i would, but i think i already nominated

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This thread has been eradicated... (or make up your own catch phrase..)

Just had a look at the whole thread, dont know why I never came across it before . Nice work there data, hope you have units for sale when you have time to sort your bugs out.

Also watched your Oran Park Feb 2009 youtube video. Your car sounds and looks to perform well

Hi there data_mine and to all that may be able to help with this
ZF 6 speed flappy paddle shifter set up.

I’ve been looking at this for a while now and have come up with a couple of trains of thought on the matter.

Like having the Auto’s shifter linked up to a push - pull 12V solunoid so when you tap the paddle the shifter moves back & forth shifting the gears.

And the other day I pulled apart the shifter’s console and had a look at the tiptronic control module. As I’m on electrician but I may know alittle about how it may work, I came up with the thought of hot wiring the tiptronic control module board itself to get the ZF box to shift using the paddles.

What I’m looking at is by using the pins on the magnetic read switches 1 & 2 ( I’ve them labelled in the pic ) is carefully solder wires onto the pins and hook them up to a relay so the tiptronic control module will think the shifter has been moved back or froth and telling the ZF box to shift gear.

So let us now if this will work or not or if you have another point of view on it.
Thank
maw888

 

 

Attachments:

Magnetic read switch relay.JPG [ 25.33 KiB | Viewed 290 times ]

IMG_1071.1.jpg [ 179.2 KiB | Viewed 287 times ]

Some good insight there MAW888.

Rigging up something to physically move the shifter, is going to be so difficult to perfect.

Instead of messing around with the reed switches it's much simpler (and not the part I'm having troubles with), to simply switch low one of the two signal wires (on the 8-pin header). The TIP+ and TIP- signals, control up and down, and are active low i.e. normally they're at 12V, to turn them 'on' bring them down to 0V. There's a third signal MGATE (also active low) that goes low when the shift is moved over to the Performance/Manual position. I've found it isn't essential to worry about it. The box won't shift if it's not low, but repeated attempts to (by forcing low the TIP+ or TIP- signals) will cause the box to throw an error and go into limp mode.

The problem I'm having, is taking a schematic that works (and has so for f**k ages already) and reproduce it. I always designed things electronically first (using Eagle), built my prototype on strip board from it, changes made were back annotated to the schematics, and the PCB design was done from there. Problem is when I got them made and built them, they'd keep frying chips. No f'n idea why. I've since traced every circuit on the prototype to confirm it matches the schematic (it does), traced every trace on the produced PCB to see if they match, and they do. So I'm stumped as to why I can't get it working.

Anyway, it'll be delayed again, as I'm flying off to the States in 4 hours.....

Hi data_mine,

Thanks for the quick reply and the insight into the workings of the tiptronics signal board.

So by the sounds of it the project has been put on hold as you are going to the States. ( for a holiday I hope) When you get back to Oz is there going to be anymore development inb the project? (not being pushy)

Well I am going to scrap my idea of the relay activated switching and start building a set of flappy paddles that come out the steering colum and wait for the devoplment of the ZF 6 speed interface.

Thanks, M Whitaker

update?

Still in the US.

when do u get back?

Any news on this?

Hey hi there guys
I am giving the Ford’s ZF Flappy Paddle interface a another go, as I was bored this weekend and I have got hold of another BF ZF 6 speed auto, centre console housing. I had a good look at it to see if there was another way of making the auto change gears using the floppy paddles.

But with many hours of thinking and pulling apart the housing. Data_mine has got the best way of doing it, but I like to think there is more than one way to solve a problem. So with my limited knowledge of electronics I set about of coming up with another way of getting the auto to change gears using the shifters circuit board. By using a set of relays wired in in parallel to the magnetic read switches that are on the circuit board, making the auto think that the shifter has been moved back or forth changing gears up or down.


I’m no electrician (or artist ) but I’ve drawn up a quick basic drawing of what I’m thinking of. It may need a lot more of components in it to work properly but it’s just a basic idea at this time. If you can see how it can be improved or you have another way of going about it come give us a hand, Or if you can see or think it won’t work at all just let me know.

I’m still working on the paddle set up for my BF XR8, I’m going for the paddles coming out of the steering wheel column, made out of aluminium bent into shape & the front & back of the paddle will have leather formed plates moulded to shape, so it looking like a sanded piece ( black front and back with a brushed metal centre running down to the centre console ) So it will mach the interior of the car.

So let us know what you think about the whole idea.
Thanks
M Whitaker

 

 

Attachments:

Flappy Paddle schematic.jpg [ 30.98 KiB | Viewed 492 times ]

ZF Shifter Bord.jpg [ 47.76 KiB | Viewed 345 times ]

IMG_1277.JPG [ 152.12 KiB | Viewed 339 times ]

mate im an apprentice electrician, and damn thats some good wiring ideas and diagrams u got there, ur daring to start fidding with a nice bf tho lol, u must be confident

I haven't played with it yet(and i have very limited understanding), but looking at where the pcb lines up in the shifter i think the 2 reed switches correspond to shift down position and normal position. ie no reed switch for shift up position, so it must be triggered by both switches being in the same position.

might cause problems as you may not be able to emulate the normal position switch on the pcb as it will still be activated by the magnet. Where as in Data_mine's solution you leave the pcb alone and only emulate the output.

Tickle Tickle little thread.

Who's alive and kicking on this?

I really want to get a setup working on our SX Territory - 4 Sp Auto. There were discussions earlier on in the thread about using the two rearward buttons on the audio/cruise buttons when the transmission was flicked over the tiptronic mode.

Do we have enough knowledge here that something can be built relatively easily? By that I mean, opening up modules and soldering wires on either side of he tiptronic relays, and intercepting the lines from the buttons when active to detect the button presses. It would be really nice if the forward buttons could remain operational when switched over, but that's not critical.


Lukeyson

I keep checking this thread too and would like to do it if I can. Got a ZF and a 4 speed that would like it done to. Hopefully theres still a bit being done on it coz it would be an awesome mod!