*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: