Thread: New here! hello and a bit of a plan!

looks like it is very well planned!

so far, here are the issues that i see with it, you or others might disagree though

the capacitor is useless--it is really not helping anything but lessing the wheight of your wallet. there is a recent thread in the car audio section about that..

for the remote power switch, and reset button, i understand why you want the power switch, but i would highly recommend a reset button also-- i also thought i would never use both, but wired them up because i had the wire(a single cat5 takes care of status led's and buttons..), and have used it more than i would like to admit... for the power button, i am not exactly sure how that is going to work-- most of the dc-dc power supplies have a 'dummy' mode where they just stay on all the time, but can eat up the battery staying in that condition(i think)... most dc-dc's use the switched line to turn off the computer, and go into a 'power saving' mode, where they consume less power until the switched line goes active again.

what about connecting your switch to controlling that remote line on the dc-dc instead? this way, you can have both controls, and the advantage of power saving(with my dsatx, i have left my car sit for weeks, and i don't have to worry about it not starting).

the other issues is the usb hdd. i have not tried it, but i thought there was issues with them, similar to the cf-ide adpater setups. just go with a cheap hard drive, 3.5, 2.5, it really doesn't matter...

1. fuse for the screen-- i beleive that my 629 led screen needs something like a 5 amp fuse-- though a 2-4 amp fuse should also work for a led backlit screen, but definatly never above 10 amps for the screen.

2. like i said above, i think it would be better to remove the cap all together, but it shouldn't matter whether you wire it before or after it..

3. got that one above too.

4. can't speak for the jetta, but overall, most will install it in trunk, or under one of the seats. there usually isn't too much room under the dash--sometimes there is just enough room for a tiny motherboard--unless you remove the radio, which you said wasn't a option right now, and with your current motherboard selection, i have not seen any dash with that much flat, open space...

Post Edit: I missed SoundMan's reply, but we have some aspects in common - viz the cap! So back to what I wrote.... Cheers.

I saw the capacitor and thought don't bother (here are better solutions).
Then I saw the its 40A fuse and thought definitely don't bother.
But alas, you already have it.
And think it is in the wrong place - but it depends what you are using if for. (It should be across the biggest amp. But I'd suggest a fuse larger than 40A for it - I think that is likely to blow if there is a step voltage change (5.2F is pretty big - almost as big as a $20 battery, but if it has a low ESR, its currents(s) can be high).
(Note that I am one of those that seeks to find out why a capacitor should be used in place of other better and cheaper options. I have yet to find a valid technical reason.)

I suggest you don't have a ground connection between the battery & ?A Fuse and the screen Power - but that is obviously an accidental inclusion.

That Touch Screen fuse should be rated to protect the screen unless the screen has it's own fuse - in which case the fuse is near the battery and to protect the wiring (in case it overloads or that short to chassis isn't removed).
But at 9W, a 1A fuse is probably a minimum size.
But at that (minor) consumption, I'd common it with the PC supply input.

The M4-ATX requires a fuse of 40A for its own use (assuming ~250W input) (and hence why the 1A-2A screen makes little difference).
And I'd probably take them off the cap - they probably won't benefit from the cap.


But I'll let others with CarPuter experience suggest the rest, or counter-suggest.

Originally Posted by OldSpark

The M4-ATX requires a fuse of 40A for its own use (assuming ~250W input) (and hence why the 1A-2A screen makes little difference).

just a small correction(or maybe i need to be corrected?)-- the m4 has a 25 amp fuse on it, but the listed max current limits of the m4 add up to 40 amps--what gives?

i realize that it is max current on all rails, instead of the nominal current, but shouldn't that add up to the fuse size on the psu?

Thread moved to proposed setup forum.

Wow guys! You are great! Greetz to you all! Please use more common words because my english are not too good! thanks!

@soundman98
Ok, i can change what manual switch will control. That's easy! I' ll send it to the PSU.

I'm planning going big with my sound system, that's why i installed a capacitor.....anyway, i'll probably going to sell it and put a higher Amperes battery. We'll see....

Yeah, ok about the HDD.....this is still on planning......maybe i'll get a real HDD! I chose this way for lower power consumption! and for a more Concentrated (dunno if this is correct :P) solution! i mean compact!

