Tinkla Relay
Do you like Tinkering with your Tesla? Do you like adding additional features to it without having to install old style switches to control them? Do you want to control additional lights or devices based on specific conditions of the car (charging, driving, turning left/right, gear forward/reverse, high beams on, blind spot monitoring signals, or specific button presses on the steering wheel)? Then Tinkla Relay is a must have Swiss Army Knife for Tesla Model S/X integrations (and very SOON Model 3/Y).
Tinkla Relay is a device that connects to your Tesla power and CAN and has 4 output relays that are turned on/off based on your settings configured via DIP switches. The maximum output for the relays is 12V and up to 3A total between all on channels at a time. This is enough to drive GPIO signals, trigger relays for larger consumers or turn on notification LEDs.
Contents
Talk: Feedback? Ideas? Comments?
What is in the box
- The Tinkla Relay board
- Dev harness that will allow you to connect to the OBD2 port
- 3A mini fuse
- Automotive grade hook and loop tape
Installing the Tinkla Relay
Tinkla Relay can be either installed using the provided harness directly into the OBD2 port or hardwired directly into the car power and CAN lines. To connect directly to Tinkla Relay you need a Molex 34791-0080 connector with the following wiring:
| Tinkla Relay Wiring | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pin | Use | Connect to |
| 1 | CAN 1 Low | Chassis CAN Low |
| 2 | CAN 1 High | Chassis CAN High |
| 3 | Not Used | |
| 4 | CAN 2 Low | not used on Model S/X |
| 5 | CAN 2 High | not used on Model S/X |
| 6 | Not Used | |
| 7 | GND | car ground |
| 8 | 12V | car accessory power or permanent power, depending on application |
Flashing Tinkla Relay Firmware
Sometimes there is a need to update your Tinkla Relay firmware to take advantage of new code releases. In order to do this, you will need access to either a Mac or a Linux computer and USB cable to connect from your computer to the micro-USB port on the Tinkla Relay.
In order to flash the latest code for Tinkla Relay, open a terminal window on your Mac or Linux machine and type the following commands:
1. Go to your home directory
cd ~
2. Remove any previous versions of the relay firmware
rm -rf tinklaRelayFlasher
3. Download the latest firmware archive to your home directory
curl -O https://tinkla.us/files/tinklaRelayFlasher.tar.gz
Please note that is a capital "o", not a zero.
4. Decompress the archive
tar -xvzf tinklaRelayFlasher.tar.gz
5. Remove the archive
rm tinklaRelayFlasher.tar.gz
6. Enter the folder containing the code
cd tinklaRelayFlasher
7. Flash the code
./recover_tinkla_relay.sh
If you see an error related to the LIBUSB (usb1.USBErrorNotFound: LIBUSB_ERROR_NOT_FOUND [-5]) you will have to re-run the last command above until it works (on Macs especially).
Virtual Buttons
Tinkla Relay creates up to 4 virtual buttons in order to control the relay outputs. These virtual buttons are combinations of quick double presses on existing steering wheel controls. Depending on the configuration selected via the DIP Switches, these virtual buttons can act alone or in combination with other logic based on car state.
In the table below we show the connection between a virtual button and the corresponding steering wheel button. In order to switch the state of the relay for that corresponding button, the user will have to double-press that particular steering wheel button quickly with no more than 0.75 s between presses.
| Tinkla Relay Virtual Buttons | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Button Name | Steering Wheel Button | |||||||
| Button 1 | Menu Command | |||||||
| Button 2 | Voice Command | |||||||
| Button 3 | Right Wheel | |||||||
| Button 4 | Left Wheel | |||||||
DIP Switches
Switches 1-5 allows you to select one of the per-configured logic that triggers the 4 relays to turn on or off.
Switch 6 is an overall setting for all 4 relays and, if on, will keep the relays in their state even when car is off. If Switch 6 is off then all relays will be turned off when the car is off.
Switches 7 and 8 are for future use and should be always kept in the OFF position to avoid device malfunction.
| Tinkla Relay Configurations | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIP Switches | Relays | ||||||||||||
| Sw1 | Sw2 | Sw3 | Sw4 | Sw5 | Relay 1 | Relay 2 | Relay 3 | Relay 4 | |||||
| OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | Button 1 | Button 2 | Button 3 | Button 4 | |||||
| ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left turn signal | Right turn signal | Brake pressed | |||||
| OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left turn signal when car in drive | Right turn signal when car in drive | Brake pressed when car in drive | |||||
| ON | ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 3 | Button 4 | Brake pressed | |||||
| OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 3 | Button 4 | Brake pressed when car in drive | |||||
| ON | OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | High beams on | Button 3 | Button 4 | |||||
| OFF | ON | ON | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | High beams on when car in drive | Button 3 | Button 4 | |||||
| ON | ON | ON | OFF | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Car in drive | Car in reverse | Button 4 | |||||
| OFF | OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 2 | Button 3 | Button 4 | |||||
| ON | OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 1 + left turn signal | Button 1 + right turn signal | Button 1 + car in drive | |||||
| OFF | ON | OFF | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 2 + car in drive and left turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 2 + car in drive and right turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 4 | |||||
| ON | ON | OFF | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 2 + car in drive and left turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 2 + car in drive and right turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 3 + high beam | |||||
| OFF | OFF | ON | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 2 + car in drive and left turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 2 + car in drive and right turn signal OR speed < 20 MPH and steering angle > 45 deg | Button 3 + high beam when in drive | |||||
| ON | OFF | ON | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Button 2 + high beam when in drive | |||||
| OFF | ON | ON | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Button 2 | |||||
| ON | ON | ON | ON | OFF | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Brake pressed when in drive | |||||
| OFF | OFF | OFF | OFF | ON | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Button 2 + high beam when in drive | Brake pressed when in drive | Car charging | |||||
| ON | OFF | OFF | OFF | ON | Button 1 + override when car in reverse | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Car charging | |||||
| OFF | ON | OFF | OFF | ON | Button 1 | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Button 2 | |||||
| ON | ON | OFF | OFF | ON | Button 1 | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Brake pressed in drive | |||||
| OFF | OFF | ON | OFF | ON | Button 1 | Button 2 + high beam when in drive | Brake pressed in drive | Car charging | |||||
| ON | OFF | ON | OFF | ON | Button 1 | Left side blind spot car present (*) | Right side blind spot car present (*) | Car charging | |||||
(*) Requires the 12 sensor park assist option (6 front, 6 back) that was available from Tesla after October 2014.
If you see use for a different configuration and logic, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on Discord. If the setup has merit and can be used by others as well, i can add it to the code.
How to order Tinkla Relay
Tinkla Relay is available to purchase in our online store.
