Messaging Mode on the MASTERCELL NGX

July 8, 2026/0 Comments/in Wiring /by admin

The DEBUG option on your MASTERCELL NGX puts the module into what we call Messaging Mode. It is the deepest diagnostic tool built into the inSIGHT screen. Where the Switch States screen shows you whether an input is on or off, Messaging Mode goes a step further. It shows you what the MASTERCELL NGX does in response to that input, in real time, right on the screen. This blog post is part of our series on the diagnostic functions built into the inSIGHT screen. We introduced this option in our overview of the MASTERCELL NGX main menu, and it works hand in hand with the Switch States screen. In this post, we take a closer look at how to read and use Messaging Mode.

Please note that this blog post covers the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 Kit. These inSIGHT diagnostic tools are specific to our Next Generation hardware. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog archives for the diagnostic tools that came with those systems.

How Cases Work

To understand what Messaging Mode is showing you, it helps to understand cases. Every input on your MASTERCELL NGX has cases assigned to it. These cases tell the MASTERCELL NGX what messages to send out across the Infinitybox network when that input changes state.

Cases are split into two groups. There are cases for when a switch turns on and cases for when a switch turns off. The number of cases varies from one input to the next. Some inputs have a single ON case and no OFF cases. Others have a single ON case and a single OFF case. Others have multiple ON cases and multiple OFF cases. This is what lets a single switch control multiple outputs across your network at the same time. A simple input like your horn has one ON case that controls one output. A more involved input like your ignition can carry several ON cases and several OFF cases, so turning the key can power your EFI system, bring up accessories in the back of the car and more, all at once.

You can view and modify the cases assigned to each input using our inCODE NGX programming tool. We will cover how to create and change cases in a future blog post and video series dedicated to inCODE NGX. For this post, all you need to know is that cases exist, that they are split into ON and OFF cases, and that the number of cases depends on the input. That is what Messaging Mode puts on the screen.

Entering Messaging Mode

To enter Messaging Mode, press the HOME button on your MASTERCELL NGX to bring up the main menu, scroll to DEBUG and press SELECT. You will see a screen telling you the MASTERCELL NGX is waiting for an input to change.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing DEBUG and Waiting for input change

The MASTERCELL NGX in Messaging Mode, waiting for an input to change. Press HOME to exit.

The MASTERCELL NGX stays in Messaging Mode until you press the HOME button, which takes you back to the main menu. While the MASTERCELL NGX is in Messaging Mode, the backlight stays on. This is different from normal operation, where the screen and the backlight both turn off to minimize battery draw. If the backlight is on, you know the MASTERCELL NGX is still in Messaging Mode.

Watching a Single-Case Input

Let’s start with a simple input. On a standard system, your horn is input 9. Always check the configuration sheet that came with your kit to confirm the input and output numbers for your build, because your configuration sheet is the single point of truth for input numbers, output numbers and wire colors.

With the MASTERCELL NGX in Messaging Mode, press the horn button. The screen shows you what the MASTERCELL NGX saw and what it did in response.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing input 9 on commanding output 9 on the Front POWERCELL

Turning the horn on. Messaging Mode shows input 9 commanding output 9 on the Front POWERCELL.

Reading this screen from the top: the first line, IN09 ON, tells you the MASTERCELL NGX saw input 9 turn on. The second line, Front PowerCell, tells you which cell it is commanding. The third line, Output 9, tells you which output on that cell. The fourth line, FF01 Case 1/1, tells you two things. FF01 is the internal address we use for the Front POWERCELL. Case 1/1 tells you this is case 1 of 1, meaning this input has a single case assigned to its ON state.

Now release the horn button. The screen updates to confirm the input turned off.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing input 9 off with no case slots

Releasing the horn. Messaging Mode confirms input 9 turned off. The horn input has no OFF case slots.

The first line, IN09 OFF, confirms the MASTERCELL NGX saw input 9 turn off. This is useful on its own, because it confirms the switch released cleanly and is not hung on. The second line reads No case slots. This tells you the horn input has no case slots available for its OFF state. There is nothing for the MASTERCELL NGX to command when the horn turns off, which is exactly how the horn is designed to work.

Watching a Multi-Case Input

Now let’s look at a more involved input. On a standard system, your ignition is input 1. Again, confirm this against your own configuration sheet.

With the MASTERCELL NGX in Messaging Mode, turn the ignition on. The screen shows the first case.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing input 1 on commanding output 3 on the Front POWERCELL, case 1 of 4

Turning the ignition on. Messaging Mode shows the first of four ON cases, with UP and DN to scroll through the rest.

This screen reads much like the horn did. Input 1 turned on, and the MASTERCELL NGX is commanding output 3 on the Front POWERCELL. The difference is on the fourth line. FF01 1/4 tells you this is case 1 of 4, so this input has four cases assigned to its ON state. The UP/DN prompt tells you to use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to step through the rest of the cases. This prompt takes the place of the HOME to exit line, but the HOME button still exits Messaging Mode.

Scroll down to see the next case.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing input 1 on with an empty case slot, slot 2 of 4

The second slot for the ignition input is empty. Available slots that are not programmed show Empty slot.

This screen shows an empty slot. The default ignition configuration uses only the first ON case, but there are four slots available. The second line reads Empty slot, meaning this slot is available but has nothing assigned to it. Notice the fourth line reads Slot 2/4 instead of leading with an address like FF01. That is because an empty slot has no cell or output assigned to it, so there is no internal address to display.

