The RedByrd TRANSformation.

[T-Bolt]

Originally Posted by Kubla

I want a tablet display for my dash

Agreed

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[cadillackid]

you can certainly do tablet displays... those 2 of mine are just windows tablets... one runs a VMSpc and the other is my EFILIVE for the transmission.. im also working on building my own solutions. so I can have the software more the way I want it..


sprogers:

yeah I had to make my park brake bracket even for just a lever brake.. parts from a 2000 definitely should work as the case is the same..

if you ever want to tune yourself you need the EFILive FLashscan V2. or you cannot edit tunes.. the autocal lets you load them.. im not sure if you can read them or not.. or if I can edit a tune for you and then you put it in your TCM... not sure how that works..

I adjusted a couple little things today.. and may while im on my trip to FL as well.. that right hand tablet has the full tuner in it so I can stop and tune on the fly if i wish.. I may up the full throttle from 3rd to 4th.. seems to shift a tad early when its layed out.. the shifts are perfect through the rest of the throttle range now.. might bring the Locker in a little earlier in 3rd gear..
-Christopher

[spgrogers]

So I should be able to hook up my Windows tablet to the EFILive and see what your seeing on your right side tablet, is that correct? Also Jason wired in a 6th cancel switch for me and a tow/haul switch as well, the tow/haul will also need to be calibrated.

[Kubla]

if I buy an allison 2000 with it's TCM and bolt it into my bus, is it pretty much plug and play when replacing an AT545?

[spgrogers]

I don't think it is that easy. I think you will need to find a doner bus, probably your best option, with pretty close to the same specs. I think there is something funny about the Allisons, and trying to get info on them is sometimes kind of difficult. The ECM will need to match up with TCM, they need to communicate together to shift right. It can be done, but sometimes can get kind of hairy. You will also have other factors like, I think most of the 2000 are only 5 speed vs. 4 speed in the AT545. You will gain a little, but there are different gear ratios in the transmissions and the rear differential ratios will play a part as well. Defiantly do a lot of home work, before you spend the money.

[cadillackid]

what sprogers said, the biggest challenge i went through was the vehicle speed sensor, I finally got my wiring harness sorted out yesterday to see exactly what goes where, (that after I drove 445 miles and then mowed the lawn). so now im going to direct connect the J1939 connector to the CAN 1 on my TCM and see fi the 2 will talk.

the ECM will not let me change the transmission type parameter even with the higher level Navistar software.. it may be a dealer-only option to do so.. with the trans type set to AT/MT. then it looks for speed signal through the VSS 2 pin connector... if the type is set to 'MD' then it looks for speed through the J1939. now it **MAY** auto select when the J1939 establishes communications.. or that port may not communicate at all unless the ECM is programmed. I do know I was getting some data through it when I monitored it before my aborted florida trip.

today if it doesnt rain I will run some test leads and connect the TCM to the ECM and see if they talk and where the speed signal comes from if I can establish comms.

it may also require that a TCM be Navistar programmed.. although J1939should be universal.. the PGN format itself is such that a module identifies itself simply by the Packet it sends..

for instance below is an example of a PGN formed to send out from an engine the load factors the engine is under.. (useful for shifting a transmission).



that message is universal... so any module should be able to read it..

**NOW**. the TCM must react to it.. if the aftermarket TCMs we are buying only respond to throttle position then the above PGN will have no effect on the transmission... whereas a navistar programmed unit may.. no way to tell without trying it.

for reference this one is the one that handles accelerator pedal information..


the transmission also will send messages back to the ECM as well.. what does the ECM require?? I have no idea since i dont have the integrators book for the allison-Navistar relationship..

** speed sensor **
back to the speed sensor - you can read back a few pages in this thread and see what I went through to get my VSS to work right.. and it still throws a temporary code every now and then for road speed but it only is when I first start the bus and not every time.. and clears itself after a minute so I dont worry about it..

the physicals of bolting up a new transmission - as noted in the thread.. the biggest issues were shifter bracket and parking brake bracket.. they will not interchange from the 545... if you found a donor 2000 from a 2004 or older bus you will as noted only gain 5th gear.. which is significant.. it is a ratio drop from 1.0 to .74. so it would definitely drop your RPMs from that of a 545 and gain lockup.. I couldve got away with it since im only running 5 gears right now due to my rear gears..

you will need to shorten the driveshaft.. thats easy.. every city has a driveshaft shop or 2 or 3 and thats a routine operation.. Cut-to-fit. dont use papers and judge the new shaft length.. install the new trans and attemopt the driveshaft install and then measure how far off you are and have it cut.. thats how I did it. and my shaft fit right dead center on the mounts..

-Christopher

[cadillackid]

here we go!!! i wired up the J1939 connection from the ECM to the TCM and guess what it Just talked.. I didnt have to turn anything on... it still issued a road-speed code. so it may still be getting the speed from the VSS still... however i am able to get throttle.. it also appears to affect the delivered engine torque SPN, im not sure yet till i wire it all in to where I can drive it if the throttle will be sent on cruise control or not..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDQe05h7Ft4

-Christopher

[jazty]

Sh*t man... that's cool. I know a lot of people don't care for vehicle electronics, but I find them exciting. Well, maybe not all of it, but I find the standardized protocol stuff exciting.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by jazty

Sh*t man... that's cool. I know a lot of people don't care for vehicle electronics, but I find them exciting. Well, maybe not all of it, but I find the standardized protocol stuff exciting.

this upgrade has been one of the most fun I have ever done.. the electronics have been a bunch of fun.. I dig this stuff... dont get me wrong turning wrenches is fun and fabbing parts is a blast.. BUT..

the electronics part of this has been total coolness!!! im sure it bores a lot of folks here as most of the emphasis is on the Home / RV conversion vs the vehicle part..

