700R4 TCC Wiring

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Accelo

You have one of the cleanest under-dash wiring I have seen!
Microprocessors make a lot of things possible for those that know how to harness them.
Great job on the controller. You have put an extortionary amount of effort into the project.
!!

Thank you. My main goal with the wiring has been to make it look reasonably stock.

[Rich72C10]

you'll be able to sell these things before you know it, I am actually surprised no one as asked for one yet!

How she running? You feel all this work is paying off?

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Rich72C10

you'll be able to sell these things before you know it, I am actually surprised no one as asked for one yet!

How she running? You feel all this work is paying off?

We will see if anyone expresses interest. I'd be happy to send a PCB, the code, and the STL file for the enclosure to anyone who wants to give it a try. The bare PCBs cost $2 plus $7 shipping from jlcpcb.com. I guess they are banking on me ordering 10,000 of these at some point. Highly unlikely!

It's been drizzling and foggy here for the last few days, so I haven't been driving my truck. I've been wanting to record a video of the controller in action, but that will have to wait. I think I have a chance of being able to drive my truck without constantly thinking about the TCC with this setup.

[HO455]

Interest expressed! Yours is far cleaner than mine would end up being. Let me know where your at on cost when you're ready.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by HO455

Interest expressed! Yours is far cleaner than mine would end up being. Let me know where your at on cost when you're ready.

Cool. The cost of all the parts may end up being a stumbling block since there's risk associated with trying something that is somewhat untested. I've attached a complete parts list and the total cost for the parts. None of the prices I listed include shipping or tax.

Once I've got the latest version working, I'd be happy to send you the old one that's currently in my truck for you to try out, if you're interested. You'd just have to buy the Dakota Digital speed sensor, Arduino Nano, brake switch, 700R4 connector and wires.

[HO455]

That would be great. I already have everything except the speed signal generator. It would be cool to get the lockup converter working properly.

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by HO455

That would be great. I already have everything except the speed signal generator. It would be cool to get the lockup converter working properly.

How is your transmission wired internally? Are the two leads of the solenoid connected directly to pins on the connector? Is the 4th gear switch N.O., connected to a pin, and connected to ground inside the transmission?

[HO455]

It's a TH350C so no 4th gear. It uses the same 4 pin plug as a 700r4 but only 2 pins are used on mine. Positive and negative to the solenoid. The lock up solenoid is ungrounded.

[pjmoreland]

The code will require a very minor tweak to ignore the 4th gear input to the Arduino. The logic to lock and unlock will be based solely on speed and vacuum then (and the brake switch). Would it be a problem if the TCC locked in 2nd gear and then the transmission upshifted to 3rd with the TCC locked? I don't think this would happen during normal driving since the speed and vacuum logic should prevent it. The transmission would likely already be in 3rd above 50mph and light throttle. I could see it happening if you were shifting through the gears manually at light throttle.

[pjmoreland]

Here's a video of the Arduino TCC controller in action:

https://youtu.be/1fJMRk6qrf0

[HO455]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

The code will require a very minor tweak to ignore the 4th gear input to the Arduino. The logic to lock and unlock will be based solely on speed and vacuum then (and the brake switch). Would it be a problem if the TCC locked in 2nd gear and then the transmission upshifted to 3rd with the TCC locked? I don't think this would happen during normal driving since the speed and vacuum logic should prevent it. The transmission would likely already be in 3rd above 50mph and light throttle. I could see it happening if you were shifting through the gears manually at light throttle.

I don't think it would be a problem (Especially the way I drive!) I have driven in second overdrive while towing up steeper grades but the vacuum should keep the converter unlocked and if it is a problem I could deactivate the lockup circuit.

[pjmoreland]

My friend printed the smaller enclosure for me the other day. The new PCB should be here in a couple of weeks.

[pjmoreland]

The new smaller PCB arrived today. It will be a few days before I can test it though because I'm finishing up installation of a Boyd tank.

The Arduino in the photos isn't the right one. I just placed it in there to check the fit.

