RX8 Project – Part 21, Canbus #6, Working Code

**EDIT**

I’ve had a couple of questions around the CAN library I use. It seems I’ve probably been using a very out of date version of the Seeed Studios library for some time now but selecting “Seeed Library” in the declarations in this code as it is set above makes it compatible with the latest (tested on Seeed CAN-BUS Shield Library 2.3.1). I suggest using the most recent version available which can be installed from the Arduino library manager or from GitHub. If you’re having problems with this code but didn’t previously with my older code it’s likely this is your problem. The code should still work with the older library with the “MCP_Library” option selected but there’s not much point.

I’ve also just noticed the code on this page seems to have some issue being copied/pasted from this page so here’s a link to the Arduino INO file:


The original post starts below:

Following a couple requests recently from people I’ve decided to post my code as it currently stands. I’ve been meaning to tidy it up and crop out all the extraneous bits but I’ve just not had time so here we go. I describe this as “working code” simply because it’s the one I’m still working on!

There’s a lot going on here so don’t expect it to be an immediate plug and play and additionally there are extra variables and things that I’ve used for testing with no purpose otherwise so don’t be surprised if you can’t work out what all of it is for. One trick bit I’ve added is if a specified digital input is tied to 0V when the Arduino powers up it starts in a listen mode where if the ECU is still connected it logs the exchange between it an the immobiliser and stores the data to the internal EEPROM memory. If you then disconnect the ECU and remove the 0V jumper it will wait for the immobiliser to try to initialise by matching its code to the one logged and sent the stored response. I don’t know if this will work correctly on all cars but it should. As per one of my previous posts you can actually just write random data in this exchange as long as the packet structure is right and it’ll work.

Similarly the code also includes the update for the ODO and trip meters based on ABS speed data so that should all work ok hopefully.

The latest section I was working on when other things started taking all my time again is to decode CAN packets from a Megasquirt ECU to control. Generally this should work but you might want to modify this to either not overwrite certain if you are getting them from elsewhere such as temperature for the cluster reading from an analogue input rather than CAN. There is an enable boolean for this (MSCAN) at the top of variable declaration but it’s defaulted to false to stop it messing with anything normally.

As ever if anyone wants to know any more about what’s going on just post a comment at the bottom. Sometimes it takes me a while to respond but I try to answer everyone.

My only other request is if you link to this page when sharing this elsewhere, mostly because I find it really interesting to see how it’s being used!

// Code modified by Jonathan Coe (www.chamberofunderstanding.co.uk) 2021 with the following:
//
// Fixed variable rollover issue with speeds over 163
// Added new definitions to allow switching to Leonardo CAN hardware
// Added new definitions to allow use of Seeed CAN library rather than MCP_CAN clones
// Added startup LED blink to confirm unit powered
// Added two short LED blinks when can chip started successfully
// Added slow LED blinking when CAN chip failed to start
// Added function to pull immobiliser challenge/response packets from existing vehicle
// Added EEPROM functions to store config data
// Added Code to check immobiliser requests against data from previous scans (retained through power cycle) and respond with stored answer
// Added Code to increment the Odometer/Trip based on live speed from ABS system
// Added Code to decode Megasquirt CAN data for engine.
//
// This code is a development from the work done by Dave Blackhurst (details below) which in itself was based 
// on earlier work from this website which in itself included research done by others before on the ID's
//

//  **************************************************************************************

// Arduino Leonardo code for replacing the PCM within a Mark 1 RX8
// This code allows you to leave the CANBUS in place, just removing the PCM
// There are plenty of ID's on the CANBUS I do not understand, and any use of this code is strictly at your own risk
//
// Features turned on, possibly working - at least they do not complain on the dashboard,
//    ABS / DSC
//    Traction Control
//    Immobiliser Deactivated
//    Power Steering Enabled
//    RPM Controllable
//    Vehicle Speed set by Wheel Sensors
//    Warning lights turned off (you can turn them on in the code if you wish)
//
//    Written by David Blackhurst, dave@blackhurst.co.uk 06/10/2019
//
//    Some parts of this code have been dissected from other sources - in researching this project I copied a lot of code to play with
//    Sorry if some of this is yours - just let me know and I will attribute it to you.
//
//    I have throttle pedal code in here to translate the output of the primary throttle signal to the range my controller required. This is unlikely to be helpful to anyone else 
//    unless you happen to have the dodgy chinese controller I have.
//
//    Again use AT YOUR OWN RISK

#include <Arduino.h>


/// ********************* Option Selection *********************
// JC 21/01/20 - Updates to select hardware version to allow support for Leonardo CAN
//  and preferred CAN library (either the standard MCP-CAN versions or SEEED version) for compiler

// Comment out to select correct hardware
#define LEO_CAN         
// #define Seeed_CAN

// Comment out to select correct CAN library
#define Seeed_Library
//#define MCP_Library


#ifdef Seeed_CAN      // Configure Pins for Seeed CAN Shield
  #define CANint          2
  #define LED             13
  #define CAN_CS          10
  #define Set_Immobiliser 1
#endif

#ifdef LEO_CAN        // Configure Pins for Leonardo CAN
  #define CANint          7
  #define LED             23
  #define CAN_CS          17
  #define Set_Immobiliser 4
#endif

#ifdef Seeed_Library
  #include "mcp2515_can.h"
  mcp2515_can CAN0(CAN_CS); // Configure CAN SPI Chip Select
#endif

#ifdef MCP_Library
  #include <mcp_can.h>
  #include <mcp_can_dfs.h>
  MCP_CAN CAN0(CAN_CS); // Configure CAN SPI Chip Select
#endif