This is worth pausing on, because it is a different situation from the horn. When the horn turned off, the screen read No case slots, meaning no slots exist for that state at all. Here the screen reads Empty slot, meaning the slot exists and is available, it just has not been programmed. You would keep scrolling to view the remaining slots for this input.

When you turn the ignition off, Messaging Mode confirms the input turned off and shows you the cases assigned to its OFF state.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen in Messaging Mode showing input 1 off with two available OFF cases

Turning the ignition off. Messaging Mode confirms input 1 turned off and shows two OFF cases to scroll through.

The first line confirms input 1 turned off. The fourth line shows this input has two cases available for its OFF state, with the UP/DN prompt to scroll through them. OFF cases are what let your system do something when a switch turns off, such as running a cooling fan for a set period of time after you shut off the ignition.

What This Tells You

Messaging Mode is one of the most powerful troubleshooting tools in your Infinitybox system because it confirms the whole chain from your switch to your output. Say your horn is not working. Put the MASTERCELL NGX into Messaging Mode and press the horn button. Watching the screen tells you three things at once.

First, it confirms your switch is working. If IN09 ON appears when you press the button, the switch is doing its job and the MASTERCELL NGX is seeing it. If nothing appears, the problem is upstream at the switch or its wiring, not in the rest of the system.

Second, it confirms you have the correct MASTERCELL NGX input wire connected to your switch. If you press the horn button and the screen shows a different input number, you know the wrong input wire is landed on that switch, and you can correct it.

Third, it confirms the correct cell and output are being commanded. The screen shows you exactly which POWERCELL and which output the MASTERCELL NGX is telling to turn on, so you can confirm the command is going where you expect and check your configuration sheet against what you see.

Working through your car this way takes the guesswork out of troubleshooting. Instead of chasing a problem blind, you can watch the MASTERCELL NGX see your switch and command your output, and pinpoint exactly where the chain breaks down.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Questions?

Messaging Mode gives you a real-time window into how your MASTERCELL NGX responds to every switch in your car. It is one more diagnostic tool built into the inSIGHT screen to help you wire and troubleshoot with confidence. If you have any questions about Messaging Mode or any other part of your Infinitybox system, contact our technical support team through our contact form or give us a call at (847) 232-1991.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen polling the Front POWERCELL showing voltage, temperature, output states and current for outputs 1 and 2

Polling Your Cells with the MASTERCELL NGX

July 6, 2026/0 Comments/in Wiring /by admin

The System Inventory screen on your MASTERCELL NGX shows you a list of every device connected on your Infinitybox network. Once you know a device is there, you can dig deeper into it to see how it is working. We call this polling. When you poll a cell, the MASTERCELL NGX shows you real-time information about that device right on the inSIGHT screen. This blog post is part of our series on the diagnostic functions built into the inSIGHT screen. We introduced the inventory list in our post on the MASTERCELL NGX System Inventory screen. In this post, we take the next step and poll the cells in that inventory.

The MASTERCELL NGX brings this powerful diagnostic capability to the Next Generation IPM1 Kit and puts it on the inSIGHT screen where it is easy to reach. There is much more information given on our Next Generation System than on our Legacy System.

Please note that this blog post covers the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 Kit. These inSIGHT diagnostic tools are specific to our Next Generation hardware. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog archives for the diagnostic tools that came with those systems.

How to Poll a Cell

Start at the System Inventory screen. Press the HOME button on your MASTERCELL NGX to bring up the main menu, use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor to System Inv and press SELECT. This brings up the list of every device on your network.

Use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor to the device you want to poll, then press SELECT. The MASTERCELL NGX drills into that device and shows you its details. What you see next depends on the type of device you selected. We will walk through each one below.

Polling a POWERCELL

When you poll a POWERCELL, the first line of the screen tells you which POWERCELL you are looking at, such as FRONT POWERCELL or REAR POWERCELL. This confirms you are polling the cell you intended to.

The next line shows two values. The first is the battery voltage measured locally at the POWERCELL, shown as V=12.5V. This is the voltage right at the cell, which is useful for confirming the POWERCELL is getting good power. The second value is the temperature of the POWERCELL in degrees Celsius, shown as T=30 C.

Polling the Front POWERCELL. The first screen shows battery voltage, cell temperature, the state of all 10 outputs and the current for outputs 1 and 2.

The next line shows the state of all 10 outputs on the POWERCELL. There are 10 digits on this line. Reading from left to right, they correspond to outputs 1 through 10. If a digit is a zero, that output is off. If it is a one, that output is on. This lets you see at a glance which outputs the POWERCELL is commanding on and which are off.

Below the output states, the screen shows the current draw for each output. Each value is displayed as IX=Y.YA, where X is the output number and Y.Y is the current flowing through that output in amps. These current values update in real time. The first POWERCELL screen shows the current for outputs 1 and 2.

Because a POWERCELL has 10 outputs, the current values run across three screens. Use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move through them. The first screen shows the current for outputs 1 and 2. The second screen shows outputs 3 through 8. The third screen shows outputs 9 and 10.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen polling the Front POWERCELL showing real-time current for outputs 3 through 8

The second POWERCELL poll screen shows the real-time current draw for outputs 3 through 8.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen polling the Front POWERCELL showing real-time current for outputs 9 and 10

The third POWERCELL poll screen shows the real-time current draw for outputs 9 and 10.

