Air Ride Suspension Control

Using a particle, we connected it to an Air Ride suspension in a VW Rabbit and are able to control it through the phone.

IntermediateShowcase (no instructions)2 hours3,798

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon

Breadboard (generic)

ControlEverything.com Particle Photon I²C 2-Channel SPDT 1-Amp Signal Relay

Male/Female Jumper Wires

Male/Male Jumper Wires

VU4 Switch Box Harnes

OpenBuilds Wire Cable - By the Foot

Software apps and online services

Particle Pi

Story

The project

I have Accuair E-Level air management with Airlift Performance struts and bags installed on my 2007 Volkswagen Rabbit. The normal controller for the E-Level works great, but when not mounted to the inside of the car, left attached by only the micro-UBS cable to be used like a cellphone while charging, can weaken the connection ultimately causing complete signal loss. Loss of signal means the car can not be lifted off the ground to become drive-able. So by creating this project for my instrumentation class, I had the opportunity to discover how to use the photon kit and put it to good use. Not only for the project, but I can use this setup in the future in case of a controller failure. The photon is connected in the trunk to the VU4 valve box and is controlled through the particle app bypassing the E-level system. There are four commands: front up, down and rear up, down. A delay is added so after a certain amount of time, it will stop. Within the particle app you can send arguments in the "lift" and "lower" function correlating to the different desired heights. All lower functions were set to completely air out the car from the equal lift function.

Code

Coding

int FrontUp =D6;
int RearUp =D5;
int FrontDown =D2;
int RearDown =D1;

void setup() {
   pinMode(FrontUp,OUTPUT);
   pinMode(FrontDown,OUTPUT);
   pinMode(RearUp,OUTPUT);
   pinMode(RearDown,OUTPUT);
   
    
    Particle.function("Lift", lift);
    Particle.function("Lower", Lower);
}

void loop() {

}
int lift(String command) 
{
    
    if (command=="1") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,HIGH);
    delay(500);
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,HIGH);
    delay(650);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,LOW);
    return 1;
    }
    else if(command=="2") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,HIGH);
    delay(1100);
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,HIGH);
    delay(1350);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,LOW);
    return 2;
    }
    else if(command=="3") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,HIGH);
    delay(1800);
    digitalWrite(FrontUp,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,HIGH);
    delay(2300);
    digitalWrite(RearUp,LOW);
    return 3;
    }
    else {
        return -1;
    }
    
}
    
int Lower(String command) {
    
    if (command=="1") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(650);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(900);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    return 1;
    }
    else if(command=="2") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(1250);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(1500);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    return 2;
    }
    else if(command=="3") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(2000);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(2500);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    return 3;
    }
    else if(command=="0") 
    {
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(1250);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(1250);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(2000);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(2000);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,HIGH);
    delay(2000);
    digitalWrite(FrontDown,LOW);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,HIGH);
    delay(2000);
    digitalWrite(RearDown,LOW);
    return 0;
    }
	else {
        return -1;
    }
}