Hi All,

I've begun work on a canbus app for the fl2, I've done alot of work on a jaguar XF version of this, however that has gotten to a tricky part so I have diverted my focus over to the simpler fl2 (no ac settings etc) This is running on a pi3 (works better with a pi4) with the Official raspberry pi touchscreen and a canbus HAT. It makes use of the carlinkit dongle to be able to run carplay, however this is all running on linux no android in sight.

In terms of canbus bits, its super early at the moment, so not a huge amount in there, but luckily the parking sensor format is very similar to the XF so I have chucked in some visualisation for that, and also interfaced to a reversing camera. Special modes are ready to go and will be next on the list, along with parking angle (perhaps some stuff to do with the hadlex and percentage engaged). I know there's likely less interest on here for this than the XF since custom screens are readily available from xtrons but it may of interest to some!



https://github.com/rhysmorgan134/landrover-freelander2-can-app WIP Website

I'm super interested!

And have made a little progress on CAN decoding if you need anything? Think you have my email Addy.

EDIT - Email inbound

Last edited by Vanny on 1st Mar 2023 8:56 pm. Edited 1 time in total

I'll be following this with interest also  2014 Freelander 2 TD4 Manual Dynamic
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover
1956/7 88" Series One Land Rover - undergoing restoration

That looks very cool.

What sort of price range you thinking all up? Would prefer something like this over the Xtrons, but I think the price tag would be the decider.

Because I need an excuse for another project..... watching with interest! Current driveway contents:
2021 V60 Cross Country B5
2009 FL2 dog bus and shooting wagon

On Order: 2023 Fisker Ocean Ultra - deposit paid.

Grue wrote:

That looks very cool.

What sort of price range you thinking all up? Would prefer something like this over the Xtrons, but I think the price tag would be the decider.

That's brilliant! So good to see the Pi getting some mileage in this context; they're really good fun, and very rewarding to play with. For some reason I'm fascinated with all the data our cars generate, so being able to tap in to all the sensors and data streams is very appealing to me. I too will be following your progress with great interest. Feel free to post more pictures of your install and the other challenges.

Thanks so much for sharing.

rhys_m wrote:

Grue wrote:

That looks very cool.

What sort of price range you thinking all up? Would prefer something like this over the Xtrons, but I think the price tag would be the decider.

Pi plus screen is around £100, the canbus hat can be had for around £30, then it’s just the small extras, power supply etc etc. I guess most people who would be looking to do it may already have a pi laying around!

But not a Pi4, because we're not millionaires

Hello rhys_m, you have done a great job, but it seems to me that of any android headunit + canbus adapter will be more functional.
You can reprogram a cheap(< 10$) сhinese canbus adapter for any car with can bus and after that you will be able to control power for android headunit and rear view camera. The android screen will display the state of the car(doors, parking sensors, etc.) and from android you can send messages to the can bus.

Here is some information about the can adapter in Russian: https://www.drive2.ru/b/599820152787190466/

Here is an analysis of some can messages for FL2 in Rusian: https://www.drive2.ru/b/578407163836235804/

Here are the sources for the canbus adapter, which supports several cars, including FL2: https://github.com/smartgauges/canbox

Thanks @smartgauges I’ve read pretty much everyone of your posts in drive2! The main part of this project is around the jaguar XF which is much more complex of a replacement, and I am not really a fan of the Chinese offerings! The Freelander 2 is a nice car to move it over to as it’s much more simple.

As a separate update, I’ve been looking into interfacing to the MOST bus. It’s been a long long journey so far from designing a Pi Hat, to writing the low level driver implementation, all the way to know finally being able to use some data. I’ve just managed to get it implemented 90% with the cd player, and there’s a bunch of data available. I’ve displayed some through a quick app to give an idea, hopefully people find this as exciting as I do! Having access to the MOST bus is something that’s so far been out of reach for a lot of people. There’s been some useful pointers along the from smartgauges ^ and his blog posts have also been really useful!

 WIP Website

Have been meaning to drop the cash on the Xtrons at some point, but much more excited about this.

Pretty easy to install the Pi Screen?

Yeah its quite straightforward, the width of the official screen is agonisingly close to being perfect, I just had to tickle the edges of the vents to squeeze it in. MOST bus is coming on well, it's going to add a huge amount of functionality to it. WIP Website

This is a great project Rhys - you've already got lots done from the looks of things.

It's always struck me that there aren't more universal APIs/readers for reading this stuff, especially with more modern cars basically becoming one big screen. I like the concept of being able to take your UI from car to another (which is why I like carplay/android auto) as opposed to relying on car manufacturers on knowing UX!

Looking forward to seeing more of it.

Simon

Pardon my ignorance, this is well outside my field of understanding, but what do you hope to achieve with all this ?

FWIW my Fiesta ST has Android Auto but Ive yet to find a use for it. What am I missing ? Jules

I could buy maps to load onto my factory screen... but they'd be old and rather pricey. So my screen sits there taking up a load of real estate but has zero functional use for me.

My wish list for a usable touch screen in it's place would be:
Music. Load up a ton of mp3's onto it.
Google Maps.
Software on it i can run to talk to my OBDII reader for running diagnostic codes, or even the SDD software I currently have to bring a laptop out to the car to use.
And in the process making the car feel more modern? Great.

Xtrons would tick most of those boxes, but sounds like this way is cheaper, and with more room for tinkering if you're that way inclined.