Meter/gauge for car

[superbrew]

Hello, I would like some advice on building a meter/gauge circuit for my car. I would be monitoring various inputs like air/fuel ratio, oil pressure, boost, etc. I am not worried about how to get the signals for the stuff I want to monitor, but I would like to know what route I should take as far as the actual measurement of these signals. After some searching around here my first thought was to use an ICL7107 and a 3 1/2 digit 7 segment display. However, I also see that I can do much more using a microcontroller. I have some experience with digital circiuts, but none with microcontrollers. There seems to be very many options for microcontrollers, ie. AVR, PIC, 8051. How would I determine which to use? Where can I find out more about programming them? I am overwhelmed by the amount of informantion on this subject. Thanks.

Nevermind, I found the sticky in the microcontroller section. I will post back with some more specific questions later.

 

[Shax]

I think you may need something like this :

**broken link removed**

No point reinventing the wheel eh

 

[superbrew]

Thank you for replying, but as my car is somewhat modified, I would be using aftermarket sensors, such as a wideband O2 as opposed to the factory narrowband, or pressure transducers to read turbo boost above what the factory maxes out at. After researching the microcontroller idea a little, it seems as though that is over my skill level right now. I am going back to the 7107 idea and am trying to work out some logic to be able to use a pushbutton to switch inputs.

 

[Super_voip]

I was about build something similar 10 years ago for a motorbike, an 8051 using I2C for sensor readings. Just remeber that the ICL7107 is just a naked voltmeter, you could buy a $10 multimeter and achieve the same result, with all the "hard" work taken out.

 

[FirefighterBlu3]

hmmmm, i'm embarking on a similar project. my car was heavily trashed^H^H^Hi mean modded by a previous owner and i want to restore some gauge function but using digital tools.

 

[superbrew]

Just wanted to post an update of my progress if anyone is interested. i decided to go with a PIC16F88. So far I have only one input. i am working on how to switch inputs and reset the MAX indication.
**broken link removed**