Using the POWERCELL Poll to Troubleshoot

The real power of polling a POWERCELL comes from reading the output states and the current draw together. The output state tells you what the POWERCELL is commanding. The current draw tells you what is actually happening on the wire. When those two disagree, you have found a problem.

Here is the case to watch for. You command an output on and its digit on the output line reads one, but the current for that output reads 0.0A. The POWERCELL is doing its job and switching the output on, but no current is flowing. That points you to a break somewhere in that circuit. The most common causes are a blown fuse, a broken wire, a bad ground or a burned-out bulb. Any one of these breaks the path that current needs to flow through, so the output turns on but nothing draws power.

The healthy case is just as useful. When you command an output on and the current reading matches the load you expect for that circuit, you have confirmed the whole circuit is good from the POWERCELL all the way through to the load and back to ground. Being able to see that real current in real time takes the guesswork out of troubleshooting and points you straight at the circuit that needs attention.

Polling an inMOTION Cell

When you poll an inMOTION Cell, the first line of the screen tells you which inMOTION Cell you are looking at. The MASTERCELL NGX identifies it by its door position, such as DF for Driver Front, PF for Passenger Front, DR for Driver Rear or PR for Passenger Rear.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT screen polling the Driver Front inMOTION Cell showing the state of the relay and MOSFET outputs

Polling the Driver Front inMOTION Cell. The RLY line shows the state of the four relay outputs and the OUT line shows the state of the four MOSFET outputs.

The inMOTION Cell has two rows of output states. The RLY line shows the state of the four relay outputs. These come from the two H-bridge relays inside the inMOTION Cell that drive functions like your power windows and power door locks. The OUT line shows the state of the four MOSFET outputs. As with the POWERCELL, a zero means that output is off and a one means it is on.

To see how the outputs on your inMOTION Cell are mapped to the functions in your car, check the configuration sheet that came with your IPM1 Kit. Your configuration sheet is the single point of truth for how each output is assigned in your system.

Polling inVIEW and inCONTROL

Your inVIEW and inCONTROL peripherals will appear in the System Inventory list along with your POWERCELLs and inMOTION Cells. This confirms that they are connected and communicating on your network. In the current version of our software, polling an inVIEW or an inCONTROL does not display any information. They show up in inventory, but there is no detail screen to drill into.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Questions?

Polling your cells from the MASTERCELL NGX gives you a clear, real-time view of what every device on your network is doing. It is one more diagnostic tool built into the inSIGHT screen to help you wire and troubleshoot your car with confidence. If you have any questions about polling your cells or any other part of your Infinitybox system, contact our technical support team through our contact form or give us a call at (847) 232-1991.

MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT main menu with the cursor on the System Inv option.

MASTERCELL NGX System Inventory

July 2, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

The System Inventory screen on your MASTERCELL NGX gives you a list of every device connected on your Infinitybox network. It is a simple but powerful tool that confirms your POWERCELLs, inMOTION Cells and other peripherals are connected, communicating and addressed correctly. This blog post is part of our series on the diagnostic functions built into the inSIGHT screen. We introduced this screen in our overview of the MASTERCELL NGX main menu. In this post, we take a deeper look at how to read and use the System Inventory screen.

Please note that this blog post covers the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 Kit. These inSIGHT diagnostic tools are specific to our Next Generation hardware. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog archives for the diagnostic tools that came with those systems.

How to Read the System Inventory Screen

To get to the System Inventory screen, press the HOME button on your MASTERCELL NGX to bring up the main menu, use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor to System Inv and press SELECT.

Selecting System Inv from the MASTERCELL NGX main menu.

When the screen opens, you will see a list of every device that the MASTERCELL NGX finds on your network. The header at the top of the screen reads SYSTEM INV followed by a number in parentheses. That number tells you how many devices are on the network. It will change with the number of devices that are connected. In the example below, the header reads SYSTEM INV (3), so there are three devices on the network.

System Inventory screen on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display showing three connected devices with their PGN and name.

The System Inventory screen showing three devices on the network: a front POWERCELL, a rear POWERCELL, and a Driver Front inMOTION NGX.

Each device shows up on its own row with two pieces of information. On the left is the PGN for that device. This is an internal identifier that the MASTERCELL NGX uses to validate the device on the network. You do not need to decode it. On the right is the human-readable name that tells you what the device is. This is the part you will use to confirm what is connected.

You can use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor through the list of devices. In this separate blog post, we show you how to use the SELECT button to drill down into a specific device and see much more detail about it, like the state of its outputs and its voltage. For this post, we are focused on the inventory list itself.

What the Devices Look Like on the Network

Each type of device in the Infinitybox system shows up in inventory with its own name so you can identify it at a glance. Here is what the different devices look like on the network.

POWERCELLs:
- Address 1 shows as the front POWERCELL (FRONT PC)
- Address 2 shows as the rear POWERCELL (REAR PC)
- Additional POWERCELLs begin at FF07 and are labeled by number, such as POWERCELL 3
inMOTION Cells (FF03 through FF06):
- Driver Front- DF inM NGX
- Passenger Front- PF inM NGX
- Driver Rear- DR inM NGX
- Passenger Rear- PR inM NGX
inVIEW: inVIEW
inCONTROL: inCONTROL

Confirm Your Devices Are Connected and Communicating

The first thing the System Inventory screen tells you is whether every device you installed is actually on the network. When a device is powered correctly and its CAN cables are connected correctly, it announces itself to the MASTERCELL NGX and shows up in inventory.

Start with the device count in the header. Compare the number in parentheses to the number of devices you installed in your car. If you installed three POWERCELLs but the header only shows two, then one of them is not communicating. The same is true for any device in your system.

When a device is missing from inventory, it usually points to one of two things. Either the device is not being powered correctly, or there is a problem with the CAN cable that connects it to the rest of the network. The System Inventory screen lets you confirm quickly that every device is present before you spend time chasing a problem somewhere else.

Confirm Your Devices Are Addressed Correctly

The second thing the System Inventory screen tells you is whether each device is addressed as the device you intended. This is a more subtle problem, and it is one that can be very hard to find any other way.

Every POWERCELL is set to a specific address with its address jumpers. The MASTERCELL NGX sends commands to each POWERCELL based on that address. If a POWERCELL is addressed incorrectly, the commands meant for it never reach it, even though everything is powered and communicating perfectly.

Here is a common example. A customer is having trouble getting the outputs on a POWERCELL to work. Everything is wired correctly and the cell is communicating, but the functions still do not work. After some troubleshooting, we find that the address jumpers were set to the wrong cell. Instead of being set to cell 1, the POWERCELL was set to cell 8. The System Inventory screen makes this easy to spot. The customer can look at inventory and see that a device is on the network, but it is not showing up as the cell they intended it to be. That tells them the address is wrong.

This is what makes the System Inventory screen so powerful. It takes an invisible problem, a device that is powered and communicating but addressed incorrectly, and makes it visible. We will cover how to set and change device addresses in more detail in a later blog post.

Summary

The System Inventory screen on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display gives you a quick, at-a-glance list of every device on your Infinitybox network. Use it to confirm that every device you installed is powered and communicating, and to confirm that each device is addressed as the cell you intended. Paired with the other diagnostic tools on the inSIGHT screen, it is one of the fastest ways to understand what is happening on your network.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Keep watching our blog for more details on the menus and diagnostic functions on the inSIGHT screen. If you have any questions, give us a call at (847) 232-1991 or contact us here.

MASTERCELL NGX Switch States

June 30, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

The Switch States screen on your MASTERCELL NGX is one of the most powerful diagnostic tools in your Infinitybox IPM1 Kit. It gives you a real-time view of every switch input on your MASTERCELL NGX, so you can confirm that your switches are wired correctly and quickly track down problems. This blog post is part of our series on the diagnostic functions built into the inSIGHT screen. We introduced this screen in our overview of the MASTERCELL NGX main menu. In this post, we take a deeper look at how to read and use the Switch States screen.

Please note that this blog post covers the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 Kit. These inSIGHT diagnostic tools are specific to our Next Generation hardware. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog archives for the diagnostic tools that came with those systems.

How to Read the Switch States Screen

To get to the Switch States screen, press the HOME button on your MASTERCELL NGX to bring up the main menu, use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor to Switch States and press SELECT. When the screen opens, you will see a series of digits arranged across four rows.

Each digit represents one switch input on your MASTERCELL NGX. The rule is simple. A 0 means that input is off. A 1 means that input is on.

Labeled MASTERCELL NGX Switch States diagram identifying ground inputs 1 through 38 and 12-volt inputs 1 through 6 on the inSIGHT display.

MASTERCELL NGX Switch States, with callouts identifying each row of inputs and the 0 = OFF, 1 = ON legend.

The MASTERCELL NGX has 38 ground-switched inputs and 6 high-side switched inputs. The digits are laid out so that you can find any input quickly:

The top row shows ground-switched inputs 1 through 16.
The next row shows ground-switched inputs 17 through 32.
The bottom row shows ground-switched inputs 33 through 38 on the left.
After a gap, the right side of the bottom row shows the 6 high-side switched inputs, 1 through 6.

A quick note on terminology. We label the high-side switched inputs as 12-volt inputs on the screen and on your configuration sheet. Our customers use the terms “high-side switched input” and “12-volt input” interchangeably. They mean the same thing: an input that turns on when it sees 12 volts, rather than a ground. We will use 12-volt inputs through the rest of this post to match what you see on your screen.

When you are in the Switch States mode, the backlight on the inSIGHT screen will remain on. When you are done monitoring the Switch States, you can press and release the HOME button to get back to normal operation.

Ground-Switched and 12-Volt Inputs

The MASTERCELL NGX reads two kinds of switch inputs, and the Switch States screen shows you both.

A ground-switched input turns on when it is connected to ground. This is how most of the switches in your car work with our Infinitybox system. When you flip a headlight switch, you connect the MASTERCELL NGX input to ground and the input turns on.

A 12-volt input turns on when it sees 12 volts. These are useful for connecting to devices that put out a 12-volt signal, like the fuel pump or cooling fan trigger from an EFI system. With our legacy MASTERCELL, you needed an external inVERT Mini to flip a 12-volt signal into a ground before the MASTERCELL could read it. The MASTERCELL NGX reads these 12-volt signals directly, so the inVERT Mini is no longer needed for these inputs. The Switch States screen shows you the state of both your ground-switched and 12-volt inputs in one place.

Watching the Screen in Real Time

The real power of the Switch States screen is that it updates live. As a switch turns on or off, you will see its digit change on the screen. There can be a lag of up to one second between flipping a switch and seeing the digit change, so give it a moment.

When all of your switches are off, every digit on the screen reads 0.

MASTERCELL NGX Switch States screen showing all inputs off, with every digit reading 0.

The Switch States screen with all inputs off. Every digit reads 0.

