So, I am new to the world of arduino... but not new to the world of electronics and electrical schematics and trouble shooting. I am an Aviation Electrician in the US Navy so I understand the basics of all the theory for the most part. I am just unsure of the feasibility of everything and the controls I would need and the best way of going about programming and even the hardware end of it. Any input or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
The project that I am thinking of doing is this...
I currently have air suspension in my car with 8 solenoids (1 solenoid for fill (air in) and 1 for dump (air out) at all for corners) and 4 momentary on-off-on switches and analog pressure (not digital) gauges. But as an Aviation Electrician, nerd and DIYer this is not the level of controls that I want. My idea is this; I want to change it to a fully digital control system. I want to have a touch screen with the PSI displayed on it and virtual buttons to control the fill and dump for each of the 4 corners. Eventually I would like to go to an automatically leveling system... but that is some time off that I will be trying to tackle that because I need to learn programming language more and figure out what sensors I will be using to measure the position of the suspension.
The hardware that I plan on using is the Arduino Mega 2560 R3 since it seems to have the most ability for inputs and outputs, an 8 relay panel since I don't think the board will have enough juice to operate the solenoids and I don't want to over tax the power from the boards as well. I will be converting my gauges from analog style (just a t fitting tapping into the air fitting) to digital pressure senders. And the touch screen I plan on using Arduino Display Module - 4.3" Touchscreen LCD, Arduino Display Module - 4.3" Touchscreen LCD - LCD-11740 - SparkFun Electronics since it gets good reviews and seems idiot proof to set up. The only thing is that I might special order it so that it has the capacitive touch screen since it will be more sensitive. And I want it so that when I start my car, it automatically turns on and when I turn off my car it automatically shuts down. The power source I am running it down will be a cigarette lighter port to USB adapter.
The signals that I am going to need is 8 out signals 1 to each relay to control the solenoid, 8 input signals from the solenoids so that they can monitored by the system. 5 input signals for the pressure sensors (1 for each bag and one for the tank), the pressure to display on the screen, and the input/output for the screen. Is it possible to run the input and output signals on the same pin?
Sorry if I put in too much detail, I know automotive stuff isn’t everybody’s cup of tea and tried to make it as easy to understand as possible. If there is anything that I am forgetting, please let me know. If there is any hardware you can recommend that would make this easier or a more reliable and stable of a platform. If you have any tips, tricks or hints to make this endeavor easier on me I am all ears lol. Or if you have any questions about my plans, please ask away. The biggest pain that I can forsee currently is creating the scaling maps for the digital pressure sensors. The way that they work is variable voltage which is tied to the psi, however the sensor makers will not tell you what the exact map is. Also what will I have to use in order to sense the voltage being sent? Thank god I remember to ask that part, or else it would have been a crazy thing to realize later.
Thank you everyone again, I can’t wait to learn this more and then be able to contribute back to the community. Sorry for all the noobish questions, I am sure I will look back on this in a few months and laugh.
