1995E
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- July 16, 2010
- Messages
- 1,858
- Reaction score
- 60
- City, State
- Maryland
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2020 Ford Interceptor
Hello all.
Along time ago, I thought about messing with MFT and trying to change that from stock but I realized it'd be too much work and it'd be a terrible idea to do.
So instead, I just want to add my own electronics control center. To do that, I don't want to randomly tap from the fuse box. I want to have a dedicated fuse box wire into the cabin from the battery that will have a relay controlled by the battery saver of the stock OEM.
My idea is to use an Arduino Mega 2560 to control a relay board or use mosfets instead to power separate accessories like an ambient lighting customization made off of cheap Ebay LED strips running off of 12V logic. Also, I want to tap into the OBDII stuff using the arduino, and using several Adafruit TFT Capacitive touch screens, to display information like actual tire pressures, actual engine temperature, actual transmission temperature if it is in there.
Plus, I want to add USB ports that will provide higher amperage than the lame .1 amp that comes from the stock Ford USB ports.
Also, I want to use my own custom ultrasound sensors to do front sensing.
So that's why I need a fuse box.
I made a CAD of my fuse box already, and will 3D print is shortly. I just need to know how to get through the firewall to connect the positive line. I assume I just ground to body so I just need to worry about one wire which is the positive right?
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas where I can go through the firewall and any other tips?
Actually, can I just splice into the positive wire that leads into the fuse box or is that a bad idea?
After I'm done, I can provide a tutorial, list of parts, upload my code to Github and then anyone else interested can give it a try.
Along time ago, I thought about messing with MFT and trying to change that from stock but I realized it'd be too much work and it'd be a terrible idea to do.
So instead, I just want to add my own electronics control center. To do that, I don't want to randomly tap from the fuse box. I want to have a dedicated fuse box wire into the cabin from the battery that will have a relay controlled by the battery saver of the stock OEM.
My idea is to use an Arduino Mega 2560 to control a relay board or use mosfets instead to power separate accessories like an ambient lighting customization made off of cheap Ebay LED strips running off of 12V logic. Also, I want to tap into the OBDII stuff using the arduino, and using several Adafruit TFT Capacitive touch screens, to display information like actual tire pressures, actual engine temperature, actual transmission temperature if it is in there.
Plus, I want to add USB ports that will provide higher amperage than the lame .1 amp that comes from the stock Ford USB ports.
Also, I want to use my own custom ultrasound sensors to do front sensing.
So that's why I need a fuse box.
I made a CAD of my fuse box already, and will 3D print is shortly. I just need to know how to get through the firewall to connect the positive line. I assume I just ground to body so I just need to worry about one wire which is the positive right?
Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas where I can go through the firewall and any other tips?
Actually, can I just splice into the positive wire that leads into the fuse box or is that a bad idea?
After I'm done, I can provide a tutorial, list of parts, upload my code to Github and then anyone else interested can give it a try.
