takes me a long time to start and it doesn't move as fluid as yours. Another question, how do you turn off the screen from the phone? Greetings and thank you!!

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

You can connect to TSDash build on the raspberry pi from your phone via the WiFi connection. By default the TSdash build has WiFi enabled. Connect to the WiFi and open your browser to connect to the web version of TSdash. On that page you will find the shutdown option. Not sure why yours may be a bit laggy. Are you running a raspberry pi 4 or higher?

[@gorkagonzalez1014]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild Thank you very much, I didn't know the web version of the phone. I have Rpi 4 and I installed the same image as yours downloaded from the website, I have also paid for the tsdash license. I will try another micro SD card as the speed of this one may be the problem. This week I will try if I have any more questions I will tell you but thank you very much!!

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@gorkagonzalez1014 oh nice. We just used the free version. Good point on the SD card speed, forgot about that. We are using a sandisk extreme plus v30. 👍

[@gorkagonzalez1014]

Hello, after checking the card and changing it to a 32GB SanDisk Ultra, it now runs really fast!! about 16 sec it's working tsdah wonderfully! Now I'm going to configure some outputs to put some relays and activate them! thank you so much

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@gorkagonzalez1014 sweet!!! Let us know how doing the relays turns out. Would love more details 🙌🙌🙌

[@eddib17]

Really curious why you didn't cut the hole for the screen into the file before you printed it?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@eddib17 great question, first was a prototype. Would have added much longer print time with hole due to additional tree supports to hold the large piece together while printing 🙌

[@antoniomarquez498]

​@@Itsallaboutthebuild Adding the screw mounts to the design wouldn't make the trick?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@antoniomarquez498 You could add screw mounts too. Adding the cut out surprisingly would have taken more time due to all the different 3d supports needed to hold the part together which is why we initially did it this way. Need to play around with 3d file some more 🙌

[@fitzyBarnett]

How much would you charge me to make one exactly like that for me am in Jamaica getting it here isn't a problem but I can't do all you just did.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

We are still working on the kinks like the bezel cut out, so its not exactly ready for production yet. What year is your e30???

[@fitzyBarnett]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild it's not e30 I have a 2001 e46.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@fitzyBarnett Oh, the bezels are different than the e30. Are you running custom ECU?

[@diesvtfocus]

hello do you think this will work on 1987 Daytona Shelby Z T-Top?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

The screen and Raspberry Pi will work in pretty much anything. You just need to see if someone has a nice interface that can go from a 3rd party ECU to the raspberry pi. If not you'll have to get a different ECU like we did. We went with speeduino ECU which can interface into the raspberry pi. What type of ECU do you have???

[@diesvtfocus]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild Ok, Thank you Understood.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@diesvtfocus no prob. Any time 👍

[@jenstori5746]

You have any 3D printed clusters laying around??

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Unfortunately I don’t. What’s your car???

[@jenstori5746]

E30 1992

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@jenstori5746 92, will have to check on what the cluster differences may be from 84 to 92 👍

[@antontri0483]

How tO Connect wire Harness Raspberry pi monitor tO Ecu

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Couple of different options. Go with Megasquirt ECU, Speeduino, or micrus standalone ECU. If you have OBDII, then you can keep raspberry pi and go with something like openautopro instead of TSdash 👍

[@jenstori5746]

I’m running fuel tech 550

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Nice!!!

[@Trazer350]

thats cool does it work on E46 too ?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Trazer350 yes it can work with e46, much easier too, because e46 has OBDII you can interface the Raspberry Pi into OBDII much easier. You’ll just need different software like openautopro or realdash. More details here 👉 www.allaboutthebuild.com/blog/2024/1/40-year-old-bmw-gets-a-digital-dash

[@Trazer350]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild does the dash from the 3d printer fit into the e46

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Trazer350 Sorry e30 won't fit into e46. Its different size so you'd need something like this 👉www.enjukuracing.com/products/hard-motorsport-gauge-cluster-delete-panel-bmw-e46.html

[@ivanperac5843]

this looks similar like my old opel kadett gsi dash...

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@ivanperac5843 really? We were going for a retro throwback type of vibe 😎

[@jenstori5746]

If you want send one I’ll see if it fits then when can take it from there

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Still trying to figure out the cut out for the screen. You using 7inch screen size???

[@navjotsingh2457]

cool

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@navjotsingh2457 thx, fun project for sure!!!

