BMW R18 FE OEM Instrument Gauge Canbus Hack?

[CentralC]

I’d like to turn a spare 2021 BMW R18 FE OEM Speedometer Instrument Gauge into a desk clock. Anyone have any suggestions on how to communicate and power the gauge? I am a EE and expect to write some software to do this. Perhaps over a can bus network? Any details or suggestions on where to find details would be appreciated.

 

[CentralC]

Bump

 

[Gr8adv]

I will respond only because I am completely confused with your request.

There is no clock function that I am aware of in the cluster. So are you going to replace the entire ‘guts’ of the gauge with a clock movement?

 

[CentralC]

On the FE, there is day and date that is accessible in the menus. I’m sure it reads those from the computer. Just not sure how it call works.

 

[burangs]

On the FE, there is day and date that is accessible in the menus. I’m sure it reads those from the computer. Just not sure how it call works.

That is correct. You’ll need power and some way of “braining” the clock display. You can do it!

 

[Gr8adv]

On the FE, there is day and date that is accessible in the menus. I’m sure it reads those from the computer. Just not sure how it call works.

So you want a calendar not a clock. Correct?

 

[Keehn]

Well...seeing as the BMW CAN software likely doesn't have any published "API" (lack of better terminology) for third-party controllers, you'll be on your own to probe around and see what works and doesn't.

However, the good people over at GitHub have curated a list of CAN bus tools you might find useful in your endeavor. Check out https://github.com/iDoka/awesome-canbus and maybe, one or more of the tools in the list can get you started.

Hope that helps?

Mike

 

[teknolojay]

https://www.mta.it/en/new-instrument-cluster-for-iconic-motorcycle

According to the press release on the manufacturing partner the gauge speedometer runs on LIN BUS, which seems simpler to the CAN BUS. If you could find your own way to produce the LIN BUS standard signal, you might be able to use the display as a clock. But i think that would take some coding, design and hardware.

 

[Keehn]

https://www.mta.it/en/new-instrument-cluster-for-iconic-motorcycle

According to the press release on the manufacturing partner the gauge speedometer runs on LIN BUS, which seems simpler to the CAN BUS. If you could find your own way to produce the LIN BUS standard signal, you might be able to use the display as a clock. But i think that would take some coding, design and hardware.

Thanks for the link. I hadn’t heard of LinBUS until now, oddly enough.

I did a cursory glance on Google, and it appears to be a single-wire 19.2Kbps serial protocol alternative to CAN-BUS that’s license-free, but also because of its single wire, only limited to non-essential components, like door locks and windshield wipers (and dashboard clocks .

My take is that it’s a modern-day RS-232 iteration, coupled with auto master/slave data bus querying of all connected devices (like CAN, but this being a automatic function and not controllable). The data string seems pretty simple and can be read with an oscilloscope with ASCII capture capability. And, at a mere 19.2kKbps, even an Esp32 could more than handle the task of replicating a complete LinBUS emulation.

Mike

 

[CentralC]

Thanks for the Lin bus info. I’ve got a microcontroller that can speak Lin. I’ll probe the gauge soon to see if I can decode the information sent to the gauge.