LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quoteno it wont, but a small sealed lead acid or gel cell will.
you need to search for 'tank circuits'.
I have a question about capacitors. I don't know much about them, but I'm wondering if they'll help me with my problem. I am running a car PC off of an inverter. (I chose this route b/c I already had the PC case w/ power supply and an inverter was $25 on e-bay). I have had no issues with noise, or anything like that. I really like the setup besides one small thing.
Say I pull into a drive-in like Sonic or to a gas station. I usually turn my car off (just out of habit, and of course safety with the gas station) and the car PC keeps on truckin'. My problem is when I go to crank the car, my inverter makes a loud beep (from not having sufficient voltage) and my PC dies.
Cranking only lasts a second or maybe a tad longer on cold days. Could I place a capacitor before my inverter to keep the voltage high enough for the PC to not die on me? I ran my lilliput off of a 12 volt rail from the PSU. I wouldn't mind turning it off for a second when cranking if it would help keep the capacitor from draining quickly. Anyway, will this work or will a capacitor not keep a charge that long?
no it wont, but a small sealed lead acid or gel cell will.
you need to search for 'tank circuits'.
Hmmm, do they make small batteries? I've seen tank circuits using full sized car batteries but are their small gel cell or sealed lead acid batteries available? The whole reason for the inverter is b/c I'm cheap and a full sized battery just isn't worth it to me.
do you have your inverter run straight to your battery?
me too. yes they do make small batteries. Try searching for 7ah. Wheelchair/old person scooter repair shops seem to be a good source for free or cheap 2nd hand batteries if you're a tightarse like me.Originally Posted by Maukio
This is the wiring I plan on using. Not sure if it even works yet. It should turn the pc on (resume after power loss in bios) and off (this program: New shutdown controller - software ) with the cars ignition (with a set time delay between key off and shut down). It also allows the pc to survive crank and prevent my main battery being drained.
Can someone who knows their **** (Ricky... you there?) tell me if it will work or not. The question mark will be a diode/s but I don't know what type yet because I don't know what battery I will use.
Thanks for the info. I'm no expert on circuits or anything, but I doubt you'd need to connect the negative terminal of the main battery to the backup. Just ground the backup to the chassis. Same with inverter.
Edit: Can someone else confirm that this circuit works or tell us how to fix it? or a better way even? Thanks.
I think there is less chance of ground loops if you run right to the battery, and the wires are already there in my car, the previous owner had them running to an amp.
I'm not worried about it automatically turning on. I rather just flip the switch and save myself some time and money. I was looking at robiewp's tank circuit on here.
Battery based tank circuit (tested)
With my small problem of just keeping the PC alive for a second or two, would this not work for me with a small battery that Bodgy suggested?
Really? I've read grounding to the negative post on a battery is one of the worst places to ground and that you should just go to the chassis with a short fat wire.
Finding good ground to prevent Ground Loop
well it sounds like it is more of an issue with newer cars. must have been an issue with mine because thats how it is wired.
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks