The original spirit, with today's technology.
Digital gauges that bring the aging Nissan 300ZX dashboard up to date, in true retromod spirit.
zMODgauge is far more than a simple gauge. Where the factory unit shows a single reading, zMODgauge shows that same reading and others on the same screen, using an auxiliary board. You pick from several designs and decide which values to display. Installation is plug and play, exactly like the factory modules. No harness modification: just remove a few tabs from the plastic of the factory cluster, and the gauges bolt straight onto the existing connections.
The system is built to grow. Additional screens can replace the factory temperature and fuel gauges. Expansion boards add more sensor inputs: an analog board for 0–5 V sensors, including AFR readings from an off-the-shelf gauge such as an Innovate; EGT probes; and a dedicated board that reads ECU data over the Consult protocol. Everything ties together over CAN bus. A phone app lets you select designs, backgrounds, colors and displayed values. Already working with the boost and oil pressure module, it will progressively control the entire system.
The first version of the boards replacing the boost and oil pressure gauges is working. It mounts directly onto the factory cluster and is being tested on the car with the factory sensors. The phone app already works with this module, handling designs, backgrounds and colors.
An improved version of these boards is underway, able to take one or two extra analog sensors directly, and adding CAN bus, which the first version lacks. The temperature gauge is also in development.
From the first idea to today.
First gauges on OLED screens and an Arduino Uno
Moving to the ESP32
Dual-screen gauges, being tested on the car
A second project is in the works: replacing the factory cluster entirely with a large digital screen. A completely redesigned display, several visual themes, driven by an onboard computer. Again, a plug and play system, designed to install without modification. More to come.
This project moves forward thanks to feedback from the people following it. A suggestion, a question, something that bugs you: write to me. I read everything, even if I don't always reply.
This project is developed alone, in my free time and with my own money. If you like my work and want to support its development, a small contribution is always appreciated. Nothing is required, and the project will carry on either way.