Now turn on one switch. In this example, we turned on the switch wired to ground-switched input 5. Watch the fifth digit in the top row. It changes from a 0 to a 1, while every other digit stays at 0.

The Switch States screen with one input on. The digit for that input changes from 0 to 1.

To know which function each numbered input controls, refer to your configuration sheet. The configuration sheet is the single source of truth for which switch connects to which input on your MASTERCELL NGX. For example, on the standard front-engine configuration, input 5 is your headlights and input 6 is your parking lights. You can see an example of the standard front-engine configuration sheet by clicking this link. Always check the configuration sheet that came with your kit, since your assignments may be different if you have a custom configuration.

Wire and Test Your Switches Before Connecting Your Loads

One of the most useful things about the Switch States screen is that it lets you wire and test every switch in your car without connecting anything to a POWERCELL.

Because the MASTERCELL NGX reads your inputs directly, you can work through your entire car one switch at a time. Wire a switch, flip it, and watch the screen confirm that the MASTERCELL NGX sees it turn on and off. You can verify your entire switch harness is correct before you ever power up a load. This lets you break your wiring project into smaller, more manageable steps and confirm each one as you go.

Track Down Problems with Switch States

The Switch States screen is also a powerful diagnostic tool when something in your car is not working the way you expect.

A question we hear often is, “Why are my parking lights on?” The Switch States screen answers this quickly. Open the screen and look at the digit for your parking light input. If that digit reads 1 when the parking light switch is off, then the MASTERCELL NGX is seeing that input turn on for some reason.

In most cases, this points to one of two things. Either the switch is wired incorrectly, or the input wire is shorted to ground somewhere in your car. Because a ground-switched input turns on when it sees ground, a wire that is accidentally pinched, chafed or shorted to ground will turn that input on just as if you had flipped the switch. The Switch States screen lets you see exactly what the MASTERCELL NGX sees, so you can focus your troubleshooting on the input that is misbehaving instead of guessing.

Summary

The Switch States screen on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display gives you a real-time, at-a-glance view of every ground-switched and 12-volt input on your system. Use it to wire and test your switches without a POWERCELL, to confirm your harness is correct as you build, and to track down shorts and wiring mistakes when something is not working. Paired with your configuration sheet, it is one of the fastest ways to understand and troubleshoot your Infinitybox system.

You can download a PDF copy of the MASTERCELL NGX Switch States diagram by clicking this link.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Keep watching our blog for more details on the menus and diagnostic functions on the inSIGHT screen. If you have any questions, give us a call at (847) 232-1991 or contact us here.

MASTERCELL NGX Main Menu

June 30, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

The inSIGHT LCD screen on your MASTERCELL NGX is your window into your Infinitybox system. From the main menu, you can set up key features and access a powerful set of diagnostic tools with a few simple button presses. We covered the main status screen that you see when your system powers up in a separate blog post. You can learn about the main screen and how to read your CAN, ignition and security status by clicking this link. In this post, we want to walk through the six options on the MASTERCELL NGX main menu and explain what each one does. We will follow up with separate blog posts that take a deeper dive into each option.

Please note that this blog post covers the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 Kit. These inSIGHT diagnostic tools are specific to our Next Generation hardware. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog archives for the inSIGHT diagnostic tools that came with those systems.

The MASTERCELL NGX Main Menu

To get to the main menu, press and release the HOME button on your MASTERCELL NGX. The main menu has six options. You use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to move the cursor through the list and the SELECT button to open the option that the cursor is pointing to. Because the menu is longer than the screen, you will scroll through two views to see all six options.

The top of the MASTERCELL NGX main menu, with options for Switch States, System Inv, and System Info.

The MASTERCELL NGX main menu scrolled down to the inRESERVE, inMOTION, and DEBUG options.

The six options are Switch States, System Inv, System Info, inRESERVE, inMOTION and DEBUG. Let’s walk through each one.

Switch States

The Switch States option gives you a real-time view of every switch input on your MASTERCELL NGX. The MASTERCELL NGX has 38 ground-switched inputs and 6 high-side switched inputs. When you open Switch States, you see a screen of digits arranged across four rows. The ground-switched inputs run across the rows, and the six high-side input states appear on the right side of the bottom row. A 0 means the input is off and a 1 means the input is on. The screen updates in real time, so if a switch turns on or off while you are watching, you will see it change, with a lag of up to one second.

This is a powerful way to confirm that your switches are wired correctly. You can work through your car one switch at a time and watch the screen confirm that the MASTERCELL NGX sees each input. Click on this link to take the deeper dive into the Switch States feature on the MASTERCELL NGX.

System Inventory

The System Inv option is your system inventory screen. It gives you a list of every peripheral connected to your MASTERCELL NGX. This can include POWERCELLs, inMOTION Cells, inVIEW Cells and inCONTROL knobs. Each device shows up with its CAN address and a name so you can confirm that the MASTERCELL NGX sees everything in your network.

You can use the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons to highlight a device in the inventory and the SELECT button to dig deeper into it. From there, you can see details like the state of its outputs, its voltage and more. Click here for more details on the System Inventory function.

System Info

The System Info option lets you see the software revision of the code loaded onto your system. It also shows you the configuration that is loaded. The IPM1 Kit has options for a front-engine configuration and a rear-engine configuration, along with the option for a Custom configuration. If your system shows a Custom configuration and you have questions about it, contact our technical support team for more information. You can learn more about how to read the software revision and the loaded configuration by clicking this link.

inRESERVE

The inRESERVE option lets you set up our inRESERVE Active Battery Management accessory. inRESERVE connects a POWERCELL output to a special latching solenoid and monitors your battery voltage. When the ignition is off and the voltage drops below a set threshold for a period of time, the POWERCELL pulses the solenoid and disconnects power to the system. This proactively eliminates drain from your battery.

