Feeler: Open Source OBC Firmware

[clabs]

I realized early on that it was a serious oversight to make the unit setting universal rather than specific to each function. This one is definitely on my personal list too.

Specific settings for each function would be great

Did the packaging survive the international transit ok? I'm assuming you had already opened the flap yourself before taking the first picture. I sure hope so anyway. The adhesive they put on it looks like really good stuff so I've never felt the need to tape over it.

Haha - you don't miss much! The packaging survived fine and yes - the adhesive on the flap was pretty strong. It was just that in my excitement, I had already ripped the flap open before deciding to do a few unboxing pics.

Oh - and thanks for the great pictures! It's really awesome to see people getting their boards installed.

No worries. I realise that some of those pics duplicated what was already in the instal guide but I didn't think it would do any harm to show a few pics of just how easy it is to get the unit up and running and actually working in a car.

My next challenge is that I would like to begin to learn how to modify settings myself but that will probably be a pretty steep learning curve for me as although I consider myself fairly IT savvy, my programming skills are limited to a bit of Basic and machine code many moons ago, and more recently, some XML stuff on satellite receivers. Still, as you say, you cannot brick the board flashing via USB so I can always have a go and revert back when I inevitably screw it up whilst learning

[boarder2k7]

I don't know how the hell I missed this thread for years but as soon as I get back to a computer I can't wait to read through it all! This is definitely going on my list of projects.

[MParallel]

This would be a big one: ibus input.

The E36 doesn't have a MID in the kombi (gauge cluster) and things like phone numbers are now displayed on the CD43 head unit in my case. The CD43 has an ibus pin and understands the ibus signals coming from the phone.

The big con: only 8 characters can be displayed. The OBC (aka 18 button MID) has much more characters it can display at once and simply wiring the ibus wire to the OBC (if that would be possible) and use its display instead. With priority given to ibus signals. With no ibus signal on the line, the OBC then would display whatever is was displaying before.

By biggest "win" in this situation is that I could keep running the much cooler BMW Professional RDS headunit, which while it has an ibus input, can not (does not understand) the phone signals nor ID3 tags.

[FastFreddie]

This would be a big one: ibus input.

The E36 doesn't have a MID in the kombi (gauge cluster) and things like phone numbers are now displayed on the CD43 head unit in my case. The CD43 has an ibus pin and understands the ibus signals coming from the phone.

The big con: only 8 characters can be displayed. The OBC (aka 18 button MID) has much more characters it can display at once and simply wiring the ibus wire to the OBC (if that would be possible) and use its display instead. With priority given to ibus signals. With no ibus signal on the line, the OBC then would display whatever is was displaying before.

By biggest "win" in this situation is that I could keep running the much cooler BMW Professional RDS headunit, which while it has an ibus input, can not (does not understand) the phone signals nor ID3 tags.

Besides phone numbers (which seems only relevant for people with an attached car phone - which, excuse me for my lack of info, would only be a few people in Europe with a car phone where supported network frequencies exist) how is ibus display useful? What else is displayed on the ibus?

[MParallel]

Besides phone numbers (which seems only relevant for people with an attached car phone - which, excuse me for my lack of info, would only be a few people in Europe with a car phone where supported network frequencies exist) how is ibus display useful? What else is displayed on the ibus?

Correct. I am one of them. I have a fully functional OEM carphone with steering wheel controls and hands-free functionality.

I'm now in the process of (trying) to see if I can get the SES (voice control) system working. This displays all kinds of messages on the MID on the cluster on the E38/E39. In theory it should display them on the CD43. But again, limited characters to be displayed at once. If it could display on the MID, that would be über cool.

Two examples of what my CD43 now shows during calls.





And here you can see it in action

[FastFreddie]

Lol, the days of car phones are so totally 90's!

[benemorius]

Great news - I've just finished updating my website to support international orders and have re-added the openOBC boards to it, so anyone who wants one can order it there now instead of having to message me. I've hacked it together rather hastily so please forgive the inconsistent appearance and definitely let me know if anyone runs in to any problems.
Both the assembled boards and the bare PCBs can now be found at http://openlabs.co/store/. No more PMs and no more paypal invoices!!

This would be a big one: ibus input.

This is in the works, starting with K bus input since the existing hardware doesn't include an I bus interface. An I bus addon board will be cheap and easy to make. I'll add it to the list.

