The RxDuino (RX8 Canbus Scanner)

  • The RxDuino

    This article intends to discuss a product that I have been developing called the RxDuino. This piece of hardware is a small automobile scanning tool that will monitor information from various ECU's on the RX8, and cleanly display them on the information display in the center console. The RxDuino interfaces with the vehicle via the OBD2 port.

  • Ordering and More Information

    Please visit http://www.therxduino.com for more information about pre-orders and downloads!

  • Progress

    PCB Fabrication:
    Component Ordering:
    Component Placement:
    Prototype Testing:
    Turnkey Quotes:
    Software Development:

    Details on last page

  • Background

    With the end of life for Mazda's latest generation rotary powered vehicle coming to an end, the abundance of new and interesting projects is starting to dramatically slow down. With companies not willing to dedicate too much funding towards a car that has reached it's shelf life, opportunities for the enthusiasts grows.

    The early generation RX8's (2003-2008) had a lot of nifty tools that were designed that unfortunately were incompatable with the newer generation RX8's (2009-2011). My background in computer engineering questioned why, and so I started to dive into the RX8's ECU to see if I could find out some things that were going on. In doing so, I managed to understand the messaging across the system, and how things interacted with the gauge cluster, and the information display. At this point, a fun idea popped in my head to design a device that would interface with the system, and display things for the Series 2 RX8 driver.

  • Design Goals

    The design goals for this project were quite simple:

    • The device must be small
    • The device must be easy to use
    • The device must interface to the vehicle without any hardware modifications
    • The device must not consume too much power
    • The device must display information to the user in a clean, easy to read manner
  • Applications

    Initially, this product was designed to be used with the 2009+ RX8, however, through the course of development it was discovered that there are a few other Mazda vehicles that use the same ECU addresses and have the same type of LCD screen. So far I have confirmed that the device works on the following:

    • 2009+ RX8
    • 2009+ Mazda 3

    It is anticipated that the device will work for a few other Mazda vehicles that are using similar addressing and a similar information display as the RX8. These vehicles are:

    • Mazda CX7
    • Mazda CX9
Page Last Edited On March 26, 2012