#include <EEPROM.h>       // Load EEPROM library to save configuration data

/// ********************* End of Option Selection *********************

// Enable MS_CAN Decode
bool MSCAN = false;

// Variables for Throttle Pedal
int analogPin = A1;
int outputPin = 5;

int val = 0;
int lowPedal = 0;
int highPedal = 0;
int convertThrottle = 0;
int base = 0;
int output = 0;

// Declarations for loop delays
long lastRefreshTime = 0;
long ODORefreshTime = 0;

// Variables for PCM, Only overrideable if PCM removed from CAN
bool checkEngineMIL;
bool checkEngineBL;
byte engTemp;
byte odo;
bool oilPressure;
bool lowWaterMIL;
bool batChargeMIL;
bool oilPressureMIL;

// Variables for PCM, Only overrideable if PCM removed from CAN
int engineRPM;
int vehicleSpeed;
byte throttlePedal;

// Variables for ABS/DSC, Only overrideable if ABS/DSC removed from CAN
bool dscOff;
bool absMIL;
bool brakeFailMIL;
bool etcActiveBL;
bool etcDisabled;

// Variables for Wheel Speed 
// JC 21/01/20 - changed from int to long as variable rollover was causing speeds over 163 to go negative
long frontLeft;
long frontRight;
long rearLeft;
long rearRight;

//Variables for reading in from the CANBUS
unsigned char len = 0;
unsigned char buf[8];
unsigned long ID = 0;

//Setup Array's to store bytes to send to CAN on Various ID's
byte send201[8]  = {0, 0, 255, 255, 0, 0, 0, 255};
byte send420[7]  = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
byte send212[7]  = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};

//Setup PCM Status's required to fool all other CAN devices that everything is OK, just send these out continuously
byte send203[7]  = {19,19,19,19,175,3,00};                // {19,19,19,19,175,3,19} data to do with traction control
byte send215[8]  = {2,45,2,45,2,42,6,129};                // {2,45,2,45,2,42,6,129}, experimented with {2,0,2,0,2,0,0,0} but no idea
byte send231[5]  = {15,0,255,255,0};                      // {15,0,255,255,0} or {255,0,255,255,0}
byte send240[8]  = {4,0,40,0,2,55,6,129};                 // No idea what this is for
byte send620[7]  = {0,0,0,0,0,0,4}; //needed for abs light to go off, byte 7 is different on different cars, sometimes 2,3 or 4 {0,0,0,0,16,0,4}
byte send630[8]  = {8,0,0,0,0,0,106,106}; //needed for abs light to go off, AT/MT and Wheel Size
byte send650[1]  = {0};  //Cruise Light, 0 = Off, Bit 6 = Green "Cruise", Bit 7 = Yellow "Cruise Main"


//  Declarations for testing 4B0/4B1 VSS Rx on Megasquirt.
//  180 mph
//byte send4b1[8]  = {113, 40, 113, 40, 113, 40, 113, 40};
//  180 mph rear, 160mph front
//byte send4b1[8]  = {100, 149, 100, 149, 113, 40, 113, 40};
//  100 mph
//byte send4b1[8]  = {62, 221, 62, 221, 62, 221, 62, 221};
//  10 mph
//byte send4b1[8]  = {6, 73, 6, 73, 6, 73, 6, 73};

//KCM / Immobiliser replies for Dave Blackhurst
//byte send41a[8] = {7,12,48,242,23,0,0,0};                      // Reply to 47 first  : 0x 07 0C 30 F2 17 00 00 00
//byte send41b[8] = {129,127,0,0,0,0,0,0};                       // Reply to 47 second : 0x 81 7F

// Immobiliser replies for Jon Coe
byte send41a[8] = {7,120,192,226,94,0,0,0};                      // Reply to 47 first  : 0x 07 78 C0 E2 5E 00 00 00 
                                                                 // Bytes 0 is the same, bytes 3 & 4 dont seem to matter, 5,6,7 are zero
byte send41b[8] = {129,127,0,0,0,0,0,0};                         // Reply to 47 second : 0x 81 7F

// Immobiliser Blank
byte response_a[8] = {7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0};
byte response_b[8] = {129,127,0,0,0,0,0,0};                      // This always seems to be this value (0x 81 7F) so used as default
byte request_a[8] = {6,127,0,0,0,0,0,0};
byte request_b[8] = {8,0,0,0,1,0,0,0};

// Time delay for Odo
long ODOus = 4500000;                                           // Set to max 4,500,000 to keep dash MIL warning lights awake at 0 speed

void printhex( byte [], int );                                  // JC - Prototype for function to send byte array to serial monitor as HEX pairs
                                                                // Actual function is later in code - prototypes not technically required in Arduino IDE

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial.println("Start Setup");

  // Give a Wakeup Blink - Disabled to speed up boot
  /*
  pinMode(LED, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
  delay(500);
  digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
  */
    
  pinMode(CANint, INPUT);                           // Set CAN interrupt pin as input
  pinMode(Set_Immobiliser, INPUT_PULLUP);           // Configure Button to setup immobiliser as input with pullup enabled
  
  if (CAN0.begin(CAN_500KBPS) == CAN_OK) {          // Connect to CAN chip
    Serial.println("Found High Speed CAN");
      
      // JC 21/01/20 - Added two short blinks of LED to identify CAN chip started
      // Disabled to improve speed
      /*
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(200);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      delay(100);
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(200);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      */
      
