I am quite familiar with the Arduino's programming side. The electronics part...not so much.
I am building a sim racing rig and bought (just for fun) a set of cheap regular auto gauges to try to use them to display the game's info.
So...I have all the values I need to send in the arduino code but I don't know how to transform them to the gauge's native format.
The gauges I have are these with these input formats:
Temp Gauge 5/8" Thread + 1/2" Bush
Oil Temp Gauge 5/8" Thread + 1/2" Bush
Oil Pressure Gauge = Mechanical 1/8" NPT thread 100 psi
Fuel Gauge = 10 ohms Empty - 180 ohms Full
Volt Gauge = 8-16 volt
Ampere Gauge = 50 amps
Some of them I guess will be almost impossible to use (such as the ampere Gauge) but there 3 of them that I would like to get them to work: the temp gauges and the fuel gauge.
How dificult would it be to send a valid value from the arduino to those sensors?
How could it be done?
The Electrical gauges(fuel, volt, amp) are easy since they are electrical devices.
The mechanical gauges however are likely not going to work. the temp gauges use what's called a Bourdon tube which means they are really pressure gauges like the oil pressure gauge. There are electronic versions of the mechanical gauges available but that would require buying more gauges.
bluejets:
Find out what signals the sensors which match each gauge and go from there.
Thanks for your answer.
I'm afraid that the info I posted is the only one I have
Hutkikz:
Welcome to the forum Mike!
The Electrical gauges(fuel, volt, amp) are easy since they are electrical devices.
The mechanical gauges however are likely not going to work. the temp gauges use what's called a Bourdon tube which means they are really pressure gauges like the oil pressure gauge. There are electronic versions of the mechanical gauges available but that would require buying more gauges.
I have to run but I'll check in later.
Thanks for your answer.
I know there are electronic versions but these were the ones I would like to use since I already own them
So...for example the fuel sensor: 10 ohms is empty, 180 ohms is full. How can I send this from the arduino? What extra hardware do I need?
The faceplates of the gauges are probably simply screwed to the body of the indicator. Get a duplicate set or two and take the pressure gauge faceplates off and put them on an electrical movement.
The Amps meter is a voltmeter measuring the voltage across a shunt resistor. If that shunt isn't external to the meter, then it's inside the body of the meter.
This link may help you figure out how to use the electrical meters.
AJLElectronics:
You would just treat it as a Voltmeter and send PWM to the gauge. 10-180R refers to the sender unit at a specified Voltage, typically 10V regulated.
Thanks.
How can I be sure of the voltage? I'll try to open it and see if there's any clue.
SteveMann:
The faceplates of the gauges are probably simply screwed to the body of the indicator. Get a duplicate set or two and take the pressure gauge faceplates off and put them on an electrical movement.
The Amps meter is a voltmeter measuring the voltage across a shunt resistor. If that shunt isn't external to the meter, then it's inside the body of the meter.
This link may help you figure out how to use the electrical meters.
Thanks.
The faceplate change is a nice idea
Unfortunately...you lost me in the second paragraph of that link
Wire the gauge inline with a 10R resistor and vary the Voltage to give you FSD. Then you have found the design Voltage. I would be surprised if it wasn't 10V though.
You might be better off buying an instrument cluster off a modern car - gauges on these are universally controlled by stepper motors that you could connect to... or you might be able to control the cluster over can bus .
AJLElectronics:
Wire the gauge inline with a 10R resistor and vary the Voltage to give you FSD. Then you have found the design Voltage. I would be surprised if it wasn't 10V though.
That is if it's a voltmeter. At their base, ALL moving coil meters are milliammeters. If you do AJL's test on a milliammeter, you will destroy the movement.
Stat with a voltage standard, 5 or 10V for example, and a 10K series potentiometer (linear taper). Starting at the maximum resistance. Decrease the series resistance until the needle is full-scale (and no more). Turn the power supply off and remove the resistor then measure the resistance. Use ohms law and you can get the full scale current rating of the meter.
If you never get a full-scale deflection, then you have a voltmeter and you can determine the voltmeter scale by AJL's method.
SteveMann:
That is if it's a voltmeter. At their base, ALL moving coil meters are milliammeters. If you do AJL's test on a milliammeter, you will destroy the movement.
It's a voltmeter. Check out my website for my authority to make that statement! They are not even moving coil, they are bimetallic as a rule to give them natural damping. Electric gauges work on the Voltage divider principle and they are fed from a regulator, just under the lowest terminal Voltage of a car battery, 10V.
SteveMann:
Stat with a voltage standard, 5 or 10V for example, and a 10K series potentiometer (linear taper). Starting at the maximum resistance. Decrease the series resistance until the needle is full-scale (and no more). Turn the power supply off and remove the resistor then measure the resistance. Use ohms law and you can get the full scale current rating of the meter.
He already has the specification for the sender unit, 10-180R so it is just as I said it would be. A fuel gauge sender is nothing more than a rheostat at the end of a long arm with a float on the end.