Every IPM1 Kit ships without inRESERVE set up. If you purchase the inRESERVE option, this menu lets you enable the feature, pick the POWERCELL and output that control the solenoid, and choose the timing and voltage threshold. We have an existing blog post that walks through this whole process. You can learn how to enable inRESERVE on your MASTERCELL NGX by clicking this link.

inMOTION

The inMOTION option walks you through the process of setting up your inMOTION NGX door modules. inMOTION NGX installs in the door, and each module must be set with its proper address so it knows which commands to obey. The default locations are Driver Front, Passenger Front, Driver Rear and Passenger Rear. You order as many inMOTION NGX modules as you need for your build, two for a 2-door car or four for a 4-door car. We ship them set up generically, so you run this process once to tell each module where it is installed in the car. You can learn how to configure your inMOTION NGX door modules by clicking this link.

DEBUG

The DEBUG option puts the MASTERCELL NGX into what we call Messaging Mode. Where Switch States shows you whether an input is on or off, Messaging Mode goes a step deeper. It displays in real time when the MASTERCELL NGX sees an input turn on or off, and then shows you what the MASTERCELL NGX does in response.

This is a powerful tool for confirming that your switches are wired correctly and that your MASTERCELL NGX is programmed the way you expect. For example, if your headlights are not working, you can put the MASTERCELL NGX into Messaging Mode and turn the headlight switch on. The inSIGHT screen will display the input it saw turn on and confirm which POWERCELL and which output it is commanding to turn on. We will take a closer look at Messaging Mode in its own blog post.

Summary

The main menu on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display is your gateway to the setup and diagnostic functions built into your Next Generation Infinitybox system. From these six options, you can check your switches, review your system inventory, see your software and configuration, set up inRESERVE, configure your inMOTION NGX modules and dig into advanced diagnostics with Messaging Mode. Keep watching our blog as we publish a detailed deep dive into each one.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Give us a call at (847) 232-1991 or contact us here if you have any questions.

Main status screen on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display showing CAN bus status and ignition state

MASTERCELL NGX Main Screen

June 30, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

The inSIGHT LCD screen on your MASTERCELL NGX is your window into your Infinitybox system. With a few simple button presses, the screen lets you set up your IPM1 kit plus gives you powerful diagnostic tools. We’ve talked about the features under the cover of your MASTERCELL NGX in a separate blog post. You can learn about the inSIGHT screen, the menu buttons and other features by clicking this link. In this post, we want to talk about the main screen on your MASTERCELL inSIGHT screen. Please note that this blog post discusses the MASTERCELL NGX in our Next Generation IPM1 kit. If you have our Legacy 3-Cell Kit or 20-Circuit Kit, search through our blog posts for details.

MASTERCELL NGX HOME Screen

After your IPM1 kit powers up, you will see this screen on your MASTERCELL.

The main status screen on the MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT display.

The backlight on the screen will remain on for 5 to 10 seconds then will turn off to reduce power drawn from the battery. To return to this screen at any time, you can press and release the HOME button.

This screen gives you several important pieces of information about your Infinitybox system. First, it tells you the status of the CAN network. Second, it tells you the state of ignition. Lastly, it tells you the state of security.

CAN Status

Your Infinitybox system is connected together using a J1939 CAN network. This is a simple 2-wire system that connects your MASTERCELL to your POWERCELLs, to your inMOTION NGX cells, to your inVIEW and to any other devices connected in your car. At a high-level, the main screen shows you the status of the CAN network. It shows the status of the transmit circuit (TX) and the receive circuit (RX). You will see OK for both TX and RX when the system is communicating correctly. If you see ERR for either TX or RX, you should check your CAN cables to make sure they are connected correctly. You should also make sure that you have the terminator resistor that came with your IPM1 kit correctly plugged into your system. Check your IPM1 manual for more details on the termination resistor. If you are seeing ERR for either TX and RX, contact our technical support team by clicking this link.

Ignition State

The next important thing that the main screen displays is the state of ignition. When the ignition is on, you will see IGN: ON. When the ignition is off, you will see IGN: OFF. This monitors the ignition from either the switched ignition input, the one-button start input or ignition control from inTOUCH. Specific functions in the system can be controlled with ignition. The most common example is turn signals. Out of the box, the system is set so that your turn signal inputs will only work when the ignition is on. Using our inCODE NGX tool you can set other functions to be dependent on the state of ignition. Check out the inCODE NGX details to learn more.

Security State

The last important piece of information on the main screen is the state of security. You will see SEC: OFF when security is disabled and SEC: ON when security is enabled. Security can be enabled and disabled from the inLINK Key Fobs and from the inTOUCH feature on inLINK. Out of the box, the system blocks the ignition, starter and fuel pump when security is enabled. This is a very powerful immobilizer for your car that is built into your IPM1 kit with inLINK NGX. Using the inCODE NGX software tool, you can set other functions in the Infinitybox system to be disabled when security is enabled. The main screen gives you a quick and simple way to check whether security is on or off.

Summary

The main screen on the inSIGHT LCD display on the MASTERCELL NGX gives you a quick snapshot of the health of the network, the state of ignition and the state of security. Keep watching our blog for more details of the menus and functions on inSIGHT in our Next Generation System.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

Give us a call at (847) 232-1991 or contact us here if you have any questions.