  } else {
    Serial.println("Failed to find High Speed CAN");
    while (1) {
      Serial.println("Loop Forever");
      
      // JC 21/01/20 - Added long blinking of LED to identify CAN chip fault
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(1000);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      delay(1000);
      
    }
  }
  
  // Populates CAN buffers with meaningful initial data
  // for live use this will prevent dash lights defaulting to ON etc
  
  setDefaults(); // JC - Sets up some default values to fill CAN registers with sensible data in case nothing else is written later


//******* JC 25/01/21 Immobiliser Compatibility Mods *******

//    Check if First Run Immobiliser Code Scanning is Enabled
    if (digitalRead(Set_Immobiliser) == 0){
        immobiliserCodeSet();
    }

//    Check if stored values exist in EEPROM and if not setup from program defaults

    if (EEPROM.read(0) == 0 && EEPROM.read(1) == 0){
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(0, request_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(16, response_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(32, request_b, 16);
    }

//    Pull Immobiliser codes from EEPROM 

      //delay(5000); delay to allow serial startup - disabled for speed
      readByteArrayFromEEPROM(0, request_a, 8);
      Serial.print("Request A from EEPROM : ");
      printhex(request_a,8);
      
      readByteArrayFromEEPROM(16, response_a, 8);
      Serial.print("Response A from EEPROM : ");
      printhex(response_a,8);
      
      readByteArrayFromEEPROM(32, request_b, 8); 
      Serial.print("Request B from EEPROM : ");
      printhex(request_b,8);
}

// ******* JC 25/01/21 Code to write Hex array to Serial *******

void printhex(byte b[], int sizeOfArray){
  Serial.print("0x ");
    for (int i=0;i<sizeOfArray;i++){
      if(b[i]<10){
        Serial.print("0");
      }
      Serial.print(b[i],HEX);
      Serial.print(" ");
      }
  Serial.println("");
}

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// ******* JC 25/01/21 Code to Scan Immobiliser codes from a working system ******* 
//          Set_Immobiliser is a digital input which is configured as 
//          INPUT_PULLUP and tied to ground to enable this mode.
//
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


void immobiliserCodeSet(){
  
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(3000);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      Serial.println("Immobiliser Code Read Mode");
    
    //immobiliserCodeSet;
      int immSet1 = 0;
      do
      if(CAN_MSGAVAIL == CAN0.checkReceive()) { // Check to see whether data is read
          CAN0.readMsgBufID(&ID, &len, buf);    // Read data
          
          if(ID == 0x47) { //71 Dec is 47 Hex - Keyless Chat
              if(buf[0] == 0x6 && buf[1] == 0x7F){
                  memcpy(request_a, buf, 8);
                  immSet1++;
                  Serial.print("Request 1 Found! - ");
                  printhex(buf,8);
                  
              }
              if (buf[0] == 0x8){
                  memcpy(request_b, buf, 8);
                  immSet1++;
                  Serial.print("Request 2 Found! - ");
                  printhex(buf,8);
              }
          }
               
          if(ID == 0x41) {
              if(buf[0] == 0x07){
                memcpy(response_a, buf, 8);
                immSet1++;
                Serial.print("Response 1 Found! - ");
                printhex(buf,8);
              }
          }
      Serial.print("CAN Data Received - Found ");
      Serial.println(immSet1);
   } while (immSet1 < 3);
   
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(200);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      delay(100);
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(200);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
      delay(100);
      digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
      delay(200);
      digitalWrite(LED, LOW);

      Serial.print("All Codes Found - Saving...");
      
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(0, request_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(16, response_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(32, request_b, 16);
      
      Serial.println("Ok!");
      Serial.println("");
      Serial.println(" Turn off ignition, reset to normal mode and reboot");
 
      while (digitalRead(Set_Immobiliser) == 0);            //    Halt here as long as input held low
  }


// ******* End of Immobiliser Scan Routine *******


void setDefaults() {
  Serial.println("Setup Started");
  // StatusMIL
  engTemp         = 145; //Roughly in the middle
  odo             = 0;
  oilPressure     = 1;   // For the gauge, 1 is OK, 0 is L
  checkEngineMIL  = 0;
  checkEngineBL   = 0;
  lowWaterMIL     = 0;
  batChargeMIL    = 0;
  oilPressureMIL  = 0;
  
  // StatusPCM
  engineRPM       = 1000;   // RPM
  vehicleSpeed    = 0;      // km/h + 10000
  throttlePedal   = 0;      // %
  
  // StatusDSC
  dscOff          = 0;
  absMIL          = 0;
  etcActiveBL     = 0;
  etcDisabled     = 0;
  brakeFailMIL    = 0;

  /*
  Serial.println("Start wait to ensure Throttle Pedal is on");
  delay(500);
  lowPedal = 341;  //analogRead(analogPin) - 40;  Temporary fixed value //read the throttle pedal, should be around 1.7v minus 40 to ensure no small throttle inputs
  highPedal = 803; //4v
  
  // Voltage to read from Pedal 1.64v - 4.04v
  // Going to use a safe range 1.7v to 4v
  // Low of 1.7v has been read above as can fluctuate
  // 1.7v = INT 341
  // 4v = INT 803
  // (highPedal - lowPedal) = RANGE FROM RX8 PEDAL
  // out for 1024 (5v max), controller wants 4.5v max = 920 (adding 40 to help stabilise)
  
  convertThrottle = 960 / (highPedal - lowPedal);
  Serial.print("Low Pedal ");
  Serial.print(lowPedal);
  Serial.print(", High Pedal ");
  Serial.println(highPedal);
  Serial.println("Setup Complete");