Can u figuge out what'up with the fuses? because from the psu image i can see that no fuse exists!

@OldSpark
Of course it's an accidental inclusion but what do you exactly mean ? I should use a ground for the TFT screen......how else can i power it ?

I was planning to go big with my sound system, so that's why i installed a big capacitor! Anyway i 'll probably sell it to a friend and buy a new bigger Ah battery. Like a 75 one or more.....because my current is 45 i think

But at that (minor) consumption, I'd common it with the PC supply input.

What exactly do u mean "you would common it with..." ?
Sorry but my english seems to be poor

So....what for the "? fuse" 1A or 5~10 A ????

Do u suggest a new fused wire directly from battery only for car pc ?

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Thread moved to proposed setup forum.

I assume that is an honor to me! right ? Bugbyte just to inform ya i own a 1303LS Beetle '72 ! hehe!

EDIT: lol.......what honor!?!?!? you posted in the wrong section!! hahaha!

One little detail that I think slipped by.....If you want to use the touch part of the touch screen you will need that usb wire connected too (not just the vga).

i really don't know if a usb drive is similar to a compact flash card, but assume they are due to the similar usage, and memory type(feel free to prove me wrong )..

there have been a lot of issues in the past with getting memory cards loaded-- it requires a lot of time and careful software choices...

a normal hard drive will get you up and running a lot faster and easier.
or, if you want the speed, and low power consumption, look into Solid State Hard drives-- they aren't cheap, but are fast and (i think) less power hungry..

here is the link to the thread i was talking about:
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/car-...capacitor.html

there is a lot of info, and oldspark tends to ramble a little(in both this thread and the cap thread ), but if you sort through the junk there is a lot of good info on why caps are not helping a sound system (or, i should say, have not been proven to help a sound system..)

summary of the thread: the amount of power that the cap can store and send out is a much smaller amount than even a small 12 volt battery--so a 2nd battery will help more with low voltage(like when your subs are pounding) than a capacitor...

there was different versions of the m4, the most current version, for sale in the mp3car store shows a fuse in the bottom right hand corner, just above the inputs(it is a tan 25 amp fuse, so it blends in well..).

for the "common it with" i think he means to connect the ground to the pc power also(instead of connecting it to the car).

i think a 5 amp fuse should be enough for the screen.

for the pc power, if you can use the power wire from your audio stuff, just fuse it after the split, and adjust the fuse size by the battery for the added power.

Originally Posted by GiorgaKiSs

Wow guys! You are great! Greetz to you all! Please use more common words because my english are not too good! thanks!

@soundman98
Ok, i can change what manual switch will control. That's easy! I' ll send it to the PSU.

I'm planning going big with my sound system, that's why i installed a capacitor.....anyway, i'll probably going to sell it and put a higher Amperes battery. We'll see....

Yeah, ok about the HDD.....this is still on planning......maybe i'll get a real HDD! I chose this way for lower power consumption! and for a more Concentrated (dunno if this is correct :P) solution! i mean compact!

Can u figuge out what'up with the fuses? because from the psu image i can see that no fuse exists!

@OldSpark
Of course it's an accidental inclusion but what do you exactly mean ? I should use a ground for the TFT screen......how else can i power it ?

I was planning to go big with my sound system, so that's why i installed a big capacitor! Anyway i 'll probably sell it to a friend and buy a new bigger Ah battery. Like a 75 one or more.....because my current is 45 i think


What exactly do u mean "you would common it with..." ?
Sorry but my english seems to be poor

So....what for the "? fuse" 1A or 5~10 A ????

Do u suggest a new fused wire directly from battery only for car pc ?

what he means by "common it with the PSU" is that your probably going to have a 4 pin molex connector extra comming off your M4 ATX PSU, so you can just use the 12v rail from there. well i think thats what he means anyway.

as for the HDD, i know solid state drives use very little power (like 2 watts or something tiny), a regular disk drive might use more, but i cant imagine theres much difference between an external and internal HDD in terms of power. probably faster to use the interal anyway. i haven't actually researched this myself, so you might want to look yourself if it's such an issue.

speaking of power, i would make sure you have the correct power amount on the correct rails. im still planning mine so im not 100% how to do that hehe.

have fun!