[MParallel]

Lol, the days of car phones are so totally 90's!

As is the E36

great news on future Ibus input. Any idea how this would work? Would you have to press a button to choose the ibus input channel or could you somehow make a setting that whatever signal is on there gets priority?

[benemorius]

As is the E36

great news on future Ibus input. Any idea how this would work? Would you have to press a button to choose the ibus input channel or could you somehow make a setting that whatever signal is on there gets priority?

I've written the user interface class to be amiable to this sort of thing. The display text is on a sort of priority system already so the Ibus text will simply override any other text for the desired duration.

[MParallel]

^^
oh man this is the best e36 mod ever! I bow down to you sir. Total OEM look and function, but with extra stuff.

- - - Updated - - -

Totally forgot about this, but when I read someone mentioning the "Timer" function, it popped into my mind:

My car doesn't have the Timer functions as in the stopwatch function (well unless I pull a wire from the white plug), but the independent ventilation feature or I should say gimmick.
Even though I never use it, it's still a bit of a fancy "look what my OBC van do" trick I like to show off or just play with in the car. This has its own bit of circuitry and (a) relay(s).

Would the openOBC interfere with this?

- - - Updated - - -

Read more into this topic and bumped into the "Startup" logo.

Now I am dreaming out loud, but i would be cool if we could do some kind of animation sequence. With all these pixels, I'm sure some little cool things could be done. I know it's just a single color display, so nothing like a pinball dmd, but still.

Again, this would be a nice to have and nothing of high priority.

Even a simple display dots test would be cool.

[M3C]

That is great: ibus will temporary override other text, you are also working on Kbus, how will both ibus and Kbus wires be connected to OBC, will it be one pin for both or separately with 2 different pins?
Regarding initial startup screen message, can it be programmed to show something simple like BMW or Welcome to BMW or even custom text for an extra $ charge and if we need see the software version with a press of one of the buttons during the startup.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I only see 0-100km (or 0-60mph) function as a cool thing and all other display functions are pretty much already available in the standard OBC (consumption, system voltage, rpm, etc.). Does this show G force values?
It will be interesting to see what can be displayed once the Kbus and ibus are ready.

[daandaman]

'Openobcfirststartup.mp4' bekijken op YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU07...e_gdata_player

Posted from my phone. Forgot to push memo a couple of times for g force measurement.

[MParallel]

Lekker hoor!

sweet, must have mod for E36 owners.

[benemorius]

I just received my white connectors. It's too bad about having to modify them but I'm still thrilled! They work great!! Thanks for finding them clabs!!
DSC_0106.jpg

I've already got some black ones, so I'll get them both installed on all the boards I have here and finally ship off the ones that were waiting for the connectors. All future boards will have them installed now, and for those who got one before, let me know if you'd like some connectors and I'll drop a pair in the mail for you.

- - - Updated - - -

Totally forgot about this, but when I read someone mentioning the "Timer" function, it popped into my mind:

My car doesn't have the Timer functions as in the stopwatch function (well unless I pull a wire from the white plug), but the independent ventilation feature or I should say gimmick.
Even though I never use it, it's still a bit of a fancy "look what my OBC van do" trick I like to show off or just play with in the car. This has its own bit of circuitry and (a) relay(s).

Would the openOBC interfere with this?

The ventilation output is retained and still works properly, but there's nothing in the firmware yet that uses it yet. I wasn't sure how to implement it since my e36 doesn't have this feature. Maybe we can come up with an improvement over the factory functionality if it wasn't that useful.

Read more into this topic and bumped into the "Startup" logo.

Now I am dreaming out loud, but i would be cool if we could do some kind of animation sequence. With all these pixels, I'm sure some little cool things could be done. I know it's just a single color display, so nothing like a pinball dmd, but still.

Again, this would be a nice to have and nothing of high priority.

Even a simple display dots test would be cool.

Since we're leaving the factory LCD drivers in-place and unmodified, there is a limit to how much control we have over what exactly is displayed. 20 characters plus custom icons may be about as good as we can do. Replacing the LCD driver PCB is problematic because the LCD ribbon cable is actually glued to the PCB.