  */
}

//    ********** JC 25/01/21 - Add Functionality to read/write arrays from EEPROM **********
//    Taken from www.roboticsbackend.com and expanded for byte arrays

void writeIntArrayIntoEEPROM(int address, int numbers[], int arraySize)
{
  int addressIndex = address;
  for (int i = 0; i < arraySize; i++) 
  {
    EEPROM.write(addressIndex, numbers[i] >> 8);
    EEPROM.write(addressIndex + 1, numbers[i] & 0xFF);
    addressIndex += 2;
  }
}
void readIntArrayFromEEPROM(int address, int numbers[], int arraySize)
{
  int addressIndex = address;
  for (int i = 0; i < arraySize; i++)
  {
    numbers[i] = (EEPROM.read(addressIndex) << 8) + EEPROM.read(addressIndex + 1);
    addressIndex += 2;
  }
}

void writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(int address, byte numbers[], int arraySize)
{
  int addressIndex = address;
  for (int i = 0; i < arraySize; i++) 
  {
    EEPROM.write(addressIndex, numbers[i] >> 8);
    EEPROM.write(addressIndex + 1, numbers[i] & 0xFF);
    addressIndex += 2;
  }
}
void readByteArrayFromEEPROM(int address, byte numbers[], int arraySize)
{
  int addressIndex = address;
  for (int i = 0; i < arraySize; i++)
  {
    numbers[i] = (EEPROM.read(addressIndex) << 8) + EEPROM.read(addressIndex + 1);
    addressIndex += 2;
  }
}

// ********** End of EEPROM Section **********


void updateMIL() {
  send420[0] = engTemp;
  //send420[1] = odo;     
  send420[4] = oilPressure;

  if (checkEngineMIL == 1) {
    send420[5] = send420[5] | 0b01000000;
  } else {
    send420[5] = send420[5] & 0b10111111;
  }

  if (checkEngineBL == 1) {
    send420[5] = send420[5] | 0b10000000;
  } else {
    send420[5] = send420[5] & 0b01111111;
  }

  if (lowWaterMIL == 1) {
    send420[6] = send420[6] | 0b00000010;
  } else {
    send420[6] = send420[6] & 0b11111101;
  }

  if (batChargeMIL == 1) {
    send420[6] = send420[6] | 0b01000000;
  } else {
    send420[6] = send420[6] & 0b10111111;
  }

  if (oilPressureMIL == 1) {
    send420[6] = send420[6] | 0b10000000;
  } else {
    send420[6] = send420[6] & 0b01111111;
  }
}

void updatePCM() {
  int tempEngineRPM = engineRPM * 3.85;
  int tempVehicleSpeed = (vehicleSpeed * 100) + 10000;
  
  send201[0] = highByte(tempEngineRPM);       
  send201[1] = lowByte(tempEngineRPM);        

  send201[4] = highByte(tempVehicleSpeed);    
  send201[5] = lowByte(tempVehicleSpeed);     

  send201[6] = (200 / 100) * throttlePedal;   //Pedal information is in 0.5% increments 
}

void updateDSC() {
  if (dscOff == 1) {
    send212[3] = send212[3] | 0b00000100;
  } else {
    send212[3] = send212[3] & 0b01111011;
  }

  if (absMIL == 1) {
    send212[4] = send212[4] | 0b00001000;
  } else {
    send212[4] = send212[4] & 0b11110111;
  }

  if (brakeFailMIL == 1) {
    send212[4] = send212[4] | 0b01000000;
  } else {
    send212[4] = send212[4] & 0b10111111;
  }

  if (etcActiveBL == 1) {
    send212[5] = send212[5] | 0b00100000;
  } else {
    send212[5] = send212[5] & 0b11011111;
  }

  if (etcDisabled == 1) {
    send212[5] = send212[5] | 0b00010000;
  } else {
    send212[5] = send212[5] & 0b11101111;
  }
}


long calcMicrosecODO(float speedKMH){
  long uS;
  float freq;
  float speedMPH;
   
  Serial.print("Speed = ");
  Serial.print(speedKMH/100);
  Serial.println(" km/h");
  speedMPH = speedKMH / 160.934;
  // Required frequency for timer 1 ISR
  //  1.15 is 4140 (Pulse per Mile) / 3600 (1hr in seconds)
  //  0.7146 is 2572.5 (pulse per KM) / 3600
  freq = speedMPH * 1.15; 
  Serial.print("Freq = ");
  Serial.print(freq);
  Serial.println(" Hz");
  uS = 1000000/freq;
  if(uS < 4500000 && uS > 0){
    return (uS);}
  else {
    return (4500000);
  }
  
 
}

void sendOnClock(){
  // Do not increment ODO byte when step is = 4.5s
  // slower than this updateMIL must still be called so 
  // warning lights don't turn on but speed may be zero!
  if ( ODOus < 4500000){
    send420[1]++;   
  }
  updateMIL();
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x420, 0, 7, send420);
}

void sendOnTenth() {
  //PCM Status's to mimic the PCM being there, these may be different for different cars, and not all are always required, better safe and include them all.
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x203, 0, 7, send203);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x215, 0, 8, send215);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x231, 0, 8, send231);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x240, 0, 8, send240);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x620, 0, 7, send620);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x630, 0, 8, send630);
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x650, 0, 1, send650);
  
  updateMIL();
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x420, 0, 7, send420);    //Moved to sendOnClock to update at timer ISR frequency for ODO

  updatePCM();
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x201, 0, 8, send201);

