This is going to be the first big project documented from start to finish on this blog.
I recently had the the idea to put some lights in the footwells of my car, a 2008 Scion tC. There are a variety of kits available online that use standard multicolor LED strips, but I was never fond of the options available.
For one, the control interfaces are clunky and scream ‘mod’. Most of them use thin remotes, though a few have small control boxes attached directly to the LEDs. I wanted a control switch that integrated into the car’s switch panel and looked like it could be OEM.
I also couldn’t find any kits that used RGBW LEDs. The ‘white’ light produced by combining Red + Green + Blue LEDs is muddy. I wanted something that included a true white LED.
Lastly, and most intriguing to me, is that I’ve always had a vague interest in designing a shift light that interfaced via the CAN-bus available on the car’s OBD-II port. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine the two ideas.
To include all of these features, I need to design my own driver system. If I’m going to do that, I may as well use addressable LEDs and go a bit crazy with the patterns!
Currently my plan is to prototype everything with an Arduino Uno and potentially port everything over to a Teensy 3.X for the final implementation.
Basic Project Goals:
- Drive RGBW footwell lights with switch panel control
- Pull vehicle telemetry via CAN
Project Features:
- Custom button panel to control modes and brightness
- Brightness control with visual feedback
- Audio-intensity sensor / mode
- Vehicle telemetry integration
- User-configurable settings, read / saved on SD card.
These are the main goals/features, though I may add more as I go along.
I’m really excited to start working on this. I have no regular plan for posts, but I’ll be sure to update as I make progress.