- - - Updated - - -

That is great: ibus will temporary override other text, you are also working on Kbus, how will both ibus and Kbus wires be connected to OBC, will it be one pin for both or separately with 2 different pins?

It will have connections for both. The K bus connection is made through the existing wiring harness already. I bus will be on a separate board and will require manually connecting the I bus wire. They can both communicate concurrently.

Regarding initial startup screen message, can it be programmed to show something simple like BMW or Welcome to BMW or even custom text for an extra $ charge and if we need see the software version with a press of one of the buttons during the startup.

By editing the configuration file on the SD card, it can be made to say anything you like that fits in 20 characters or less. It hadn't occurred to me to make the version information available by holding a button. That's probably the way it should be by default.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I only see 0-100km (or 0-60mph) function as a cool thing and all other display functions are pretty much already available in the standard OBC (consumption, system voltage, rpm, etc.). Does this show G force values?
It will be interesting to see what can be displayed once the Kbus and ibus are ready.

Yes, all of the major standard OBC features are included so far, and most of the lesser features as well. The list of differences from the factory OBC is here, and yes g force is currently included.

[daandaman]

Benemorius, The first thing i want to try with my newly acquired C+ programming knowledge (for as far as one can call reading webpages knowledge...) is to add 1 G to the Y. So that in resting postition it is not -1.0something.

Next thing is that I want to figure out a way to calibrate it by holding a button but that is for later.

Can you push me in the right direction by telling me which exact file (and extension) contains the code that I need to modify to alter the displayed data of the gforce button?

[benemorius]

Benemorius, The first thing i want to try with my newly acquired C+ programming knowledge (for as far as one can call reading webpages knowledge...) is to add 1 G to the Y. So that in resting postition it is not -1.0something.

Next thing is that I want to figure out a way to calibrate it by holding a button but that is for later.

Can you push me in the right direction by telling me which exact file (and extension) contains the code that I need to modify to alter the displayed data of the gforce button?

Awesome! Don't be intimidated - I'm a self-taught programmer too. Both things you want can be accomplished in tasks/ObcMemo/ObcMemo.cpp. I think there's an example somewhere (in a different file) of how to trigger on holding a button but I'll have to think about where it is. Actually I can't think of where it is right now so I could be mistaken.

Do we need to change which axis is which as well? I probably just pulled the X Y and Z values straight off the accelerometer, and since the accelerometer is not oriented pointing forward in the OBC, this probably means they're mixed up. The one you want to zero should be changed to Z, yes? Then X should be left-right and Y should be front-back?

[clabs]

I just received my white connectors. It's too bad about having to modify them but I'm still thrilled! They work great!! Thanks for finding them clabs!!
DSC_0106.jpg

I've already got some black ones, so I'll get them both installed on all the boards I have here and finally ship off the ones that were waiting for the connectors. All future boards will have them installed now, and for those who got one before, let me know if you'd like some connectors and I'll drop a pair in the mail for you.

That's very generous of you mate! I bought a few extra connectors too so if anyone in the uk has a board without the connectors then the same from me - give me a shout and I will post them.

Also, if anyone in the uk wants one of these but is put off by soldering, give me a shout and I will try to help.

I have not had too much of a chance to mess about with mine but there are a few little funnies.

Coolanant temperature never changes (tell me we don't need an additional sender!).
I cannot seem to be able to select 0-60MPH timer no matter which buttons I press.
The range function shows a bunch of random numbers until you start moving

I have not had a chance to try and programme anything myself I am afraid but as mentioned before, it WILL be a steep curve!

Oh - and the idea of the text display for phones etc sounds really great because I too have one of these working "bricks" in my car!

Cheers, Mark

[mdimillo]

I wonder how much funding it would take for an E34 custom OBC. I'd gladly pay a good chunk of money + programming knowledge for one of those! either way, excellent job with the project. I've been following it for a while and I love your feature set

[benemorius]

Coolanant temperature never changes (tell me we don't need an additional sender!).

Don't worry - it uses an existing sensor. It gets the temperature from the instrument cluster over the diagnostic bus. It isn't too surprising to immediately find a case where this doesn't work correctly. Everything involving the diagnostic bus is being reverse engineered ad hoc with only my E36 to use as an example so far. Your instrument cluster might have a different address or packet type than mine. I don't expect there to be more than a couple of these variations, if in fact there are any. It shouldn't take much to get them all working.

Where does the temperature stay exactly? I know that it will normally read absolute zero when the instrument cluster doesn't respond at all, but I'll have to check the firmware to see exactly how other cases are handled. We may need to add some code to the firmware for you to run in your car in order to collect the information we need to fix this.

I cannot seem to be able to select 0-60MPH timer no matter which buttons I press.

It should be the only thing that comes up when you push timer. What does happen when you push timer, and what firmware version is yours running?

The range function shows a bunch of random numbers until you start moving

I haven't seen mine do that yet. Range is computed from the fuel level reported by the instrument cluster and the 5 minute rolling speed average shown by the speed button. What average speed is given by the speed button when these random numbers are shown for range? Does this happen every time you stop moving, or just every time you turn the car on?

[clabs]

Don't worry - it uses an existing sensor. It gets the temperature from the instrument cluster over the diagnostic bus. It isn't too surprising to immediately find a case where this doesn't work correctly. Everything involving the diagnostic bus is being reverse engineered ad hoc with only my E36 to use as an example so far. Your instrument cluster might have a different address or packet type than mine. I don't expect there to be more than a couple of these variations, if in fact there are any. It shouldn't take much to get them all working.

Ah - that's good it uses an existing sensor. And don't worry - I am quite expecting little funnies like this so I wasn't complaining - you have done a terrific job so far buddy

Where does the temperature stay exactly? I know that it will normally read absolute zero when the instrument cluster doesn't respond at all, but I'll have to check the firmware to see exactly how other cases are handled. We may need to add some code to the firmware for you to run in your car in order to collect the information we need to fix this.?

The temp display is stuck on this and never changes, regardless of coolant temp

It should be the only thing that comes up when you push timer. What does happen when you push timer, and what firmware version is yours running?

I only get the 0-100 KMPH display - not 0-60MPH. Changing from metric to imperial makes no difference.

I haven't seen mine do that yet. Range is computed from the fuel level reported by the instrument cluster and the 5 minute rolling speed average shown by the speed button. What average speed is given by the speed button when these random numbers are shown for range? Does this happen every time you stop moving, or just every time you turn the car on?

Here is what the Range displays before you move off. This only happens when you turn the car on and sorts itself out once moving. The average speed via the Speed button is 0MPH whilst the random numbers are displayed:



Finally - my OBC is on the following FW version:



Oh - and my car is a Euro 1997 if that helps at all.

Edit - The clock looks kind of naked without the colon

Cheers fella.

[MParallel]

Does it always show temp in both C and F and the speed related things in both km/h and MPH?

When set to metric, I don't like seeing imperial stuff.

Does the display allow for displaying different inputs at once? The main one would be showing both oil temp and pressure at once.

There's still that old vid of some guys 8-series OBC showing exactly that.

[clabs]

Does it always show temp in both C and F and the speed related things in both km/h and MPH?

When set to metric, I don't like seeing imperial stuff.

I can't answer the second question but for this one, you currently get to choose Metric, Imperial or Metric/Imperial (if there is room, of course) - neat!

[MParallel]

Hey Mark, that's to hear. Do you have independent ventilation? Pressing the timer button or any for that matter, I would want the OEM function to be the first one.

[clabs]

Hey Mark, that's to hear. Do you have independent ventilation? Pressing the timer button or any for that matter, I would want the OEM function to be the first one.

Hi fella! I don't think I do have it but to be honest, I would never use it if I did. I think it is going to be down to personal choice as to button pushes but that kind of makes sense having any stock function on the first button press. Anyway, have you not ordered one already?! Your car is soooo yesterday without one lol.

I have just thought of something else I would like implemented at some point. I would like the set cruise control speed to be displayed for a few seconds when it is adjusted. Not sure if that is possible because my CC module is from an E46 (so it works with steering wheel buttons). BUT, that is way down on the list and I wouldn't want to hold up more important stuff.

What is higher on my list is to have the stalk button working to scroll through stuff.

I think the biggest hold up is going to be coding this new stuff because at present, we are pretty much dependent on Benemorius for any changes.

Talking of which, Benemorius - am I right in thinking that the firmware version we are on is sperate to the settings files?

[silverbullet21]

Just wondering, has the factory ignition security code feature where you have to enter a code before you can start the car, been programmed into the openobc?