Tru-Sequence Sequential Tail Light Controller (2 Years Of My Hard Work)

[snymat68]

*MODERATORS* - It would be really awesome if you would leave this in the general discussion for a while. I put 2 years of work into this project, and would really like it to get some exposure.

This is a project (endeavor) I've been working on for the past 2 years. It's called Tru-Sequence. It is a sequential tail light controller for my 5th gen Camaro.

You are probably familiar with the sequential rear turn signals on some Mustangs and other vehicles. I wanted something similar, but I wanted my signals to execute a FULL sequence (ON-ON-OFF-OFF) instead of just a sequential "on" pattern and then have all the bulbs shut off all at once (which is how every other sequential signal works). I consider the others to execute only a "half sequence", if you will.

Since there was nothing on the market for this, I took it upon myself to a system from scratch. What you see here is the end result of 2 years of hard work and late nights hunched over the books/computer/soldering iron/oscilloscope/car/etc. There were many iterations with lots of improvements along the way.

I designed and built everything myself (with the exception of having a board house manufacture the PCB's). The schematics, PCB design, CAD models, renderings, PCB component assembly, the 500 lines of code that it runs, the enclosures, and installation in the car were all done by me.

Not only are the turn signals fully sequential but so are the brakes and hazards. As long as the key is in the "run" position (car can be running or not), Tru-Sequence takes control of the bright filaments of the 4 tail light bulbs. When you turn the key to the "accessory" or "off" positions, Tru-Sequence gives full control back to the car's computer (BCM).

Even though Tru-Sequence has control, it can still sense if a tail light is out. If this happens, it will automatically disable itself and give control back to the car's computer, which will in turn notify you that you have a bulb out (stock behavior). Tru-Sequence will remain disabled until the car is turned off and back on. This pattern will continue until the bad bulb is replaced.

While Tru-Sequence has control of the tail lights, the car's computer (BCM) is connected to the load resistors in the trunk. This is to keep the BCM from thinking all the bulbs are out (since they are no longer connected to the BCM and there is no load). This is another aspect where Tru-Sequence is smart. As it turns out, the BCM only checks for bulbs out at the beginning of a turn signal blink, and not when the brakes or hazards are applied. Tru-Sequence accounts for this and only connects the BCM to the load resistors for a few hundred milliseconds at the beginning of only turn signal blinks. This greatly reduces the amount of power that gets dumped into the load resistors which could cause them to get very hot. With this controlled by Tru-Sequence, the load resistors never see power when the brakes or hazards are on, and actually remain quite cool while the turn signal is on.

There is a "line driver" module that I installed in the left end of the dash that senses and amplifies the signals from the BCM to send to the main Tru-Sequence module in the trunk. This module under the dash also has a switch to choose between "Stock" or "Tru-Sequence" behavior. This allows you to easily set everything back to stock if you need to.

Because of how the PC board pricing is calculated, I had a small, unused corner of PC board that I was already paying for, so I decided to design and code a small "police lights LED flasher" circuit. It plugs in with a USB cable and can be run from any phone charge, car charger, USB port, etc. Just a fun circuit to play around with at home or at car shows (but not to be used on public roads). It's got 9 unique flash patterns as well as a random mode that randomly cycles through all patterns.

I'm very pleased with how everything turned out, and I learned a ton of stuff I didn't know 2 years ago.

Let me know what you guys think!



Also, here are some preliminary videos of the tail lights and police flasher:

Tail Lights:

Police Lights In Lighted Room:

Police Lights In Darn Room:

Police Lights Reflection Off Ceiling In Dark Room:

[KJS]

Cool! well done. My son is an electrical engineer and I know how something like this can keep someone challenged unitl its solved. We've got lots of stereo equipment and other stuff that he's finally figured out all over the basement.
I hope the 6th Gen has the same lighting system as the 5th Gen so it will get a bigger market.
Kudos!!!!!!

[Dfault]

Figure out how to do it for the 2014 tail lights, and I'll buy the system! Could be easier since we already have LED's.

[snymat68]

Originally Posted by Dfault

Figure out how to do it for the 2014 tail lights, and I'll buy the system! Could be easier since we already have LED's.

I looked into it. It would require a lot of invasive work with those tail lights.

[Dfault]

Damnit, would have been cool to have!

[rebelyell22]

I like it. What would price be like?

[thkfast]

Holy crap, my brain hurts.

[snymat68]

Originally Posted by rebelyell22

I like it. What would price be like?

I wasn't really planning to sell them. Don't want the liability. But just based on material costs and labor, (if I were to sell them) they'd probably be in the $350 range, give or take, for me to make any profit.

[2SSCamaroChris]

This is Shark Tank worthy without a doubt!!!!

May want to register the domain.
http://www.tru-sequence.com/

It is available.
https://www.godaddy.com/domains/sear...&isc=gofdbs011

[Rainbow1616]

Looks good but unless this thing is very reasonably priced I will stick with my diy circuit board that looks the same from the rear. Yes I do get an occasional check turn signal message if I turn them too slow but I can live with that.

[Jasper]

Excellent work. Very professionally done and must be quite satisfying. I'm an electronic engineer and know how much work this must have been.

I'm curious what the cost of development has been? I would love one of these but $350 is a bit much for me although I don't want to de-value what it's taken for you to get this far.

Have you considered somewhat of a DIY kit which could be sold for less? I would imagine there are a fair number of us who would like to do some of the soldering/assembly ourselves. In school we had to assemble a multimeter kit and it was fun. If the circuit boards can be bought in a batch order perhaps the cost per piece would be less and then all we need are basic instructions.

If you get a lot of people to buy the DIY kit for less cash it would be similar to a few people buying the completed kit at a higher price but will save you the time and legality as well.

I would say I'd personally be willing to pay up to $200 for something like this. But that's just me.

J

[Homeless Man]

This looks exactly the same as the aftermarket ones. Except the aftermarket ones look cooler no offense

[snymat68]

Originally Posted by Jasper

Excellent work. Very professionally done and must be quite satisfying. I'm an electronic engineer and know how much work this must have been.

I'm curious what the cost of development has been? I would love one of these but $350 is a bit much for me although I don't want to de-value what it's taken for you to get this far.

Have you considered somewhat of a DIY kit which could be sold for less? I would imagine there are a fair number of us who would like to do some of the soldering/assembly ourselves. In school we had to assemble a multimeter kit and it was fun. If the circuit boards can be bought in a batch order perhaps the cost per piece would be less and then all we need are basic instructions.

If you get a lot of people to buy the DIY kit for less cash it would be similar to a few people buying the completed kit at a higher price but will save you the time and legality as well.

I would say I'd personally be willing to pay up to $200 for something like this. But that's just me.

J

I've also thought about a DIY kit. (Although, even with a a fully assembled board, there is still a good bit of DIY required to install the thing.) Sadly, at low to medium quantities, $200 is about the cost of materials alone.

[snymat68]

Originally Posted by Homeless Man

This looks exactly the same as the aftermarket ones. Except they look cooler no offense

Which aftermarket ones? I haven't yet seen any that do a full sequence.