H A X DRIVEPULSE — your car, in plain English

HAX

CAMPAIGN DRAFT · PREVIEW

      H A X
      DRIVEPULSE.
      P R O T O T Y P E
    

The check-engine light is one pixel of information. DrivePulse is the whole sentence. A pocket dashboard that pairs with the $10 Bluetooth OBD adapter you may already own, streams live engine data across up to eight screens — and the instant your ECU flags a fault, it reads the code and tells you what it means, in plain English.

HAX DrivePulse quad showing live RPM, speed, coolant and battery voltage

works with any BLE ELM327 adapter 18 live sensors 350+ fault codes translated 1–8 screens OBD-II · 1996+ no app · no cloud · no subscription

Funding goal

$15,000

Campaign

30 days

Ships

Q1 2027

The moment it earns its place

When the light comes on

DrivePulse polls your ECU in the background. The moment the check-engine light is commanded on, it automatically pulls the trouble codes — no phone, no laptop, no shop visit to find out it was a loose gas cap.

DrivePulse catching a P0301 cylinder 1 misfire with the MIL on, coolant running hot and battery sagging

Plain-English codes

350+ built-in descriptions (P/B/C/U), legacy VW/Audi decimal codes, and smart fallback decoding for anything it hasn't seen. P0301 shows up as “Cylinder 1 Misfire”, not homework.

Stored, pending & permanent

Reads all three code classes, plus the freeze-frame snapshot of what the engine was doing when the fault hit.

Smog-check summary

One screen tells you if your emissions readiness monitors are complete before you drive to the inspection — and warns you that erasing codes restarts them.

Safe two-step erase

Clearing codes is deliberate: a confirmation screen spells out exactly what will happen. Standard OBD-II commands only — it never reprograms your ECU.

Every drive, not just bad days

A gauge cluster you assign

Each screen is yours to configure: digital RPM tach, speed, coolant, battery, fuel economy, fuel & range, a 2×2 core-data grid, trip peaks — or any of 18 live sensors, each viewable as a number, a gauge, or a scrolling graph.

Top view of the quad DrivePulse: two buttons and four assignable gauges

ENGINE LOADCOOLANT TEMP SHORT TRIM B1LONG TRIM B1 INTAKE PRESSENGINE RPM SPEEDIGNITION ADV INTAKE TEMPAIRFLOW MAF THROTTLEO2 VOLTS B1 RUN TIMEFUEL LEVEL BARO PRESSBATTERY V OUTSIDE TEMPFUEL RATE

Trip computer

Instant-MPG sparkline, average MPG that survives power cycles, distance-to-empty range, trip records and peaks — plus a 0–60 timer for honest bragging.

Alerts that matter

Overheat threshold, low-voltage warning and a shift light, with a buzzer and LED. Alarms you set once and forget until they save you.

Two buttons, whole UI

NEXT cycles, SELECT picks, hold to go back. Boots in about a second and reopens the exact screen you left it on.

Your units

mph or km/h, °F or °C, psi / kPa / bar, MPG / L-per-100 / km-L. Set once, saved to flash.

One firmware · eight sizes

From gauge to glass cockpit

The same brain drives one screen or eight. Solo is a single smart gauge; Octa is a full glass cockpit for your dash. Shown at true relative scale:

SOLO · 58 mm 1-screen DrivePulse

DUO · 86 mm 2-screen DrivePulse

TRIO · 114 mm 3-screen DrivePulse

QUAD · 142 mm 4-screen DrivePulse

PENTA · 170 mm 5-screen DrivePulse

HEXA · 198 mm 6-screen DrivePulse

SEPTA · 226 mm 7-screen DrivePulse

OCTA · 254 mm 8-screen DrivePulse

The OCTA DrivePulse: eight assignable gauges in one bar

The Tower: vertical 4-gauge pillar pod variant

Add-on

The pillar pod

A vertical 4-screen tower that reads like a classic A-pillar gauge pod — RPM, boost, coolant, voltage in a stack. Same firmware, same snap-fit body.

Zero-config pairing

It finds your adapter

Cheap ELM327 adapters are a zoo of Bluetooth chips. DrivePulse auto-discovers the adapter's BLE serial link whichever flavor it speaks (FFE0/FFE1, FFF0, Nordic UART…), connects without a pairing PIN, and remembers your adapter by MAC address for every drive after. v1.61 hardened the link so a slow or flaky adapter can freeze neither the dash nor your data.

Plug the adapter

Any BLE ELM327 in the OBD-II port under your dash. Already own one? It almost certainly works.

Power DrivePulse

USB-C from any 12 V socket adapter. It boots in about a second.

Scan once

Adapter menu > Scan. Likely adapters sort to the top with signal bars. Pick yours — done forever.

Drive

Gauges live. Faults announced. Trip logged. It reconnects itself every time you start the car.

The hardware

Screwless, printed, engraved

Two 3D-printed parts that snap together with zero fasteners. Boards click into printed trays, the lid clicks into wall grooves, the caps push on last. Openable with a fingernail, rebuildable forever.

USB-C port on the end wall — **USB-C out the end.** Low and recessed, so the cable drops behind the dash instead of across it.

Exploded view of the DrivePulse quad — **Everything snaps.** ESP32-C3, screens, mux and switches in printed trays. About 90 seconds to assemble.

