is there a regulated DC power supply anywhere in the car (ie, without voltage spikes)?

I need to power an IC with 5-12V DC (13.9 MAX) and I don;t want it to get fried by the 14.4V that hits when the car is on. What would you recommend? Some kind of voltage regulator or DC-DC converter?

 

hmmm...I guess that was a dumb question

I don't think there's any lead in the car that won't spike to 14.4V, but it doesn't look very hard to add a 12V voltage regulator that you can buy at radio shack

Not quite sure about the grounds though, can they get spliced together, like this?:

 

What you're talking about is a linear regulator. Essentially, yes. But it's very hard to pul 12V from a 12V bus. You'll probably need to end up with 11.5V on the output.

 

Since you need 5V also, DC-DC converter would be your best bet. The only issue might be how close you'll get the 12V output to 12V since the input from the car will only be around 13V.

 

how about a couple a diodes (eluderino suggested this)?

the IC needs anywhere from 5-12 volts, though (I think), so I think the volt. reg. should work.

 

My bad, I thought you needed 5 and 12 V. For what you need a 12V regulator or Zener diode will be enough.

 

you can buy a simple 3 pin regulator at any good electronics store. i dont know if radio shack has them because i dont shop there. we have an electronics store that takes up the space of a whole grocery store. isles and isles of surplus stuff everywhere.