Hardware recommendations

General General RealDash discussion
1

Hi All,
I have an Exo skeleton kit car and interested in developing my own dash, that’s when I got introduced to this wonderful solution by a friend.

Because my kit car interior is fully exposed, a removable dash in form of a iOS phone/tablet would be the perfect solution as a security measure.
Plus, the use of a smartphone/tablet means I can use Bluetooth headphones for music/calls and use the RealDash for music control as well as navigation etc as I’m using a helmet during driving.

Which brings me onto solutions for data.
My engine is a 2003 Ford so it has J1850 on the OBD and has a CANBUS from the ECU BUT I’ve been told that it’s proprietary to Ford and getting data from it is near to impossible to interpret. Suggestions whether I can use something to interpret this would be appreciated.

At the moment, I have an ATV dash and get all my dash data from native sensors or read by the dash itself.

I’d love to use the OBD port for some signals but need a solution to read:
Indicators
Handbrake Light
High Beam
Oil Pressure Light
Coolant Temp
RPM
Speed from Magnetic pickup

What hardware are people using to get these signals into RealDash?
Is anyone using iOS and what hardware you using to keep it all Bluetooth?

Thanks all.

2

To have quick and responsive indicators etc, the CAN connection is required. Using ELM327 OBD2 adapter just won’t be quick enough due the protocol they use.

3

Hi,
Because the car is a kitcar, The CAN network is only connected to the engines Ford ECU, everything else is standalone and wired bespoke by myself.

4

You could use a CAN compatible power distribution modules, like Muxwiring, SPLeinonen etc.

5

Is there any reason why I can’t use an Arduino to receive the signals I’ve listed?

What are others using for indicators etc as I’m sure 95% of cars aren’t giving that info over CAN.

6

No reason, you can.