[@cooluser23]

Get a bigger screen that fills thr space better

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@cooluser23 was challenging because the bigger the screen it would start hitting the corners of the overall dash

[@e36mjay]

Do you have to use a stand-alone with this setup?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Standalone ECU yes. We are using Speediuno. But if you have OBD2, you can load different software on the Raspberry Pi like openautopro or real dash. We wrote an article on the options 👉 www.allaboutthebuild.com/blog/2024/1/40-year-old-bmw-gets-a-digital-dash

[@e36mjay]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild okay thansk for the reply I have an obd1

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@e36mjay ah, ok. I was trying to figure out how to get signals from older than OBDII and it would take having to use something like an Audriuno as it has analog inputs along with figuring out the right voltages to convert that into a proper output display. So we decided to find something premade along with full custom EFi mgmt. instead 👍

[@e36mjay]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild Dang that’s smart, it can be possible with the Obd1 if you use the same concept as a scan tool A mechanic here scanned my car the first time and it showed me almost ever value done to the maf voltage so I’m guess something like that can be possible in the future Good work all the way🤙🏽

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@e36mjay you could maybe use an OBDI app with an OBDI scanner and display it on a screen or make a mini iPad dash screen. That would be sick 🙌🙌🙌

[@beanseater4205]

Can i have old clusterino

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

How much???

[@beanseater4205]

@@Itsallaboutthebuildfree i connect to computer gaming :D

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@beanseater4205 oh, sorry gotta have that 💵💵💵 😁

[@aaronelder5080]

I assume your blinkers and all other lights will still need to run off std cluster

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Great question, didn’t get that far yet. Was hoping that stuff ran separately from the cluster

[@frankgbacoa87]

Its an e30, as most BMWs they dont come with blinkers 😂😂

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@frankgbacoa87 they were over engineered, it’s probably a hidden feature 😄😄😄

[@eikodunn]

👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Thanks, we had lots of fun putting this together 👍

[@EvilJ069]

Not comic sans? lol

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@EvilJ069 YES 🤣🤣🤣

[@jenstori5746]

E30 92

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Do you know what the differences may be between 84 and 92???

[@jenstori5746]

No dnt know if any

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@jenstori5746 ok, will do some more digging, thx!!!

[@jenstori5746]

Do u have ig ??

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@jenstori5746 YES!!! itsallabout_thebuild

[@CaptainGimp]

Keep things analogue!

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

Do you not like the retro digital look???

[@CaptainGimp]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild If you've a display issue, you're screwed. Analogue sensors for each instrument is better in my opinion. It's like giving a granny a facelift.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@CaptainGimp but if something goes wrong with the analog components, they are hard to find for a 44 year old car. If digital isn’t working, you fix/replace the broken sensor that has an issue 😁

[@photografiq_presents]

How did you manage to make the aperture cut for the screen so... povo?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

The infill was set very low to reduce print time. When cutting the hole out it fell apart. This was just a prototype. I'm working with the 3d file to make the opening durning the 3d print. The original 3d file is completely solid. All things are a work in progress 👍

[@g0disn0where]

Nice click bait

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@g0disn0where did you watch the full video 🤔🤔🤔

[@g0disn0where]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild yes I did, that is why it is a click bait. You are just showing off something and thats it. Not even telling that you need an interface to make it work etc etc.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@g0disn0where watch the next video 😁

[@g0disn0where]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild yeah your another click bait non existent one.

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@g0disn0where 🤦‍♂️

[@alphaboltz]

3d prints solid bezel, uses dremel to cut hole........ok.... great work though looks great

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

😂 that’s how the 3D file came, this one was a draft. We are working on having the 3D file with the appropriate cut out. 👍

[@Mike-ry4ti]

Nice one, can TS dash handle canbus if the appropriate pi hat is fitted?

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

I believe you can get PiCAN interface for raspberry pi to work along with canbus, not sure if TSdash has that support. Would need to do some more digging 🤔🤔🤔

[@Mike-ry4ti]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild Its a little on he frustrating side, because everything works on Canbus these days... One particular problem is the fuel level signal, because Pi has no Analog IO, they seems to have omitted it, but its possible to use a Pi Nano to convert he analogue signal to activate 6 or 7 digital pins on the main raspberry pi to emulate an analogue signal...

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Mike-ry4ti yeah, not a one solution fits all for sure. You could use an audrunio connected to the pi if you need analog inputs. Unfortunately all the premade 3rd party is thousands of dollars. We need something more affordable 👍

[@Mike-ry4ti]

@@Itsallaboutthebuild I need someone who is good at programming to help me develop it

[@Itsallaboutthebuild]

@@Mike-ry4ti right!!! I wish I was good at programming. Unfortunately I lack the skills in that arena 😮‍💨