Close-up of the Infinitybox MASTERCELL NGX with the cover removed, showing the inSIGHT LCD screen displaying CAN and ignition status, CAN HI/LO indicator lights, serial number, output fuse, and menu navigation buttons.

Under the Cover of the MASTERCELL NGX

June 29, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

The MASTERCELL NGX represents the latest generation technology for our Infinitybox system. It builds on almost 20 years of history, experience and lessons learned from our customers. In this blog post, we want to walk through the specifics of what is under the cover of the MASTERCELL NGX. Please note that the MASTERCELL NGX is included with our Next Generation Kit. If you have one of our Legacy 3-Cell Kits or 20-Circuit Kits, contact our technical support team for details.

We always tell people to think about the MASTERCELL as the brain of our system. It connects to the switches in your car and sends commands to the POWERCELLs, inMOTION NGX Cells, inVIEW Cells and any other peripheral in your Infinitybox network. It also includes our simple but powerful diagnostic tools to help you troubleshoot any issues in your car’s electrical system quickly, with no additional tools.

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

The following picture shows you the key features under the cover of the MASTERCELL NGX.

Labeled anatomy diagram of the Infinitybox MASTERCELL NGX identifying the CAN traffic indicators, inSIGHT LCD screen, heartbeat indicator, serial number, output fuse, and menu navigation buttons.

MASTERCELL NGX anatomy, with callouts identifying each feature under the cover.

You can download a PDF copy of the picture of what’s under the cover of the MASTERCELL by clicking this link.

The inSIGHT LCD Screen

The most prominent feature under the cover of the MASTERCELL is the inSIGHT LCD screen. This is your window into your Infinitybox system. It allows you to see how the system is operating, check system status, troubleshoot, diagnose and set up key features. The inSIGHT screen has a bright backlight that lets you read it in any lighting condition. This backlight automatically turns off to minimize the amount of current the system draws from the battery.

Menu Navigation Buttons

Below the inSIGHT screen are the Menu Navigation Buttons. These let you access and navigate through the menus on the inSIGHT screen. The HOME button takes you to the HOME screen. The SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons let you navigate through the menu options. The SELECT button picks the specific option that you want.

The Heartbeat and CAN Traffic Lights

The next important feature under the cover of the MASTERCELL NGX is the blue COM light. This is the heartbeat of the system. It should flash about once per second to indicate that the MASTERCELL is awake and is sending commands out on the Infinitybox network.

Related to the heartbeat light, there are two indicators that show that there is traffic on the CAN network. These are the red CAN LO and green CAN HI lights. They will flash periodically. Please note that the CAN LO LED is red and it will flash. This does not mean that there are problems with the system. It indicates that the network is active.

There is another LED labeled Radio and a button labeled TRAIN. These are for future functions and are not presently used.

The Fuse for the MASTERCELL Outputs

The MASTERCELL NGX has 6 low-current outputs that are used to power indicator lights on your dashboard. For safety, these outputs are fused. There is a 3-amp MINI fuse located under the cover of the MASTERCELL. If you have problems with our indicator outputs, check this fuse. You should never put a fuse in the MASTERCELL with a rating higher than 3 amps.

The Serial Number

Lastly, each MASTERCELL has a unique serial number. If you are ever calling our team looking for help, please have this serial number available. We carefully track each system by its serial number so we know its history and software changes.

Examples of inSIGHT Screen Functions

You can download the entire MASTERCELL NGX inSIGHT document by clicking this link. This includes all the features and functions.

We’re releasing a series of blog posts that will walk you through the setup and diagnostic functions on the inSIGHT screen. Stay tuned for more. If you have any questions, call our team at (847) 232-1991 or fill out our contact form at this link.

Infinitybox inCONTROL wiper control screen with HI, INT, WASH and LO functions arranged as four pie sections at the 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00 positions, each with a yellow arc indicating whether that function is on or off.

CAN Control of inVIEW

June 19, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

Three Ways to Control inVIEW From Your Infinitybox System

The inVIEW Wiper Control Module is a full member of the Infinitybox ecosystem. When it’s part of your system, inVIEW receives its commands over the Infinitybox CAN network — the same network that ties the rest of your Infinitybox components together. That means you can operate your wipers from any of the control interfaces in your system, and it all works over a single pair of network wires.

To get inVIEW talking on the network, you’ll connect CAN HI and CAN LO to the Infinitybox CAN bus. Be sure to follow the instructions in your inVIEW manual to make these connections correctly. Once inVIEW is on the network, you have three different ways to control it.

Control With Switches Wired to Your MASTERCELL

If you’re running physical switches in your build, you can wire them to the inputs on your MASTERCELL and use them to operate inVIEW. This lets you keep the tactile feel of real switches — whether that’s a factory stalk, billet buttons, or toggles on a custom panel — while inVIEW handles all the wiper logic behind the scenes. Because your switches only need to trigger a MASTERCELL input, you can leave the big, clunky factory wiper control switches behind and use whatever clean, compact switch fits your build.

You can assign your MASTERCELL inputs to any of the inVIEW functions, including low, high, intermittent and washer.

To assign your MASTERCELL inputs to the inVIEW functions, reference the inCODE NGX instructions. inCODE NGX walks you through mapping each input to the wiper function you want it to control.