[pjmoreland]

Finally got around to installing the new controller. Now there is room for my hand on the parking brake. I wouldn't say there's lots of room, but there's enough. I haven't had a chance to take it for a test drive.

HO455 - I've got the old box ready to send to you to try out if you're still interested. PM me your address and I'll drop it in the mail next week.

[HO455]

PM sent along with much appreciation.

[pjmoreland]

Finally got to go for a test drive with the new smaller Arduino controller installed, and it is fully functional. The vacuum trip points are slightly different, so I will need to recalibrate the vacuum sensor.

[Accelo]

Here is what is for sale on the market today. TC-71 GM Torque Converter Lock-up
Part #: TC-71
https://www.ronfrancis.com/product/294
Doesn't have all the work of features and the cost is $220.95.
This system by pjomeland not only is a bargain but of a much better design.
My bet is there isn't any comparison on drive ability
Cheers and great job pjomeland.

[pjmoreland]

Thank you, Accelo. That Ron Francis kit appears to be similar to this one from B&M. Neither have a vacuum sensor.

https://www.holley.com/products/driv...er/parts/70244

[SCOTI]

I came across this earlier today so when I was done for the day @ work I read through from the start. Very impressive effort & logic.

Well done @pjmoreland !

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I came across this earlier today so when I was done for the day @ work I read through from the start. Very impressive effort & logic.

Well done @pjmoreland !

Thanks, SCOTI. My setup sure changed over the course of this thread. I kind of wish the relay/vacuum switch setup would have worked out better than it did. It's hard to beat the functionality of a microcontroller in an application like this though!

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by pjmoreland

Thanks, SCOTI. My setup sure changed over the course of this thread. I kind of wish the relay/vacuum switch setup would have worked out better than it did. It's hard to beat the functionality of a microcontroller in an application like this though!

Agreed. Exactly!

[pjmoreland]

I noticed that sometimes my Arduino TCC controller was locking the TCC at speeds slightly lower than 50mph. I collected some speed data and discovered random speed spikes. I believe this is occurring due to electrical noise causing phantom signals on the digital input that's reading the speed sensor. I had the speed sensor cable zip tied to the bundle of other wires going to the controller, so I separated it. This reduced the number of spikes slightly. I also added a 4.7k pull-up resistor to the digital input, and this reduced the number and size of the spikes significantly. I was still seeing the occasional spike though, so I made some software modifications to filter them out. Basically the code is calculating the acceleration or deceleration rate from one speed data point to the next, and it is throwing out any points that show an unrealistic accel/decel rate.

The first graph below was with the pull-up resistor installed. The spikes were much larger previously. I failed to save a recording from before though. The vertical lines going all the way down to zero on the first graph is just where the TCC locked or unlocked, and I had "TCCON" and "TCCOFF" in my data list, so these aren't issues with the signal. The significant thing is all the little spikes all over the place.

The second graph below is with the cable separated from the other wires. It shows one large group of spikes and some jitter at higher speeds. This is also a graph of the raw signal without any averaging. That's why it doesn't look as smooth as the previous graph.

The third graph shows the spikes being filtered out by the software.

[Rich72C10]

Ahh, squashing those bugs I see! Love watching you do this and tweaking your design. Nothing better than a User/Hardware Designer/Software Developer all mixed into one!

Though it would be cool if you could speed up / slow down like that .... perhaps with a flux capacitor added to your engine ;-)

[pjmoreland]

Originally Posted by Rich72C10

Ahh, squashing those bugs I see! Love watching you do this and tweaking your design. Nothing better than a User/Hardware Designer/Software Developer all mixed into one!

Though it would be cool if you could speed up / slow down like that .... perhaps with a flux capacitor added to your engine ;-)

I love the Back to the Future movies. I've watched them countless times. Yes, I'm a nerd...

[BigBird05]

It might help your spikes if you braid the wires or at least twist they. When we first started making anti-lock brake harness's we braded them an added shielding. AkA aluminum foil.