For those with carPCs using M2-ATX 160W DC-DC power supplies, can you offer assistance on how you connected the power wires? Here is my carPC, topview:



I have six wires leading to the power connector located at the bottom left corner of the picture:

RED: (+)12V
White: Ignition
BLACK: (-) Battery terminal
Blue: Amplifier (anti-thump for sound)
Green: 5V GND (but internally connects to HD)
Yellow: (+)5V (but internally connects to HD)

Where on the TL dash do I hook all these items up to?

I have my jumper settings on 30 second delay and 2 hrs hard-off, should be enough to initiate hibernate.

If you do have a picture of where the wires are located please let me know. Thanks for looking!

HS

 

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Geez, if the embedding doesn't show up just click on the picasaweb link and it should take you there with no problem!

 

Hey, you just have to do the [img] [/img] tags before and after the address and the picture will show up. I had trouble trying to embed your pics though as the first address is part of some album and the second is tiny.

I ran the Ign wire to fuse # 32 in the driver side kick panel.. Ground is easy enough to find, and the power I ran directly to the battery. Others may have used other locations..

 

This is how I hooked up my PC
Ground to ground strap in car.
Constant to positive battery terminal
Switched power/ignition into the cig. lighter in the center console.

I connected the HDD to the accesory plug off the main 22 wire cable form the power supply.

I would set the jumpers so the hard of time is a bit lower, the acura batteries suck, and you do run a high risk of killing the battery.

Also by the picture, you didnt hook up the wires from the PSU to the motherboard to tell it to turn on and off. Make sure you do that.

 

Thanks for pointing out the different parts where I have to connect the power supply to. However, is there one central location I can tap into all 3? I know that there is a ground strap in the trunk, the constant positive terminal can be accessed towards the front, and the cigarette lighter is definitely in the Center console. Do you have a photo where I can access these?

As far as the jumpers go, I would like to have a thirty second delay until the power rail shuts down, but the only combinations I have are 30 seconds delay with either two hours for hard shutdown or the never option (the power supply will deactivate when the battery drops below 12 V). Supposedly this power supply is smart enough to not kill the battery if it is set correctly.

The wires you pointed out are actually connected, the black and red wire go towards the top right-hand corner of the photo. It is labeled as jumper J8 in the manual and there is a connection running to it currently. Of course I will find out for sure once I power the unit out!

 

I think fuse 32 is constant power, you could tap into there with an add-a circuit from autozone or advanced auto parts. you could run the wire under the center-console, under that driver panel under the steering wheel, and then to the fuse-box. For the ground, you might be able to get away with grounding it to the factory ground post, there should be one near the seats. I forgot which one.

I forgot the exact timers for the jumpers. I will look at the manual and see what setting I have.

 

the M2-ATX actually has more Timing Modes than is listed in the Manual. I personally use the 10 minutes / 1 hour mode beacuse I like being able to make stops in places like the bank or something and come out and still have the PC on. Here is all the modes:

 

Slayer,
Thank you very much for posting the additional modes. I do not know a 10 minute option existed for shutdown. That would definitely be more than enough time if you have to run into the bank (I always use the drive-through ATM personally). Has anyone here done any calculations as to exactly how much voltage the system loses by being on the different modes? If the battery reaches 11.2 V does that mean I am screwed? I actually have had the battery replaced under warranty earlier this year...

HS

 

Bank was just an example, but works well for any of those type of "quick stops". I wouldn't worry about the PC draining the battery. I've been using mine in the TL like this since September and in two other cars for years and I have had zero problems. Based on all the people who have posted about getting their batteries replaced, the Acura batteries are pretty crappy. I made it through this winter with mine, so if it lasts through the summer, I plan to replace it with an Optima Red Top before the next winter hits. I just like to have Optima batteries in all my cars and I'd rather just replace it before it leaves me stranded.

 

You only need 3 wires to hook up, I have my carpc set in the trunk:

Red wire: Positive terminal on battery. Wire runs from left side of car, under side panels, all the way to trunk. I ran 10 gauge wire, even though the manual says you get away with 14 gauge, I think.

Black wire: Ground it chassis of car. I lifted the rear seats, and found a bolt, scrapped off the paint, and connected it.

White wire: Ignition on wire. This one was a little bit more difficult to figure out. My after market alarm is connected to an ignition wire, so I tapped it off of that. I originally connected to the cigarette lighter, but from talking to other folks, on the mp3car.com forum board, this is not a *true* ignition on. When I had the white wire tapped into this, my carpc keep shutting down. Using a volt meter, when the key is inserted into position 2 (accessory), the cigarette will power, and will give you 12v, but when you move from position 2, into position 3, to turn start the car, the line drops from 12v down to 0v, which cuts off the carpc, giving all the power to crank the car, then brings it back up to 12v, then my carpc started up again. I don't know if this makes sense to you or if you want me elaborate more, but this one took me weeks to figure out.