Steady indicator signal

[TeaJhay]

Hi Everyone! Got my 2010 sunburst XR6 coming upto a year ago and while I wait for money to fall from the sky to do some engine mods, I figured I'd do some lighting mods for some fun while I learn more about electronics.

At this stage I think I'm set for everything except getting the right signals I want to where I want. I want to add an LED chase indicator to my headlights, and I need to get a steady "ON" signal to my LED controller to run the animation. I haven't done anything with canbus before and I couldn't find the information I needed in the wsm so I wanted to get some advice:

You're making your own LED headlights, you want to run a chase animation when indicating left or right, but you need a steady ON signal to run it and a steady OFF for it to stop, how/where would you pull that signal from? 

At this stage the indicators are the only part I intend on changing from factory signals. I will be changing the low and high beam but they won't be interfacing with my microcontroller

[xr6tForMe]

That is an interesting idea.

 

Might want to check what rules there are for blinkers to make sure that you remain roadworthy.

 

Might be a silly question, but does it really need to be a "steady on"? 

What happens if it is triggered only on while the normal globe would be on?

It _might_ go through the whole chasing cycle during a normal "blink" (but then be off for the normal "off time")?

 

I think the blinker stalk would have to give a "steady on" which gets turned into "intermittent" later.

[TeaJhay]

The idea is actually more then just animated indicators, I've actually got a plan to overhaul the entire headlight. Swapping out the indicators for LED strips that can act as DRL's, and changing out HI/LO halogens for projector LED's with demon eye's and angel halo's. Fog lights included of course. Start-up animation, the whole works. For the most part it's actually pretty straight forward. Headlights will be controlled by the car still, and will be electrically similar to an LED swap, with a heat-sink resistor to make the BCM happy (and blacking out the reflective housing so as not to shoot the light everywhere).

Regarding the rules, for blinkers at least they just need to flash at a minimum of 1hz, and no more then 2hz. I'm not going to get a free pass but I do intend on making the lights fit ADR and vehicle regulations as much as I practically can, which is also why I'm setting up a rotary dial in the cabin that'll have a "road legal" and "disco" mode. Using two separate micro controllers, one of which will be exclusively programmed with road legal, safe animations (indicate, parking light, brake light, etc) and the second one will be  for when I'm at a meet or private property and just showing off.
 

I did think about the stalk, but then I'd be running wire through the steering column and from the last time I removed the steering wheel, there didn't seem to be much space. You are right though, it doesn't actually need to be a "steady on", at least not from the car. I was being silly and thinking the lights were controlled by a canbus signal, and after some critical thinking realised it is just pulsing 12v from the cluster. I found a really useful diagram form The12volt - relay diagram #59 that should let me branch the 12v at the actual indicator off to a little circuit that'll turn the pulse into a steady signal. Add a 6-Ohm resistor so the BCM see's the correct load and it shouldn't throw a fit.

The signal does need to be steady since the micro-controller it's going to is going to see the signal as a push-button, when indicating the button is pushed and will play L or R indicator animation, when turned off it'll return to default state (DRL, or not, it's completely customisable). The 12v will go through something to shift it down to 3.3v, safe for the chip.