  // Send to Megasquirt VSS Sim - For testing Megasquirt ABS decode
  //  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x4b1, 0, 8, send4b1);
  
  /* Add this section back in if you want to take control of ABS / DSC Lights.
  updateDSC();
  CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x212, 0, 7, send212);
  */
}

void loop() {
  //Send information on the CanBus every 100ms to avoid spamming the system.
  if(micros() - lastRefreshTime >= 100000) {
		lastRefreshTime += 100000;
    sendOnTenth();
	}
  // Call function to updateMIL on variable timebase
   if(micros() - ODORefreshTime >= ODOus) {
   ODORefreshTime += ODOus;
    sendOnClock();
  }
  
  //Read the CAN and Respond if necessary or use data
  if(CAN_MSGAVAIL == CAN0.checkReceive()) { // Check to see whether data is read
    CAN0.readMsgBufID(&ID, &len, buf);    // Read data

    //digitalWrite(LED, HIGH);
    //delay(1);
    //digitalWrite(LED, LOW);
    
    if(ID == 0x212) {           // 0x212 = 530
      for(int i = 0; i<len; i++) { // Output 8 Bytes of data in Dec
        Serial.print(buf[i]);
        Serial.print("\t");
      }
      
     //Serial.print(time);   // Timestamp
      Serial.println("");
     //Serial.println(line); // Line Number
    }
    
    //Keyless Control Module and Immobiliser want to have a chat with the PCM, this deals with the conversation
    if(ID == 0x47) { //71 Dec is 47 Hex - Keyless Chat
      /*
      //***** Fixed Coding for Dave Blackhurst's Car *******
      if(buf[1] == 127 && buf[2] == 2) {                        // 0x 06 7F 02 00 00 00 00 00
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, send41a);                  // 0x041 = 65
      }
      if(buf[1] == 92 && buf[2] == 244) {                       // 0x 08 5C F4 65 22 01 00 00
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, send41b);                  // 0x 81 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00
      }

      //***** Fixed Coding for Jon Coe's Car *******
      // Some experimentation showed that on the initial request for my car byte 2 was a 01 not a 02
      // however all codes so far begin 06 7F for either car so this was used.
      // Similarly in the second message from the immobiliser bytes 1-4 change but byte 5 is always 01 on either vehicle
      // The negotiation happens during every start but the codes only seem to cycle whenever the battery 
      // is disconnected  

      if(buf[0] == 0x6 && buf[1] == 0x7F ) {                      // 0x 06 7F 01 00 00 00 00 32
        //printhex(buf,8);                                        // Transmit out received request on debug serial port - breaks timings on vehicle.
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, send41a);                    // 0x041 = 65
      }
      if(buf[0] == 0x8 && buf[5] == 0x1 ) {                        // 0x 08 94 29 BC 91 01 00 32
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, send41b);                     // 0x 81 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00  
      }
   */
     
//    ********** JC 25/01/21 - Add Functionality to use immobiliser responses stored in EEPROM **********

      //if(memcmp(buf, request_a, 8) == 0){                          // Check first request matches stored pattern (difference = 0)
      if(buf[0] == request_a[0] && buf[1] == request_a[1] ) {
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, response_a);                  // Send stored response to 0x041 = 65
      }
      //if(memcmp(buf, request_b, 8) == 0) {                         // Check second request starts with "08"
      if(buf[0] == request_b[0] && buf[5] == request_b[5] ) {
        CAN0.sendMsgBuf(0x041, 0, 8, response_b);                  // Send second response - seems to always be 0x 81 7F 00 00 00 00 00 00
      }

      
    }


    
    //Read wheel speeds to update Dash
    //if(ID == 1200) { //1201 Dec is 4b1 Hex - Wheel Speeds ----> check this address. Wheel speeds for dash 4B1 -> 201

    if(ID == 0x4B0) {
      frontLeft = (buf[0] * 256) + buf[1] - 10000;
      frontRight = (buf[2] * 256) + buf[3] - 10000;
      rearLeft = (buf[4] * 256) + buf[5] - 10000;
      rearRight = (buf[6] * 256) + buf[7] - 10000;
      
      //Going to check front wheel speeds for any issues, ignoring the rears due to problems created by wheelspin
      if (frontLeft - frontRight > 500 || frontLeft - frontRight < -500) { //more than 5kph difference in wheel speed
        checkEngineMIL = 1; //light up engine warning light and set speed to zero
        vehicleSpeed = 0;
      } else {
        vehicleSpeed = (((frontLeft + frontRight) / 2) / 100); //Get average of front two wheels.
      }
      //Update timer count value with live speed for ODO
      //OCR1A = calcTimer1Count((frontLeft + frontRight) / 2);
      // delay in MS for ODO
      ODOus = calcMicrosecODO((frontLeft + frontRight) / 2);
      Serial.print("ODO Step : ");
      Serial.print(ODOus);
      Serial.println("us");
      // Dump speed to serial for debug - this is just a cropped int.
      //Serial.println(vehicleSpeed);
      
    }

    
    // Decode for Megasquirt - JC
    /* This section matches the various fields used by Megasquirt
     *  CAN send to decode for the RX8 cluster. Not all fields are
     *  converted from the Megasquirt as most are not required.
     *  The CAN start address for Megasquirt is the default 0x5F2 (1520)
     */
    
  if(MSCAN == true){
    if(ID == 0x5F0) { //1520 Dec is 5F0 Hex - Megasquirt Block 0
      // Block 0 - Seconds, PW2, PW2, RPM, 2 bytes each

      engineRPM = (buf[6] * 256) + buf[7];
    }
       
    if(ID == 0x5F2) { //1522 Dec is 5F2 Hex - Megasquirt Block 2
      // Block 2 - Baro(kPa*10), MAP(kPa*10), MAT(degF*10), CLT(degF*10)
      // Edit map to set "normal" range on cluster (in degF) where needle stays centred
      // outside of the normal range needle will rapidly increase or decrease.