Specification

Under the panel

Brain	ESP32-C3 Super Mini — RISC-V @ 160 MHz, BLE 5
Vehicle link	Any BLE ELM327 OBD-II adapter (auto-discovered, remembered by MAC). Standard J1979: live data, stored / pending / permanent codes, freeze frame, readiness, VIN, code clearing
Compatibility	OBD-II vehicles — US market 1996+, EU petrol 2001+ / diesel 2004+
Displays	1–8 × 0.96″ OLED 128×64, partial-refresh scheduled; TCA9548A I²C mux from 2 screens up
Gauge views	Numerical · Gauge/Bar · Live Graph, per screen; digital RPM tach
Live sensors	18 PIDs: load, coolant, fuel trims, MAP, RPM, speed, ignition advance, IAT, MAF, throttle, O2, run time, fuel level, baro, battery, ambient, fuel rate
Trip computer	Instant + average MPG (flash-persistent), range, trip records, 0–60 timer
Alerts	Overheat, low voltage, shift light — buzzer + LED
Input / power	2 tactile buttons · USB-C, powered from a 12 V socket adapter
Enclosure	Two printed parts, snap-fit, zero fasteners, 58–254 mm wide
Firmware	Tridectra Fault Sentinel v1.61 — on-device DTC database, no phone or cloud required, settings + economy survive power cycles; free updates over USB for the life of the product

Rewards

Pick a pledge

DP-02 · BUILT

Duo

$89

Two assignable gauges — e.g. tach + coolant
Assembled, flashed, tested
Red + black caps

DP-01 · BUILT

Solo

$59 ~~$69~~

One assignable smart gauge
Flashed, tested, ready to pair
Red + black caps

Quad

$149 ~~$169~~

The one in the photos — 4 gauges
Assembled, flashed, soak-tested
Extra cap set (5 colors)

DP-04K · KIT

Quad Kit

$99

All parts, printed body, no solder joints made
A good weekend project
Illustrated step-by-step build guide

DP-08 · BUILT

Octa

$229

254 mm. Eight gauges. A cockpit.
Numbered first run of 100
Extra cap set (5 colors)

DP-ADD · ADD-ONS

Add-ons

+$12 vetted BLE adapter
+$9 12V→USB-C dash cable
+$69 Tower pillar pod

Adapter tested with this exact firmware
No guessing at the parts store

Duo / Trio / Penta / Hexa / Septa sizes available as pledge options at launch. Prices are draft placeholders. DrivePulse needs a BLE ELM327 adapter — bring your own or add the vetted one.

Stretch goals

If this gets loud

$30K

Hardwire power kit

OBD-to-USB-C power tap with auto-sleep — no 12 V socket used, no battery drain when parked.

$55K

Anodized aluminum panel

CNC top panel option, same snap fit, for every built tier.

$80K

Logging + lap mode

Session logging and a lap/segment timer view for track days — still on-device, still no cloud.

Plan

From click to dash

SEP 2026

Campaign live. Firmware v1.61 is running in real cars today — what you see is what ships.

OCT 2026

Funded. Bulk component orders placed the same week; backer survey for colors and add-ons goes out.

NOV–DEC 2026

Parts + print farm. Bulk electronics, adapter compatibility lab (we buy the weird clones so you don't).

JAN 2027

Kits ship.

FEB–MAR 2027

Built units ship. Every unit soak-tested against a live ECU simulator before boxing.

Risks & challenges

The honest part

The adapter zoo. Cheap ELM327 clones vary wildly. That's exactly why the firmware auto-discovers the BLE link, bounds every request, and recovers from stalls — and why we offer a vetted adapter add-on tested against this exact code.

Vehicle variance. Not every car reports every PID. DrivePulse degrades gracefully — unsupported gauges say so instead of showing garbage, and battery voltage falls back to the adapter's own reading.

Print throughput. ~4 printer-hours per unit; our farm covers the goal quantity 3× over.

What it will never do. DrivePulse reads data and clears codes with standard OBD-II commands. It does not reprogram, tune, or write to your ECU — by design, there is nothing here that can brick a car.

FAQ

Asked already

Will it work with my car?

If it has an OBD-II port — every US-market car since 1996, EU petrol since 2001 and diesel since 2004 — yes for fault codes and the core gauges. Some older or exotic cars report fewer live sensors; the device simply hides what your ECU doesn't offer.

Which adapter do I need?

Any Bluetooth Low Energy ELM327 (the $8–15 kind). The firmware auto-detects the BLE serial flavor, so brand roulette doesn't matter. Classic-Bluetooth-only or WiFi-only adapters won't work — if unsure, grab the vetted add-on.

Can it damage my car or void anything?

It uses read commands plus the same standard code-clear function every $30 scan tool has. It cannot write, flash or tune the ECU. Erasing codes resets emissions readiness monitors — the device warns you about exactly that before it lets you do it.

Do I need a phone or an account?

No phone, no app, no account, no cloud. The device talks straight to the adapter and keeps everything — settings, average MPG, trip records — in its own flash.

Is a wall of screens on my dash… legal?

Treat it like a gauge pod: mount it low or on the pillar, outside airbag zones and sight lines, and set it up while parked. It's designed to be glanceable — big digits, high contrast — precisely so you don't stare at it.

Why not just use a phone app?

Because your phone is your phone. DrivePulse is always there, always on, boots in a second, needs no unlocking, and survives being left in a hot car. Dedicated beats convenient.