I'm trying to come up with a way to add an accurate fuel gauge to my motorbike, seems as it doesn't have one. As I've always wanted an excuse to play around with an Arduino, I thought this to be a good excuse to get one and experiment.
What I'm essentially thinking of is:
- Fuel Tank on Motorbike (10-20Litres)
- Tube connected to the bottom of the tank
- Tube connected to pressure sensor
- Arduino does maths on values
- Percentage of Fuel remaining is printed to the console (the first aim is to simply print it to the console, I'll display it properly later)
My initial searching for the project, and the above idea, was formulated mainly by Practical Arduino. Namely, this project.
Not knowing a great deal about electronics though, I was getting a little confused over the circuit and the cost was surprising me too.
More searching then lead me to this project which was basied off of the Practical Arduino project. The author notes how he could have used an MPX5010DP rather than a MPX2010DP because it would have operated in the 0-5v that Arduino operates on, saving the need for the amplification circuit.
Further searching then lead me to this project where the author commented on using a MPX5010DP, but how he should have used a MPX5010GP instead because he wanted to measure against the atmospheric pressure.
I also want to measure the pressure relative to the atmospheric pressure, so that the fuel gauge would still be accurate when the atmospheric pressure changes. Does this mean that I actually need the Gauge sensor rather than the Differential sensor?
Also, it may seem like a stupid question, but I'm confused. As to the pipe connecting the fuel tank to the sensor. Is this a sealed pipe full of air, located inside the petrol tank, or an open pipe in which the petrol goes down to reach the sensor?
Then the MPX5010GP or MPX5010DP (whichever I need) would be able to connect directly to the Arduino, without the need for extra circuits?
Sorry for the long first post. Just trying to clear up some questions, get a firm idea of parts and costs and decide whether I really have the ability to do the project/the money to fund it.
Thanks,
Jordan.