Drivetrain temperature sensors

I think I'll probably get some of these to help calibrate my readouts properly.

 

Dry surface temp will be much different than internal wet temp though.
Looks awesome overall, good luck on features; it's so tempting to keep adding and adding on projects like these

 

Yeah I figured it would be a much bigger temperature difference. It would still be another data point to go off of though. Alternatively I will need to use a plug to probably seal some other thermometer inside to compare the true fluid temp.

 

Use a cooking thermometer in a pot of water on the stove.

 

Finally got all the components in to solder up the first PCB prototype. There are a couple traces that needs to be switched and some refinement on the code side but other than that it seems to be running fine. I am going to design a better plastic housing and 3D print it to install this baby in my truck for a few weeks and see how it runs in place of the OEM clock.



The clock is pretty nice to watch go round, nothing fancy though just a simple analog clock that is rendered using some simple algebra.



I have gotten the little 4 direction switch working so I now have up-down-left-right-press function in a small form factor. I had a design on how to control it with a 3D printed joystick but that needs a few changes that can only happen when I have the housing designed. I will need to see what it is like to change the settings while in the truck before I settle on the final shape. One nice feature is I can now toggle between the different screen modes by press left or right on the joystick. Before I had to change variables in the code a re-flash the whole unit so this really saved me a lot of time when testing features.



I went with Molex connectors for the sensors in case I need to remove the whole unit to make changes to the firmware later. The large white JST plug isn't used for the OLED screen as I opted to make a direction connection on the left side for the sake of easier assembly.



If things keep going this smoothly I should be able to get the remote firmware updates working. That will save me a lot of time by being able to connect the device to wifi and allowing it to automatically update while my truck warms up in the morning.

 

This is totally pointless but I still love it

 

I figure some might need to know certain temps, but to me it's also just a platform for more later. My end goal is to have a more visually appealing OBDII gauge. I'm a sucker for retro future type line art in vehicles.

I missed out on the old 80s style dashboards so I wanted to make my own.

 

Definitely not pointless. I’m looking forward to having this info when I’m towing my trailer

 

I checked on the sensor I've had installed for the past 4 months and it seems it's holding up just fine. No leaks or cracks.



I needed to replace my brake rotors and pads really bad, it stops so smoothly now! Feels like a brand new old truck!

 

Try filling it on a slight downhill so when level the fluid submerges the sensor

 

It won't matter too much if it's submerged at all times. The internal air temp of the housing will be very close to the fluid at a stop. Not only that once you start driving the fluid is pulled up the inside walls of the housing and flung all over the place. Just check out this banks video on differentials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-yG3D3JBRs

 

I just thought about the ring gear slinging oil all over the place

 

Any update on this? My big towing trip is over but I'd still be interested in supporting your project

 

I got the kit a bit more updated since my last post but ran into some trouble getting stable temperature readings. I'm still planning to work on the kit later this year but as of now it's been on the back burner.

 

@drewmox I still think this would be a big hit around here and many other car circles if you got it off the ground.

 

I agree. I am going to be working on this again soon after a long hiatus. Been working on other stuff for Mox Motors, but we're finally going to get back to our original idea.