      int normMin = 140;    //  60 degC
      int normMax = 220;    // 104 degC

      engTemp = map((buf[6] * 256) + buf[7],normMin*10,normMax*10,110,150);
    }
    
    if(ID == 0x5F3) { //1523 Dec is 5F3 Hex - Megasquirt Block 3
      // Block 3 - TPS (%*10), Batt (V*10), EGO1(Depricated on MS3), 
      // EGO2(Depricated on MS3), 2 bytes each

      throttlePedal = ((buf[0] * 256) + buf[1]) / 10;
    }

    if(ID == 0x624) { //1572 Dec is 624 Hex - Megasquirt Block 52
      // Block 54 - CANin_1(?),CANout_1, CANout_2, 
      // Knock_ret (deg*10, 1 byte), Fuel flow (cc/min*10, 2 byte), 
      // Fuel Consumption(l/km, 2 byte)
      // First 3 bytes appear wrong in the Megasquirt CAN documentation
      // testing shows byte 1 is CANout_1 not CANin_2
      // byte 2 is CANout_2

      byte CANout_1   = buf[1];
      byte CANout_2   = buf[2];
     
      // Read Check engine light from Megasquirt
      checkEngineMIL  = bitRead(CANout_1,0);

      // Blink traction control light - Disabled due to ABS unit
      //etcActiveBL     = bitRead(CANout_1,1);    

      // Read Oil Pressure light from Megasquirt
      oilPressureMIL     = bitRead(CANout_1,2);
      
      // Also set cluster "gauge" to match warning light
      if(oilPressureMIL == 1){
        oilPressure = 0;
      }
      else{
        oilPressure = 1;
      }
            
    }

   }  // Close MSCAN mode check
   
  } // Close CAN message receive processing

  /*  Reading throttle sensor for electric drive control - 
  
  //Throttle Pedal Work
  val = analogRead(analogPin);  // read the input pin
  
  //See Set Defaults Method for Calculations
  if (val < 110 || val > 960) { // If input is less than 0.5v or higher than 4.5v something is wrong so NO THROTTLE
    val = 0;
  }
  base = val - lowPedal;
  if (base < 0) {
    base = 0;
  }
  output = base * convertThrottle;
  if (output > 960) {
    output = 960;
  }
  throttlePedal = (100 / 960) * output;
  analogWrite(outputPin,(output/4));

  */
}

Also for completeness here is the alternate section which handles the immobiliser with random data in response_a but otherwise is much the same as the other version. The immobiliser module hashes this with the RFID code off the key and passes it back and request_b just gives the immobiliser the OK. The only issue you might get is if other versions of the car use a different packet format because both my methods rely on matching the packet structure to pick it out of the data stream.

//******* JC 25/01/21 Immobiliser Compatibility Mods *******

//    Check if First Run Immobiliser Code Scanning is Enabled
    if (digitalRead(Set_Immobiliser) == 0){
        immobiliserCodeSet();
    }

//    Check if stored values exist in EEPROM and if not setup from program defaults

    if (EEPROM.read(0) == 0 && EEPROM.read(1) == 0){
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(0, request_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(16, response_a, 16);
      writeByteArrayIntoEEPROM(32, request_b, 16);
    }

//    Pull Immobiliser codes from EEPROM 

      //delay(5000);                                          // Delay used for serial diagnostics to give the monitor time to connect before sending data
      readByteArrayFromEEPROM(0, request_a, 8);
      Serial.print("Request A from EEPROM : ");
      printhex(request_a,8);
      
      //readByteArrayFromEEPROM(16, response_a, 8);
      response_a[1] = random(255);
      response_a[2] = random(255);
      response_a[3] = random(255);
      response_a[4] = random(255);
      Serial.print("Response A - Random Filler : ");
      printhex(response_a,8);
      
      readByteArrayFromEEPROM(32, request_b, 8); 
      Serial.print("Request B from EEPROM : ");
      printhex(request_b,8);
}

The only other thing you need to do for the random data is generate some random data, I did this by using a floating input as a random seed. The data doesn’t actually need to be random and you can just set fixed values for response_a bytes 1-4 or whatever as long as the rest of the response structure is correct.

void setup() {

  //pinMode(A1, INPUT);
  randomSeed(analogRead(A1));                                   // A5 Not actually connected on Leonardo CAN - Used as seed value

As ever, your mileage may vary and you get no guarantee from me!

RX8 Project – Part 17, Changing to a concentric clutch slave.

To preface this I’ve not actually run the car with this setup yet so please make your own decision if you give it a go. This was done on the gearbox from a 2006 year RX8 5 speed box so may not be applicable to others. It looks like it should work but that’s only my opinion – your mileage may vary!

So this is a bit of an odd problem which depending on the engine you’re swapping in may not be and issue but in my case I decided a V6 was a good idea and unfortunately the standard clutch slave on the RX8 gearbox is on the top offset to one side which lines up perfectly with one of the cylinder heads on my V6. Add to this if you made the better decision mentioned earlier and made the adapter thicker you may be able to avoid this as well. But since I’m largely making this up as I go along here we are!

