dsmcrzy's Eclipse 20g 420a

[dsmcrzy]

dsmcrzy updated dsmcrzy's Eclipse 20g 420a


View updates to this DSM profile...

 

[dsmcrzy]

Well I got the digital dash finished up and installed! Need to figure out why the turn signals aren't working... but I think it's a grounding issue since I tapped into them for the signal to the arduino.

So I still have some clean up to do... but man does it look good! The camera doesn't capture how good the display looks.

 

[RidleyNoah]

That looks amazing!

 

[dsmcrzy]

Thanks!

Figured out the turn signals... apparently the hazards switch also need some to be plugged in for them to work.

 

[livedsm4g63]

How hard would this be to make for a 1g? Just curious. Would it be as easy as knowing the harness side of the vehicle?

 

[dsmcrzy]

Think of it more as an in dash computer. The display is a raspberry pi running a program called tunerstudio which is connected to my megasquirt via a USB cable.

I would think it could be possible with dsmlink is the tuning software was also Linux based (that's what the raspberry pi runs on)

 

[dsmcrzy]

Got a few kinks worked out on the digital dash. If you zoom in when it's on, you can see how it's not centered. Turns out when I broke the hdmi port off the original LCD driver and ordered a new one, I didn't get one with the right firmware to run a screen of that resolution. I was able to reflash the firmware after banging my head against a wall for a week. There's a reason I went into mechanical engineering and not computer/electrical engineering...

Anyways the dash is all set and the car is 100% together. I got in on the group buy for the adjustable rear upper control arms, but haven't had time to put them on yet. I might rock the car as is for a bit and then throw these on. I'm itching to get back in the car on nice days and park my BORING DD (09 Altima). It's a comfortable car. I like it but it has no soul. The DSM has such a personality compared to the Altima.

Also I have 1 week left of my masters degree in mechanical engineering. Can't wait to have some free time back. Going to school and working 40+ hrs a week as an engineer was not an easy task. To reward myself I bought something I have been looking at for a very long time. Something that was completely over priced for what it is, but every review I have read on various forums praises them. Plus it matches my wheels! TWM's type R shift knob in graphite. Can't wait to see how this feels vs my plastic one I have rocked for years.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

since when did home link come in the middle console area?

 

[dsmcrzy]

Oh I did that a couple years ago. Looks pretty good right? Almost factory like

 

[dsmcrzy]

Well it's been a while... been busy with life... all good things though. My wife and I just closed on a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath house on 5 acres with a 30'x50' detached garage!!

Might not have a ton of time to wrench on the car this summer but I will definetly need to finish the inside of the garage and get it heated.

Also bought a beater truck. Just a $1,000 96 ram 1500. V6 with a 5 speed trans and 8' bed. Nothing special at all dents and dings all over it, but it is so nice to have a truck!!

 

[dsmcrzy]

Man oh man where did the summer go?!?!? I really didn't work on the car at all. Hardly even looked at any of the data logs.

Not really an update. Just some random pics of my very, very, VERY dirty DSM. Living in the country again has been such a treat. The shop has just been to die for.

Hopefully I get some time this winter to work on the car abit. I still have serveral pieces to install like my fender braces and bobby's rear upper control arms.

 

[dsmcrzy]

And here I was about to post up some winter plans and report how well the car has been running, etc, etc. I was on the highway on my way home from work when the car acted like it wasn’t getting fuel. My air fuel ratio read lean and there was white smoke coming from behind me in the cabin. I believe my walbro 450 bit the dust. Makes me mad because it’s less than 2 years old. Still need to pull it out to see what it looks like, but that’s my thought as of now...

I’ll report back later this weekend with any updates. If it is the pump hopefully I can work something out with walbro...

 

[dsmcrzy]

Found the culprit. Time to trace it and see what happened.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Dude that sucks! Lucky it never caused a fire!

 

[spyderdrifter]

Damn that's ugly, but agreed, good thing you didn't have any flames...

 

[dsmcrzy]

Man I can’t believe winter is basically here. Well I got the fuse fixed. It ended up being a relay that shorted out. Relocated the relay and replaced all the wiring. Zero problems since.

The car is currently in hibernation mode. All covered up. Plans for the winter are to install my fender braces (finally) and install the rear upper control arms I got from Bobby. I plan to pick up a new Braille battery once spring comes around. This one to be exact:

https://www.braillebattery.com/index.php/braille/product_batteries/b2618

Main goal is to get away from lead acid filled batteries but still keep daily drive-ability. I just don’t feel comfortable with going to something super small like the pc680.

Few other odds and ends may pop up this winter but right now we are in full preparation mode for our baby girl due in mid feb.

Anyways here’s a few pics of the car.

