TurboLamik Supported CAN Selectors and Shifter Inputs
A TurboLamik TCU takes its shifter input in one of four ways: a CAN selector, paddles or a DCT style sequential shifter on two analogue inputs, an analogue selector, or an analogue switch. The manual lists seven CAN selector profiles as supported, five of them BMW family units, and it documents the pinout of the two wired sequential shifters separately, because their wire colours are not the same.
Supported CAN selectors
| Selector profile |
|---|
| F Series BMW 10 pin |
| F Series BMW 8 pin |
| G Series BMW or Supra 10 pin |
| E60 lift 6HP28 6 pin |
| X1 E84 |
| Dodge selector |
| Land Rover selector |
Each of those profiles has its own connection page in the manual's wiring section. The profile defines both what the TCU reads from the selector and, where the vehicle supports it, what the TCU sends back to the chassis. Work from the connection page for your exact selector rather than assuming the pinout carries across models, because the BMW profiles alone are split across 10 pin, 8 pin, 6 pin and X1 versions.
The TCU also supports 4, 5, 6 and 8 button CAN keyboards from Blink and Ecumaster, which act as selectors. Those keyboards have to be configured to the CANopen standard to work with the TCU, and the manual notes the keyboard may ship at either 500 kb or 125 kb depending on the distributor, so check the bus speed before you assume the keyboard is faulty.
Wired sequential shifters
Both a DCT style shifter and a PMC sequential shifter give the TCU two switches, and both use three wires. The colour coding is where they differ.
DCT sequential shifter
| Wire colour | Function |
|---|---|
| Black | Shift switch 1, handle moving away from the connector |
| Blue | Shift switch 2, handle moving towards the connector |
| Brown | Trigger signal source, ground signal |
Those colours refer to the wiring supplied with the DCT shifter.
PMC sequential shifter
| Wire colour | Function |
|---|---|
| Brown | 5 V |
| Blue | GND |
| Black | Signal |
Read those two tables side by side and the trap is obvious. Brown is the ground signal source on the DCT shifter and the 5 V feed on the PMC shifter. Blue is shift switch 2 on one and ground on the other. Wiring either one from memory is how people damage an input.
Paddles and sequential shifters as the selector
A paddle shifter or a DCT shifter can run as the complete gear selector using only two analogue inputs. That includes selecting into drive, reverse and park, so you do not need a separate selector in a simple installation.
By default the TCU uses analogue input 11 and analogue input 12 as the paddle inputs, in ground switched state.
| To get | Action |
|---|---|
| Start gear or drive | footbrake plus upshift |
| Reverse | footbrake plus downshift twice in sequence |
| Park | footbrake plus hold downshift for 2 seconds |
Those three gestures are the whole selector interface. There is no separate park position to wire, and reverse needs the double tap rather than a long hold.
Paddles combined with a CAN selector
If you run paddles or a DCT shifter alongside a CAN selector such as a BMW or Dodge selector, or a Blink Marine CAN keyboard, the manual is explicit about the hierarchy. The CAN selector is master and is the only device allowed to operate as a selector. The paddles are then restricted to upshift and downshift requests once a forward gear has been selected, for example to override a shift in automatic mode or to shift manually in a manual driving program.
Plan for that before you wire the car. If you want the paddles to select drive and reverse, you cannot also have a CAN selector doing selection duty on the same car.
Muxing paddles with a horn
The two paddle inputs can be shared. The manual's approach is to mux the paddles with the optional horn:
- Set the MUX input to analogue.
- Set the paddle input to MUX.
- Disable the invert setting on the paddles.
A third free MUX switch can then be used as an additional output, for example for a horn. You enter which AUX output is activated when that MUX switch is pressed.
Note the invert step. Paddles are ground switched by default, and the MUX arrangement changes what the TCU expects, so leaving invert enabled is a common reason a muxed paddle setup reads backwards or not at all.
Supported engine ECUs
The selector and shifter side is only half the integration. The manual lists the engine ECUs the TCU supports over CAN:
| ECU |
|---|
| Ecumaster |
| LINK G4 and G5 |
| Megasquirt, CAN realtime data broadcasting |
| AEM |
| Motec M1, read custom ECU ID 1600 |
| Haltech, I/O Expander 12 (Box AB), Send ID 704 |
| Holley RACE Pack |
| Holley Standard |
| FuelTech, read only |
| Syvecs S7-I and S7Plus |
| Vems |
| Delta ECU |
| MaxxECU |
| ProEFI V4 |
| Emerald ECU |
| Any other standalone with open CAN bus settings |
Two entries in that list deserve a second look. FuelTech is read only, so the TCU takes data from it and does not send back. The Haltech entry is not a generic Haltech stream at all, it is the I/O Expander emulation on Send ID 704, which is a different mechanism to a custom CAN receive template. The last row is the useful one for unusual builds: if the ECU has open CAN bus settings, you can build the stream yourself using the TCU stream pages.
What the TCU needs before any of this works
The manual's starting page lists four things the TCU needs to function: throttle position, brake pedal signal, RPM, and the torque the engine is generating. Those come from analogue inputs or from CAN. The shifter is the last item on the list, not the first, so settle the engine data plan before you choose a selector.
Frequently asked questions
How many CAN selectors does the manual list? Seven profiles: F Series BMW 10 pin, F Series BMW 8 pin, G Series BMW or Supra 10 pin, E60 lift 6HP28 6 pin, X1 E84, Dodge and Land Rover.
Are the DCT and PMC shifter pinouts the same? No. Brown is the ground signal source on the DCT shifter and the 5 V feed on the PMC shifter. Blue is shift switch 2 on the DCT and ground on the PMC. Check the table for the shifter you have.
Do I need a selector if I have paddles? No. Paddles or a DCT shifter can act as the full selector on two analogue inputs, including drive, reverse and park.
How do I select park with paddles? Footbrake plus holding downshift for 2 seconds.
Can paddles and a CAN selector both select gears? No. The CAN selector is master and is the only device allowed to operate as a selector. Paddles are limited to shift requests in a selected forward gear.
Which analogue inputs do the paddles use? Analogue input 11 and analogue input 12 by default, ground switched.
Next step
Tell us your chassis, selector or shifter and engine ECU, and we will confirm which input path suits your build before you order. Sorting out whether your selector is master or whether the paddles do the selecting is worth settling on paper first.
Selector profiles, shifter pinouts and ECU support lists in this article are taken from the TurboLamik official manual (manual.turbolamik.eu), selector, wiring and supported ECU pages, with ZF published data for the 8HP family.
Shifter and CAN inputs sit alongside the controller choice, so start with the CanTCU 8HP controller guide when CanTCU is in the mix.
Setting up or buying a TurboLamik controller for a new 8HP build? Start with the TurboLamik 8HP controller buyer guide for the gearbox, ECU, harness and shifter requirements before you order.