arduino based Veg system controller I built.

[xweezyx]

Hello. I just got my WVO system running on my 1986 190D. It consists of a separate aluminum tank with heated pickup, hose in hose fuel line, heated filter jacket, heat exchanger and separate supply and return valves. Anyways, I used to have a VOcontrol, that they have stopped producing, and also left a lot to be desired, so I came up with this...

I used an Arduino and a total of 9 LED's to create a display along with a single switch. The blue row next to the switch is my fuel level gauge that reads off of a sealed sender in my tank. I'm still working out the scale, but it seems to work pretty well. The green light says whether the system is on or not. It blinks when the system is purging, which happens automatically, and the times can be set in the program for switch off or switch on. lastly, the red light under the on/off light blinks when the temperature is below a certain amount. It reads off of a TX3 temp sensor right after my heat exchanger.

I have made it so the system does not purge if the system is ON when you start the car, so there is less fluid swapping when you leave the system on for running in a store or something.

Nothing blinks at you when the system is off and the fuel gauge lights are dimmable if you used ultrabrights like I did.

You can read the serial output with a USB cable that shows you the actual temperature.

Parts involved total between 30-40 bucks. I switched out my Arduino UNO R3 ($25) for a chinese Arduino Nano clone ($5), which works the same, just way smaller. I also used a delay off timer relay to keep the arduino running while cranking, since I couldn't find an always-on accessory wire in the car. I used an adjustable switching voltage regulator to bring the voltage down to 5 volts as to keep the stress off of the onboard regular. These things are optional. I will draw the schematic and post my code if anyone is interested.

[mach4]

Looks cool. I'm personally not a fan of veggie stuff but I am an Arduino fan. Here's a link to my Arduino/Android engine instrumentation project - Engine Instrumentation Project

I later added a fuel pressure sensor to the system - Adding a Fuel Pressure Gauge, which is something you might be interested in as I understand veggie fuel is tough on filters and an early warning of clogging would seem to be helpful.

How are you powering the Arduino to deal with the dirty automotive electrical systems?

[xweezyx]

Originally Posted by mach4

Looks cool. I'm personally not a fan of veggie stuff but I am an Arduino fan. Here's a link to my Arduino/Android engine instrumentation project - Engine Instrumentation Project

I later added a fuel pressure sensor to the system - Adding a Fuel Pressure Gauge, which is something you might be interested in as I understand veggie fuel is tough on filters and an early warning of clogging would seem to be helpful.

How are you powering the Arduino to deal with the dirty automotive electrical systems?

Cool, I will have to check that out. As far as power goes, the little switching voltage regulator i'm using seems to be putting out power that is plenty clean for the Arduino. I suppose a few capacitors could help too.

The way I prepare my oil pretty much keeps my filter lasting for a few thousand miles, but monitoring fuel pressure might be a useful thing for me to do.

[mach4]

Originally Posted by xweezyx

The way I prepare my oil pretty much keeps my filter lasting for a few thousand miles, but monitoring fuel pressure might be a useful thing for me to do.

It's a different world - I've got 85k miles on my main filter with no sign of pressure drop. I changed the pre-filter when I switched to stainless braided fuel lines, but when I cut it open to inspect, it was obvious it could have gone another 85k miles with no problem.