Thanks alot chaps!!

Need to just finish the brackets on the rear to retain the rev counter, make the lighting controller, modify the tacho lighting to connect it to the lighting controller and mount it all up.. Then modify my new (old) cluster bezel to fit this...

The LCD is from ebay. £40, from China.. It has 2x video inputs (PAL/NTSC) and VGA, it is fantastic. The clarity is amazing. If youre willing to wait for it to be delivered, its more than worth it.. And i was willing as the laser cutting was a favour so could have taken longer..

 

I'm loving the cluster, bud. It'll be great to see how you go about designing/programming it for the task(s) you set it to do.

Just one small thing... why not have your stainless guy make you up some small (I'm assuming 8mm) dress/conical seat washers for your cluster there. It'd look pretty good on the face of the gauges, if you ask me.

Example:

 

Thats actually not a bad idea at all mate- i might have a look into it...


Thanks for the suggestion

 

Looks good, look on ebay for bike faring bolts, they have alsorts of fancy options.

 

Hmm, thing is im limited by the fact these are M3 bolts.. Rather small.. Personally i quite like it the way it is- but if some nice washers just complete it- i cant winge lol

 

You gotta' make yourself happy on this one, because you are the one who will be driving it. Torx bolts also look pretty sharp, if you can't find/make dress washers for that small of a bolt.

 

you will be able to get countersunk bolts and washers in m3 from a R/C model shop.

http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/m3-counter...-color-10.html

 

They are actually very nice, and quite sensibly priced too..

Found some awesome purple ones last night but they were £12 for 8 lol

I had a small development, i finished the cluster last night.. Need to sort some bugs out with the lighting controller but the LCD went a bit funny..

The image is perfect, just flipped vertically.. Changing the options in the menu doesnt have any effect (it did when i first got it) I dont know what has happened to the controller module but im talking to the chap on ebay- hopefully he will send a replacement because its obviously defective..

 

Turn the screen around, haha.

 

I wish i could lol, but its mirrored on the X axis.. Id have to put a mirror in it lol..

Its a feature of the controller, i played with it when i first got it- but now it doesnt change anything.. Obviously something has broken, but apart from the mirroring, the image is perfect...

 

Ah, I couldn't see that close on the pictures. Lay the screen down and use a mirror.

What will the monitor be like in the sun? I know laptops are a pain. You might want to sink it further into the dash or something to shade it.

 

it should be okay, im recessing it in rather deep..

good news though

(dont get excited, i had to flip the laptop image on this pic)







and just for comparison



The lighting controller is done, might play with the bar graph a bit because the combined yellow light doesnt work because i was a smart **** and shared the resistors..

In addition to running the bar, i rewired the bulb on the tacho to be a switched gnd. Now, the tacho and the indicators are dimmed when the lights are on to reduce glare..

 

I had a bout of curiousity today, so i trial fitted it..





I have a new plastic bezel so dont worry about this one being a mess- its the left over from my ***** previous attempt at a cluster...

The stereo is being moved to the centre vents- i;

1) dont want it blocking the heater controls any more

2) am using it as what used to be the second screen of the dash controls so i want it near my eyeline

3) am using the original DIN hole for some more important switches, so theyre not on the lower console..

 

My god you're a genius! That cluster looks fan-frickin-tastic. You deserve many

 

Looks great man! Build is coming along.

 

Thanks very much chaps!!

 

Chris, why not just swap the Heater controls with the radio. The opennings are the same size and that way you don't have to lose you center vents or redesign the dash to hold it securely in place.

 

Its not a bad idea- but i tried it a while back but for some reason it didnt work (cant remember exactly why...)

Im starting to like the idea of a double din sized control panel there now actually.. Just with the important stuff on.. The other stuff like the manual cooling switches .etc can go on the lower panel...

 

Subscribed. You are a genius.

 

Thanks mate.. I think genius is a bit strong though lol.. My wife would disagree lol

 

That looks great!

 

Makin some steady progress on your cluster I see, Looks good.

 

Thanks chaps,

I started hacking chunks out of the rear of my dash last night for the stereo. I have to modify the heater unit as to block off the output for the centre vents. (i dont like ducted warm air at me anyway and its my car lol) - futher to that, i usually have it set to demist all the time anyway..

 

Been side tracked a little with business stuff (which i set up to finish this project lol) - Just to show a sample of another project.

I have been asked by another customer to build a device which can simulate engine speed and duty cycle, produce a regulated voltage and a set test time duration..

This will allow the user to compare and test various fuel injectors under scientific conditions.

Unfortunately this project has been delayed (to be honest rather alot), due to problems with timing accuracy and conversions..

Here are a few photos showing its internal and external construction;

 

Is your screen overlay arduino based? I've been researching building something similar for an elise instead of having a silly amount of aftermarket gauges all over the place. I plan on using the factory gauge cluster area as well. Plans are to send most of the data we want to see out from a megasquirt and completely ditch the fatory wiring for can bus, etc in the car.