Thread: M3-ATX 125 watt Smart Automotive Power Supply

I have been using the M3 for almost 2 weeks now..works great..
BUT the custom programming isnt the best.

Originally Posted by RevheadKev

Can you explain your post with some detail John.
Is it hard to get the software to run or are the choices very limited ?

Sure what would you like to know?

I bought the cable to set up the custom shutdown times but i havent tried it.
ALso yes an extra pair of jumpers for a reset switch would be nice.
I had to wire in series a toggle switch incase the PC locks up to reboot the power supply.

Well Ive had an M3 for about four months now. The first one I received as part of the system had conventional sized jumpers installed by mistake (so it was getting intermittent set up information as the too large jumpers were not reliably setting it to power up in the configuration the jumpers were physicaly set). This combined with a motherboard problem led to having the MB and PSU RMA'ed.

The new (same model) MB and PSU started up and ran fairly reliably (as far as the PSU was concerned) for a while. Little by little (about every ten start-ups at first) the PSU failed to start the PC when the vehicle started. This problem has grown worse over time to the point now that more often than not the pc does not start when I start the car (it starts the PC about two in ten times I start the car).

I also notice that its not shutting the PC down properly (about three times in ten). Normaly it goes to "preparing to hibernate", when bar fills up, PC shuts down. About three times out of ten now it goes "preparing to hibernate", bar starts to fill up, screen goes black (PC fan still running), then screen comes back and says "preparing to stand by", bar starts to fill up but before bar fills up PC shuts down.

Battery is fine, alternator is fine, ground should be good (same oem ground point as other processors in car and no errors in OBD, and this car had nine oem computers in it before I added the car pc, if there were ground or power issues, I would get codes).

Im still using what we consider to be a problematic MB (waiting on a replacement, different MB) but aside from that, I cant see what Im experienceing with the start or / shut down as being anything other than PSU related.

The red lead going to the PSU is off of a 20a fuse with a fuse tap (nothing else on that circut) via 16 ga copper (same guage as used from the molex to the PSU inside the system case). The only thing (other than the MB) that the PSU is feeding is the monitor (a Xenarc 700 IDT) via a power connector off the PSU.

Anyone having problems with longevity (are they lasting under use) with the M3?


Just an update : I guess the last time I pulled into the garage I was foolish enough to not watch the display like a hawk, because it must have put the machine into standby instead of hibernation . . .so . . .today when I went down to the car it was dead as a doornail. Gotta love my "intelligent" (but suffering from Altzhiemers) power supply.

Ive been using mine daily for 6 months..been perfect so far.

Well i am building another carPC for my new tahoe and im gonna use this again for sure..