-Christopher

[Tango]

Not at all boring Christopher...I just wish I understood a few words of it.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Tango

Not at all boring Christopher...I just wish I understood a few words of it.

when you get that place put back together, we need to get on that transmission!!!

hey i was going to ask what all do you on your computer? If you use a desktop I very well may have some computer gear around here where i could build you up a machine... wouldnt be a gamer special. but i always have parts floating around!.

-Christopher

[cadillackid]

ha! so I ran the bus around the block and used the cruise control a little. with the new J1939 link a little more permanently installed and guess what.. the ECM pushes throttle data out over that interface.. so the Allison TCM gets throttle info even when cruise is engaged... thats huge because its likely i dont have to build a box of my own to do this!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t4q_0JF1S4

-Christopher

[CaptSquid]

You said it was a Windows tablet? What program? Where did you get the hookups? Inquiring minds want to know.

[cadillackid]

the left hand tablet is running a program called VMSpc by SilverLeaf electronics.. there is also a hardware interface associated with it..(its plugged into the J1708 connector under the dashboard) it supports the 6 pin J1708 and the 9/12 pin J1939 connectors.. and then you can build your custom layouts.

the tablet on the right is using EFIlive and is wired into the CAN2 interface on the Allison transmission TCM. the hardware interface is the EFIlive Flashscan V2, I think the lower-cost AutoCal can work. that data on this port should be OBD-2 style data so you may be able to read it with an ELM327 and android torque-Pro. I havent tried it yet..

im learning and building as I go..
-Christopher

[jazty]

Nice.. Is the video too long? Heck no! Not long enough!

As for the bearing on the spindle.. If yours is anything like mine then the bearing is not pressed in place. It fits snug over the spindle, but can be removed by hand. However, it sounds like your front axle is wet lubed, whereas mine is a greaser. I changed the front left seal this spring and it only took about an hour and a half.

[cadillackid]

yet more testing with a longer drive to starbucks this morning.. I need to get a PGN sniffer on the J1939 to see if the transmission gets placed in a different shift pattern-mode during cruise..

I have my 6th gear locked out, yet when I enable cruise it places me in 6th gear and favors unlocking the converter under load over downshifting.. so I need to find out where thats coming from , my first plan of action will be to lock 6th out on all 4 shift patterns.. even though EFILive labels the patterns as 'Normal', 'Tow haul', 4x4 Low range, and over-temp.. that doesnt mean that when J1939 is enable that one of those 4 cant be called up.. so I'll disable 6th in each pattern and then test to see which pattern it might be utilizing.. i am seeing great throttle detail and engine troque values sent across during cruise, which is exactly what i want to see.. If this changes the pattern mode when in cruise its even more fantastic.. as i can tune cruise to be more aggressive on downshifts. as it has less ability to anticipate upcoming hills and such.

more tests to follow.
now to get a case open so I can get NAVKAL to alter my OSS parameter.
-Christopher

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

when you get that place put back together, we need to get on that transmission!!!

hey i was going to ask what all do you on your computer? If you use a desktop I very well may have some computer gear around here where i could build you up a machine... wouldnt be a gamer special. but i always have parts floating around!.

-Christopher

Oh good point! I have about 5 carcasses lying around from when I thought I'd be all techy and stuff and have one as a web server, one as a db server, etc. More than likely at least one would boot right now. I could either start swapping parts until one worked or donate parts to the cause. You'd have to tolerate Linux, but the learning curve is shallow.

Also don't toss your old machine, even if it's a brick or starts spitzensparken! It's more than possible that the drive could be pulled out and read onto another machine to recover all the good parts.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by dan-fox

Oh good point! I have about 5 carcasses lying around from when I thought I'd be all techy and stuff and have one as a web server, one as a db server, etc. More than likely at least one would boot right now. I could either start swapping parts until one worked or donate parts to the cause. You'd have to tolerate Linux, but the learning curve is shallow.

Also don't toss your old machine, even if it's a brick or starts spitzensparken! It's more than possible that the drive could be pulled out and read onto another machine to recover all the good parts.

you can still do the distributed server network... Linux KVM free hypervisor software,,,, one box does it all..
-Christopher

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

you can still do the distributed server network... Linux KVM free hypervisor software,,,, one box does it all..
-Christopher

The point is, I never did that and I still have all this antique hardware lying about waiting to help someone in distress.

At this point, I'm damn near 64 years old, I hope to be out of this game in a year or less, and the last thing I'm going to do in my spare time is computer science. Maybe when I retire I'll find it fun again but right now all I want to do is get outta Dodge without breaking the scabs open again.

[dan-fox]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

you can still do the distributed server network... Linux KVM free hypervisor software,,,, one box does it all..
-Christopher

That having been said, I'm following your antics with rapt attention and some of that will surely find its way into my eventual build. Thanks for documenting it!