Control From the inTOUCH Screens on inLINK NGX

If your system includes inLINK NGX, you can control inVIEW directly from the inTOUCH screens. The Wiper Control screen puts every function right at your fingertips on the display. And because inTOUCH runs over your inLINK network, you can pull it up on any smartphone, tablet, or other WiFi-enabled touchscreen that connects to inLINK — giving you wiper control from whatever device is already in your hand.

inTOUCH Wiper Control screen on an inLINK NGX system displayed on an iPad, showing Low, High and INT buttons in a row with a wide Wash button below, and navigation buttons along the left for other vehicle functions.

inVIEW wiper control through the inTOUCH screen on inLINK NGX

From this screen you get low, high and intermittent wiper speeds, along with a wide Wash button for the washer pump. Navigation along the side takes you to the rest of your inTOUCH functions, so wiper control lives right alongside everything else in your system — no extra switches required.

Control From the inCONTROL

The inCONTROL gives you another clean, switch-free way to operate inVIEW. Start from the home screen and rotate the ring to highlight the wiper function, then touch the screen to open it.

Selecting wiper control on the Infinitybox inCONTROL

That brings you to the inVIEW wiper control screen, where low, high, intermittent and washer are arranged around the display. A yellow arc around each function shows you whether it’s on or off, and touching a function turns it on or off.

The inVIEW wiper control screen on the Infinitybox inCONTROL

One Module, Your Choice of Controls

However you like to interact with your vehicle — real switches through your MASTERCELL, the inTOUCH screens on inLINK NGX, or the inCONTROL — inVIEW responds to all of them over the Infinitybox CAN network. That’s the advantage of building with Infinitybox: one wiper module, controlled however fits your build.

For the wiring details specific to your wiper motor, see the manual for your version:

Wiring diagram showing the 1983–1987 GM G-Body steering column wiper switch connected to a standalone inVIEW Wiper Control Module, with factory switch wire colors mapped to inVIEW inputs plus ground, ignition power, washer pump, and a generic wiper motor connection.

inVIEW Standalone: Wiring the 1983–1987 G-Body Wiper Stalk

June 19, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

Connect a Custom Touchscreen to Your IPM1 Kit

June 15, 2026/in Wiring /by admin

Some of our customers want to do more than wire up a set of switches. They want to build their own way to control their Infinitybox system — a custom interface, a custom dashboard, their own logic — and make their vehicle truly one of a kind. The Next Generation IPM1 Kit was designed to welcome exactly that kind of creativity.

The entire Next Generation System runs on J1939, the same robust CAN protocol trusted across the heavy-duty and commercial vehicle world. We publish the J1939 messages that command the MASTERCELL NGX, POWERCELL NGX, inMOTION NGX and inVIEW modules, which means a builder who wants to create their own controller has a clear, documented path to do it. Want to drive the system from a touchscreen? A custom panel? Something no one has tried yet? The door is open.

Here is a customer who walked right through it.

A Builder-Designed Touchscreen Console

Custom touchscreen interface for the IPM1 Kit showing controls for windows, ignition, starter, and lighting

The custom touchscreen interface for “Shameless,” a 1967 C10, with controls for windows, ignition, starter, and lighting.

Brook B. at White Post Restorations wanted something clean, modern, and entirely his own for the center console of a truck build. So he designed it — a portrait-mounted 10.1″ Greenworks touchscreen running on a Raspberry Pi, with a custom interface he created to control the vehicle’s electrical system.

The result is elegant. Tap an element on the screen, and the corresponding function comes to life through his Infinitybox system. No bank of physical switches. No cluttered dash. Just a sleek, intuitive display that looks like it belongs in a vehicle costing many times more.

How He Connected It

This is where the open architecture of the IPM1 Kit shines. Brook had more than one path available to him, and that flexibility is the whole point.

He chose to drive the inputs on his MASTERCELL NGX directly, using an MCP23017 I/O expander on a development board. The touch elements on his screen trigger the expander, the expander drives the MASTERCELL NGX inputs, and the system responds. Clean and direct.

Another option would have been a CAN hat for the Raspberry Pi, connecting straight to our J1939 network and sending messages directly to the system. Both approaches work. Both are open to any builder. The choice comes down to what fits your project best — and that is precisely the freedom we want our customers to have.

The Role of AI

Here is the part that would have sounded like science fiction a few years ago. Brook used AI tools to help write the code that builds his screens and controls the entire system. He did not need to be a career software engineer. He had a vision, a set of modern tools, and a system designed to be controlled — and he brought it all together.

This is the new world opening up for builders. Affordable, powerful platforms like Raspberry Pi and Arduino, combined with AI-assisted coding, are putting custom vehicle control within reach of anyone willing to experiment. Pair those tools with a system that was built to be controlled, and the creative possibilities multiply.

This Is What Flexibility Looks Like

We did not build Brook’s touchscreen. He did. We simply built a system flexible enough to say yes to it.

That is the philosophy behind the entire Next Generation System: flexibility, functionality, and simplicity. Give builders a solid, reliable foundation, publish the messages that control it, and then get out of the way so they can create.

Brook’s console is one example. Yours could be the next.

Ready to Build Something of Your Own?

If you are dreaming up a custom way to control your vehicle — a touchscreen, a custom controller, an integration we have not even thought of yet — start with the IPM1 Kit. Then reach out to us. We are always happy to talk through the options for expanding how you control your car.

Get your IPM1 Kit today, and let’s see what you build.

Call us at (847) 232-1991 or visit infinitybox.com to get started.