 

[dsmcrzy]

Figured I would also leave here what else I have been up to in the shop.

When we bought the new house my dad was nice enough to give me two of his garden tractors. It’s a bit of a hobby of his. He has 5 more of the orange Ariens GT tractors. The one he gave me is an 18hp twin cyl engine with Power steering, hydrostatic trans and hydraulic lift. He gave me a 60” deck and a 48” deck with it. He also gave me the middle tractor (late 70’s International Cub Cadet).

The third tractor I bought off Craigslist for $250 to keep up with the lawn as my dad couldn’t make it out here for a month (12 hr drive). Well I had my ups and downs keeping up with mowing 5 acres. At any one time 1 or more tractors were down so I limped along. Now that winter is here I am tackling a few things.

The cub to the far right or the junk cub as I refer to it has a crap frame and deck but a solid engine (14 hp Cummins Onan engine). The middle cub (IH cub) has an old 12 hp Kohler engine that sat for about 20 years in a barn. My dad got it running but it seriously lacked power and couldn’t keep the 50” deck moving.

So with a shoe string budget and needing to be able to keep up with the lawn this coming year, I decided to swap the two engines. Still have some work to do but it has been a fun project. Also nice to have the space to mess around with this stuff. I’m so spoiled now going from a one car garage to a 1500 sq ft shop!

 

[dsmcrzy]

A good friend of mine finally decided to pick up a project car of his own. For now the car is being stored and worked on in my shop. My friend can do basic things like change oil and such but have never done anything past that. His car is a 2003 VW golf GTI with the VR6 engine. There is light body rust which we will take care of come springs, but the real this this car needed was an overhaul on the front suspension. Every bushing, ball joint, etc was shot. We have been tearing into it bit by bit and ordering parts here and there.

While he was working on some disassembly, I stepped over to the DSM and figured I would get to work on some suspension work of my own. For a while now the rubber bushing on top of my coil over springs have seen much much better days. So I took the coilovers out and replaced that bushing. I also decided it was a good time to install the custom rear upper control arms I got from Bobby like a year ago. Still have some adjustments I need to make, but I have to hand it to Booby. These things are on point! Perfect fitment! Can’t wait to see how the car feels once it’s back on the ground!

 

[buhay6]

Nice to see you still got the old girl in your life, most of the builds I've followed over the years have died out (including mine). Congrats on the pregnancy as well and the awesome house. Your buddy made a good choice on buying a golf GTI, I've owned 2 golfs (own a 2016 mk7 GTI right now) and absolutely love them.

 

[dsmcrzy]

Nice to see you still got the old girl in your life, most of the builds I've followed over the years have died out (including mine). Congrats on the pregnancy as well and the awesome house. Your buddy made a good choice on buying a golf GTI, I've owned 2 golfs (own a 2016 mk7 GTI right now) and absolutely love them.

Thank you! Yeah the GTI needs some work. Engine is strong but the body and suspension need some work.

Working on that car has made me realize just how easy DSMs are to work on.

 

[buhay6]

Thank you! Yeah the GTI needs some work. Engine is strong but the body and suspension need some work.

Working on that car has made me realize just how easy DSMs are to work on.

I realized the same thing! I had thought working on the mk6 TDI's were a pain but wait until your friend has to do the timing components on that wonderful VR6!

 

[dsmcrzy]

Picked up these auto meter gauges from a member on here. Finally had a chance to get the digital dash out and install these. Not crazy about the silver trim rings... but being able to read the gauges in day light will be nice!

Also updating a few other things for the raspberry pi. I backed a Kickstarter for a single board computer that has the same footprint as a raspberry pi, but has more ram. This should help smooth out the gauges and give it a more professional look when running. Not that it was super choppy... but enough for it to be annoying.

 

[dsmcrzy]

I got a cool new toy the other day... some what car related...

Back in March of 2017 I backed a company on Kickstarter called Snapmaker. Their goal was to produce a 3D printer that also had a CNC head and a laser engraver. The cnc and laser are capable of cutting/engraving on wood, plastic and other soft materials. Mine finally showed up the other day after waiting almost a year.

After a quick test print to make sure I had the settings and calibration correct, I kicked off a 9 hour print for a new case for the raspberry pi and shut down timer that run my digital dash. Right now the bottom is being printed. I will kick off the top print tonight. The reason for doing this is to add two fans over the pi/shutdown timer to help with board heat inside the dash. Also makes a nice package vs the RadioShack project box mess I had previously.

Pretty neat to have this capability right at my fingertips now.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Wow thats amazing, i like some of the kickstarter stuff, just cant afford to back everyone i want haha

 

[dsmcrzy]

Yeah and it’s a risk... you are never guaranteed a product as a result of it. There are plenty of failed 3D printer kickstarters.