Now I did look into whether anyone offered a concentric slave conversion for this car but it seems that was never a thing anyone did so I set to work building my own. Luckily there was one thing I knew which would help this process quite a bit – the input shaft on the gearbox is the same diameter/spline as most Ford patterns and so a Ford part should be exactly the right clearance. Add to that I’m actually using a Ford clutch if I get the depth right everything should just match up ok.

So that’s the good news, the bad news is the RX8 gearbox was never intended to be used in this way so mounting a cylinder could be an issue. Now on the RX8 there’s a flanged sleeve mounted which the original release bearing slides on the outside of. This is held on by four bolts into the back of the bellhousing and so this appeared to be essentially the only option. The tube itself can’t stay because the new concentric slave is the same ID and so clashes with it but I thought why don’t I just unbolt the tube at the flange and bolt a suitable adapter there and we’re good to go? Well it’s never that easy is it. Under that flange is a location lip which not only keeps it concentric to the gearbox input shaft but it turns out it also the height of the shoulder accurately holds the input bearing in place behind it so if I just remove that whole part the bearing will move out of position and that will very likely result in it not having enough support and rapidly removing itself from the gearbox in small pieces.

3D model of the RX8 gearbox input bearing retainer
Unfortunately I can’t find a photo of it but the part looked like this!

Ok so I can’t just remove the flanged tube and stick an adapter plate on but how about cutting the tube down to the flange to leave a flat face above the bearing retainer and just using some longer bolts to keep it all in place. After some very careful trimming I was left with this:

Modified RX8 bearing retainer

Next was picking a suitable concentric slave from the Ford range. After a bit of poking about and trying to find something I could make fit I found the Teckmarx TMCS00047 which is a 3rd party part number for a 2001-2007 Mk3 Mondeo/Cougar among others which as you might have read earlier was also available with this same V6 engine I am using and this model has a few advantages firstly that both in and out hydraulics are in one direction so if I make that line up with the original position of the clutch fork I should have easy access and also that they’re threaded the standard M10x1 brake fitting thread so I can direct connect hoses or hardline as I need to make it work. another major advantage is they’re used on loads of versions of the car so they’re widely available and very cheap at under £25 delivered. It also seems that the RX8 also has almost same clutch master cylinder bore as the Mondeo (18mm vs 19mm) which should mean pedal travel is still sensible.

Mondeo mk3 concentric clutch slave

3D model of Mk3 Mondeo Clutch slave

Now with the clutch slave accurately 3D modelled I could measure the 4 bolt flange from the gearbox bearing retainer and by overlaying the two bolt patterns aligned on the centre of the input shaft I could design an adapter which I could index the relative rotational angle of the bolt patterns in the software until the fluid connections where in the right place for the hole in the bellhousing. The resulting first version was this :

3D design of first adapter design

Initially I transferred this to a bit of scrap plastic to make sure I hadn’t made any stupid mistakes before spending much more time cutting a proper steel adapter plate.

Plastic prototype RX8 clutch slave adapter

So with all that checked out and nothing apparently an issue I moved onto the steel one. I did make a mistake here if you can spot it…

To make the adapter I did the same as I had done with the plastic where I printed out the design at 100% scale, stuck it to the steel and then used a centre punch to mark the centre of all the drill positions. I admit this isn’t the most accurate method but it seems to work quite well!

Clutch slave adapter Mk1 in steel

This is the initial adapter, the four larger holes are M8 clearance holes. on the original RX8 flanged retainer they’re 9.4mm but I think I did them 8.5mm as that’s the drill I had available and tightening up the tolerance was probably a good thing. This actually turned out to be less of a problem in the end but that’s another story. The centre hole is larger than the original design to allow for the location feature I’d overlooked on the new slave (which is 42mm OD) to sit within it.

Clutch slave adapter trial fitted to the gearbox

So it fits, I called this good progress but it should come as absolute no surprise that it wasn’t quite that simple…

Clutch slave unit fitted to adapter plate

As soon as I tried to add the clutch slave all the issues become apparent as it just clashed with everything. This told me that I’d need to change the adapter to countersunk bolts so the slave didn’t foul them. I could have changed the rotation but I wanted to avoid having lengths of pipe in the bell housing if I could. Plus I’d already made this steel adapter and didn’t want to do it again!

The other thing I noticed is that the cast webs off the original pivot point actually clashed with the adapter plate preventing it from quite sitting flat so I decided to remove some of the plate to correct this minor issue.

Now the adapter sits flat and at the same time I countersunk all the adapter bolt holes and replaced the bolts.

It all fits more or less where I wanted it but when I tried to bolt up the gearbox I saw another problem. With the bearing retainer plate, a sensible thickness for an adapter plate and the height of the concentric slave itself the slave was already almost fully pressed down so that which it may have worked initially as the clutch wore the slave would prevent the clutch from fully re-engaging. Clearly not ideal so we need to get more radical. First off the back of the clutch slave had a lip similar to the one on the RX8 flanged plate which initially I was just going to leave on and sit on top of the bearing retainer plate as it was slightly thicker than the adapter plate but that just wasn’t an option any more. Below you can the way the slave is totally compressed. Also note how close the hydraulic connection point is to the original pivot point casting.

Stack height issues in the new clutch assembly

This lip was adding a couple mm of stack height we needed to remove so I proceeded to carefully file the lip off down on the slave such that it would sit full within the adapter plate and ideally totally flush to the back of the plate.

On trying to refit this in its new position I realised I’d created another problem that I glossed over earlier – that I’d need to remove some of the original gearbox casting to make the new slave sit flat in the orientation I needed as the original clutch fork pivot point clashed with the location where I wanted the hydraulic connections on the new slave. The best method I found was a drill bit larger than the feature and just drill the top of it away until it clears the new slave.

Around this time I realised really I needed to remove the original flanged bearing retainer plate as it alone added about 4mm to the stack height so I engaged in the type of butchery that makes engineers wince. I took the flanged retainer and trimmed the flange off it. Yes I specifically mean that – if you cut through the bearing retainer ring it will reduce the height such that the bearing is no longer held tightly so you need to carefully trim off just the flange plate leaving a ring the right height fill the gap between the bearing and where the retaining plate face would be. because the new slave retaining face was now flush with the adapter plate this ring will now be held in place by that. Removing this plate now meant I had to drill yet more out of the pivot casting to prevent it clashing but that’s easy.

Final fitment of the concentric slave conversion from the original fork position

Now everything is in place and the hydraulics are accessible through the original clutch fork hole.

RX8 gearbox refitted to the car

And all back in the car…

For anyone who may want it here’s the PDF drawing for the adapter :

RX8 Project – Part 7, Introduction to flywheels

Having decided what engine I was going to use and deciding to keep the existing gearbox so I could retain the factory carbon prop shaft the next logical step was to work out how exactly to achieve that…

First off the engine I had bought was from an automatic and so had a flex plate rather than a flywheel. This is a comparatively thin piece of steel which gives the starter ring gear, which would be on the outside of the flywheel on a  manual, a fixing point and also mates the torque converter to the crank. In automatics the torque converter provides the rotating mass to smooth the engine pulses. So the first step was to get a flywheel that would work. My first idea was to take the factory RX8 flywheel which has quite a deep offset (i.e. it is quite dished) which would help correct for gearbox adapters which would space the gearbox off the engine. So I looked into simply machining off the back of the RX8 flywheel flat and drilling the bolt pattern from the V6 crank into it. While technically this would work there are a few problems.

RX8 V6 Flywheel Mod

(Taken from here : http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=185939&page=2)

The image above shows exactly what I’m talking about, this is a factory RX8 flywheel modded onto a V6 crank. I believe the engine used in this case is the Mazda KLDE. While this all looks good there are a couple of issues. First is that the RX8 flywheel isn’t balanced as it stands, it forms a balanced arrangement with the rest of the engine and so needs modifying. I don’t have a picture of this but the weighted lip on the rear ranges from thin on one side to very thick the other. Aftermarket flywheels get round this by using balanced flywheel and a separate counterweight. Problem two is that the factory flywheel is cast iron, this has an irregular structure and can have flaws and other weaknesses from new but parts are generally made with a factor of safety to account for this but modification in this way will remove some of this additional strength and change areas of stress. I actually 3D modelled this change to see if it would work:

Original:

RX8 Flywheel Bottom OldRX8 Flywheel Top Old

Modified:

RX8 Flywheel Bottom NewRX8 Flywheel Top New

Having modelled this I performed a stress analysis of this based on the force created by the flywheel spinning at 8000 RPM. This is more than redline as it stands but it seemed prudent to plan ahead! It turns out the stock flywheel is only about 20% stronger than required based on the nominal ‘standard’ properties of cast iron. The new version would be below strength at this speed, dropping to 7500 RPM gave something around 102% strength. Not a number I felt confident in at all! Just to make a point here as people argue the safety of modded flywheels a lot (mostly from “I’ve done it and it’s fine”). I’m not saying it will fail modded like this, in fact the numbers suggest it is (just) strong enough here but there is no margin for error even on the ‘ideal’ material and cast iron does vary significantly. A given flywheel might be fine like this for years, but get a weaker one or one with a flaw or even give it a hard jolt when it’s at full revs and it may just shatter. If it does, be somewhere else!

So after deciding the mod wasn’t really the best idea I realised that all I needed was a flywheel that would bolt up and work. A fairly easy task at face value since it turned out the the standard Ford clutch splines (1″ dia, 23 spline) match the gearbox the solution suddenly seemed simple and I just needed a stock Ford flywheel and clutch for that engine. It turns out there were a few variations of the Ford flywheel depending if you went for an ST200, ST220 or just a vanilla V6 Mondeo but the difference between them seems to be some are ‘lighter’ versions to make the more special cars rev a little more freely. This is achieved by leaving out sections of the outer lip on the flywheel. In my case I had no idea if this project would ever work so I bought the cheapest! This is when another problem emerged:

 

Mondeo Vs S-Type Starter

Note the starter ring gear on each. The top is the S-Type flex plate, the bottom is the Mondeo one. It seems the Ford and Jag use a different starter motor as well. Add to this that the Mondeo flywheel puts the clutch far too far forward to mate to the gearbox and because the starter is on the engine side on the Jag but on the top of the gearbox on the Mondeo (because it’s transverse) – something we can’t do on the RX8 as the gearbox is wrong and there isn’t the room in the tunnel the whole idea falls apart! Modifying the cast one seems to be the only sensible option.

Around this time I happened to have a chat with a colleague at work who is a professional mechanical engineer and 3D designer I know through the job I had at the time and explained the problem and he directed me towards a machinist who did a lot of work for him and was well into cars. By chance a few days later this machinist came into the office and as soon as I explained the problem he just said “ah, we’ll just make you a custom one if you do a design”…. So I found myself with the challenge of designing a custom flywheel which as per the machinists recommendation would be made out of EN24 steel. As a comparison changing the models above to EN24 changes the safety factor to something around 300% from memory meaning we can lighten it significantly later if required and not risk weakening it dangerously.

More to come…